2006-04-17

READING (from the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday)

THE LORD DESCENDS INTO HELL
Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled, and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him, Adam the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all,” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendents I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

Our Father / Pater Noster

We started saying the Pater Noster, i.e. the "Our Father" in Latin in church. Well... its being chanted actually, not just recited. If you want to hear what a chanted Latin prayer sounds like, go here.
The Pater Noster is being projected with the English translation, but I think the Bahasa Malaysia translation is better - mainly because the syntax of BM and Latin are similar, so it's possible to make almost a word-for-word translation. This may help the majority of young Malaysians (who are better in Bahasa than English anyway) to appreciate the Latin better.
I append my humble translation below.

Pater Noster (Our Father)

Pater noster, qui es in caelis,

Bapa kami yang ada di syurga


sanctificetur Nomen tuum.
Kuduslah Nama mu


Adveniat regnum tuum.
Datanglah keRajaan Mu


Fiat voluntas tua,
Jadilah kehendak Mu


sicut in caelo et in terra.
Seperti di syurga dan di bumi


Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
Rezeki kami secukupnya berikan kami hari ini,

et dimitte nobis debita nostra
Dan ampuni kami kesalahan kami


sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
seperti pun kami mengampuni kesalahan mereka


Et ne nos inducas in tentationem,
Dan janganlah kami dibawa ke percubaan


sed libera nos a malo.

Tapi bebaskan kami dari kejahatan.


Amen