Dominus vobiscum

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bishop says "Pax vobis" ("Peace to you") instead. Accent marks are supplied to indicate the stress.

Dóminus vobíscum (

blessing traditionally used by the clergy in the Masses of the Catholic Church and other liturgies, as well as liturgies of other Western Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism, Anglicanism and Methodism
.

Usage

A priest saying Dominus vobiscum while celebrating a Tridentine Mass

The response is Et cum spíritu tuo, meaning "And with your spirit." Some English translations, such as

ICEL
translation presently in use for Roman Catholic Masses in English has "And with your spirit."

Prior to

Liturgiam Authenticam concerning the use of vernacular languages in the Mass. The instruction requires that certain phrases, such as the response Et cum spíritu tuo, which "belong to the heritage of the whole or of a great part of the ancient Church, as well as others that have become part of the general human patrimony, are to be respected by a translation that is as literal as possible".[1] Accordingly, the current translation of the Mass in English uses the response "And with your spirit" to reflect an accurate translation of the Latin.[2]

Dóminus vobíscum is not usually said by anyone who is not at least a deacon.[citation needed] If introducing a prayer, it is otherwise replaced with Domine, exaudi orationem meam, with the response Et clamor meus ad te veniat (‘O Lord, hear my prayer’, And let my cry come to thee’, the opening verse of Psalm 102) or, if that invocation is said in any case, it is omitted.[3]

In a Mass celebrated by a bishop or some

Sign of the Cross or Et cum spíritu tuo depending on the Church and whether it is in a Mass, Divine Liturgy, or Holy Qurbana
.

This exchange is also said in the

Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC), was changed to "And with your spirit" in 2006, changing from "thy" to "your".[4]

In some Jewish rites, a person called up to the Torah says Adonai immachem; the sense is identical.[5]

In Arabic, Allah Maak, which means "May Allah be with you", is used as a farewell.[6]

Origins

The salutation is taken from the verses Ruth 2:4 and 2 Chronicles 15:2 in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible. In Ruth, the phrase appears in the sentence, "Et ecce ipse veniebat de Bethlehem dixitque messoribus: 'Dominus vobiscum'. Qui responderunt ei: 'Benedicat tibi Dominus'." ("Boaz himself came from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, 'The Lord be with you!' and they replied, 'The Lord bless you!'").[7]

II Chronicles recounts that Azariah, filled with the spirit of God, said, "Audite me, Asa et omnis Iuda et Beniamin! Dominus vobiscum, quia fuistis cum eo. Si quaesieritis eum, invenietur a vobis; si autem dereliqueritis eum, derelinquet vos." ("Hear me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The LORD is with you when you are with him, and if you seek him he will be present to you; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.")[8]

The phrase additionally appears in Numbers 14:42: "Nolite ascendere: non enim est Dominus vobiscum: ne corruatis coram inimicis vestris."[9] (Hebrew Ayn adonai b'qirb'chem) The expression in Hebrew means to be successful.[citation needed] It also occurs in 1 Samuel 17:37 where Saul tells David "Go and may the Lord be with you" (Lech va'adonai y'hiyeh im'cha).

References

  1. ^ Liturgiam Authenticam (English tr.) ¶ 56.
  2. ^ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Sample Text: Changes in the People's Parts Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. .
  4. ^ "New Roman Missal Finally Out and LSB is Really - St. Antony's Cave". blog.trinityaustin.com.
  5. ^ Book of Prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation, London vol. 1, page 47.
  6. ^ "What means " allah maak " ? Meaning and Translation of " allah maak "". www.al-hamdoulillah.com. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  7. ^ The Latin here is taken from the Nova Vulgata (source Archived October 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine), and the English from the New American Bible (source Archived July 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine).
  8. ^ Source: Latin Archived August 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, English. Archived July 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ The New American Bible translates the verse, "Do not go up, because the Lord is not in your midst; if you go, you will be beaten down before your enemies." (Source Archived July 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.)