WDTPRS: 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time – COLLECT: sheer audacity
Novus Ordo19th Sunday of Ordinary Time — Aug 8, 2027, Aug 13, 2028
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, quem paterno nomine invocare praesumimus, perfice in cordibus nostris spiritum adoptionis filiorum, ut promissam hereditatem ingredi mereamur.Almighty eternal God, whom we presume to invoke by the name of Father, perfect in our hearts the spirit of the adoption of children, so that we may merit to enter into the inheritance promised. Notice that I translate filii as “children” rather than as just “sons”, according to the literal meaning. Latin masculine plurals, depending on the context, can also include females even though the form of the word is masculine.
Let’s have a look at this daring prayer. The Latin prayer was not in previous editions Missale Romanum before the 1970 Novus Ordo. It has roots in the 9th century Sacramentary of Bergamo and thus is ancient text. Paternus, a, um is an adjective, “fatherly”. Literally, a paternum nomen would be “Fatherly name”. In English we need to break that…