by M. Francis Mannion<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Recently, I completed a 30-day Ignatian retreat in Los Angeles (I hope you are all impressed!). The central feature of St. Ignatius\u2019 Spiritual Exercises is intensive reading of key scripture passages on Jesus\u2019 life a number of times a day. I must say that I often found the exercise hard going for the reason that I already knew the scripture passages almost by heart and could not find much new material for reflection.<\/span><\/p>\n I told my retreat director about this, and he gave me a copy of a Bible translation entitled The Message, <\/i>a new version in modern language that seeks to render the scriptures in a fresh and striking manner. He said I should use it alongside the New American Bible <\/i>I was using for the retreat.<\/span><\/p>\n At first I was skeptical of a Bible version with the title The Message,<\/i> never having been a fan of modern popular versions such as the Good News Bible. <\/i>But, I was won over. Reading the fresh and popular language of The Message, <\/i>alongside the more formal style of the New American Bible,<\/i> enabled me to find much food for thought.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, this is how Psalm 23 is translated:<\/span><\/p>\n God, my shepherd! I don\u2019t need a thing.<\/span><\/p>\n You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from.<\/span><\/p>\n True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.<\/span><\/p>\n Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I\u2019m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd\u2019s crook makes me feel secure.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Message <\/i>is not well known among Catholics, as it was produced by Eugene H. Peterson, a respected Protestant scripture scholar and pastor, with the assistance of an impressive list of expert advisors. As expected, it lacks the additional books found in the Catholic Bible.<\/span><\/p>\n However, a Catholic version has now been published, called The Message: Catholic\/Ecumenical Edition. <\/i>This edition takes Peterson\u2019s translation and adds the Catholic books missing from the Protestant Bible (including Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Baruch, Wisdom, Sirach, and additions to Esther and Daniel).<\/span><\/p>\n The translator of the additional books is William Griffin, a Catholic friend of Peterson\u2019s. Griffin said he used the New Latin Vulgate (the official Latin translation). As a Latinist, the Vulgate posed no difficulty for him; the challenge was in finding contemporary English words, expression, and idioms to complete the work.<\/span><\/p>\n The Message <\/i>has not been without its critics. Some have judged it watered down, distorted, and misleading–sometimes using language guaranteed to shock. Blogger J.R. Miller is highly critical: \u201cBy updating the Scriptures in modern street language, Peterson removes the historical and religious content, resulting in a book far removed from the day and culture in which it was written.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Peterson does not reject such criticism out of hand, but states that his purpose was to overcome his frustration as a pastor in trying to communicate the message of the Bible in language familiar to his readers, However, he told Robert McClory of the National Catholic Reporter:\u00a0<\/i> \u201cI do not recommend . . . [that]\u00a0 passages from The Message\u00a0<\/i>be read at church services, and I feel uneasy when I hear it\u2019s been used in that way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I recommend highly The Message: Catholic\/Ecumenical Edition, <\/i>and find it very helpful for reading alongside The New American Bible,<\/i> with which we are familiar from the liturgy. This edition is available from Acta Publications; the hardcover costs $28.87 and the paperback is $24.59.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Msgr. Mannion is pastor emeritus of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Salt Lake City. Reprinted by permission of Catholic News Agency.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I recommend highly The Message: Catholic\/Ecumenical Edition, and find it very helpful for reading alongside The New American Bible, with which we are familiar from the liturgy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[23,1216,3125],"tags":[1199],"class_list":["post-26916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recently-published-books","category-scripture","category-viewpoint","tag-msgr-m-francis-mannion"],"yoast_head":"\n