Liturgy Resources in Te Reo

The Māori text used is taken from the translation of Holy Scripture Readings made by Pā Hoane Papita (Father John Baptist Becker, pioneer Mill Hill man who arrived in NZ in 1886).  He gained a good knowledge of reo Māori in his first missions around the Bay of Plenty among Te Arawa.   Later he moved to Tai Tokerau where he always used his Māori texts at Mass. Remember in those days the actual texts were spoken aloud in Latin.    The priest raced through the Latin as fast as he could and then after the Gospel turned round to the congregation and ascended the pulpit and read a translation in the language the local people could understand. This was the norm.   I was told by kaumātua that they would all share in a discussion in reo Māori with Pā Hoane after the Mass. Eventually the whole New Testament was completed and also a summary of the Kawenata Tawhito. Father Wientjes (Pā Henare) from Rotorua came north to help prepare the text for printing. This was taken to Europe and printed and bound in Turnhout, Belgium.   The Typesetters were so exact - even though they did not know Māori - that no misprints have been discovered. The addition of macrons to indicate lengthened vowels was made by myself (Pa Mikaere).  I was well trained in the time of Professor Bruce Biggs at Auckland University (1960s) - he insisted on the use of double vowels to indicate length.   Macrons were difficult to make on an ordinary typewriter.    It was a good discipline to learn to mark the lengthened vowels in that way, although it looked horrible e.g. OOPOOTIKI.

Ka nui tēnei.   Arohanui
Pā Mick Ryan.

Sign of the Cross

Ki te ingoa o te Matua, o te Tamaiti, o te Wairua Tapu. Amene.

E to mātou Matua i te rangi,
kia whakatapua tōu Ingoa,
kia tae mai tōu rangatiratanga,…
kia whakaritea tōu hiahia
i te whenua, kia pērā anō i to te rangi.
Hōmai ki a mātou āianei
he taro mā mātou mō tēnei rā.
Whakakāhoretia ō mātou hara,
me mātou e whakakore nei,
i ngā hara o te hunga,
e hara ana ki a mātou;
kaua mātou e tukua, kia whakawaia,
engari, whakaorangia, mātou i te kino.

Nōu hoki te rangatiratanga,
te kaha me te
korōria mo āke, āke. Amene.

Pa Peter Tipene reciting the Lord's Prayer in Te Reo Māori.

Hear the Lord's Prayer spoken in Mass here.

E te Atua,
kia whakapingia mātou
me enei kai,
kua homai e koe
kia ora ai mātou.
Mā to mātou Ariki,
ma Hehu Karaiti.
Āmene.