Close

March 3, 2012

Strong the love embracing us

Praise! Give glory to God! Nations, peoples, give glory!
Strong the love embracing us.
Faithful the Lord for ever. (Ps. 117, ICEL)

The ICEL Psalter, published in 1994 “for study and comment,” bears the imprimatur, a declaration from the Catholic church that a book is free of moral and doctrinal error.

Imprimatur for the ICEL Psalter

Front matter from the Liturgical Psalter, © 1994, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc.

The imprimatur was revoked in 1998, apparently because of the translators’ use of gender-inclusive language. That was the end of the road for study and comment, as far as I know. The ICEL Psalter is out of print, and existing copies are expensive.

What a shame.

If you happen be one of the 38 people who worked on this beautiful and reverent translation (begun in 1964!), I thank you. Your work blesses me deeply and leads me closer to the living God.