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St.
Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiæ (IIIa, Q. 83, A. 4),
notes that the first half of the Mass, known as the Mass of the
Catechumens, is for the purpose of preparation of the faithful to
receive the Sacrament, as required in Scripture (Ecclesiastes 4:17,
Sirach 18:23, Matthew 5:24, 1 Corinthians 11:27). St. Thomas
further divides this preparation into two parts. The first is
prayerful preparation, consisting of everything that we have already
covered, from the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar to the collects.
Further, in order to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist, one must
be properly instructed in the faith. Thus, St. Paul in 1 Corinthians
11:29 referred to the necessity of “discerning the Body of the
Lord.” A bulk of this instruction is done in catechism, before the
reception of First Holy Communion, as this is the basic instruction
necessary to be a full member of the Church, which is the Mystical
Body of Christ. However, immediately before offering up the Holy
Sacrifice, we also receive the instruction necessary to partake of
the Mass proper to that particular day.
The
readings bring out the particular occasion for which the Mass is
being offered, whether it be a great feast such as Easter, a
penitential occasion such as Ash Wednesday, a great saint and martyr
such as on the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul on June 29, or even just
an ordinary weekday. The parts of the Mass specific to that
particular occasion, called the “propers,” include the
Introit and the collects that were already sung, but consist
primarily of the readings.
For
about the past thousand years, the readings have consisted of one
lesson, called the Epistle, from either an epistle of the New
Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, or occasionally the Old
Testament; followed by a lesson from one of the Gospels, with psalms
sung in between the two readings. In the early Church, many lessons
were read, including lessons from the Old Testament followed by
lessons from the writings of the Apostles. (The Bible as we know it
did not exist until the time of St. Jerome in the fourth century.) By
the time of St. Gregory the Great in the late sixth century, the
pattern of the lessons became fixed as what it is today, with one
Epistle and one Gospel reading. On Ember Days, the very ancient
practice of reading lessons from the Old Testament is retained. On
almost all other days, though, the readings begin with the Epistle.
The
deacon, who is just one step away from priesthood and therefore
assists very closely in offering up the Mass, will sing the Gospel,
which is the greater of the two lessons. The subdeacon, being a
sacred minister, also assists closely in the Mass, but not as closely
as the deacon. Thus, the subdeacon sings the Epistle. After the last
collect, the subdeacon takes the book, goes to the epistle side of
the altar (hence its name), and, standing at the bottom of the steps
facing the altar, sings the Epistle. The priest remains standing at
the altar, while everyone else sits to listen and be instructed. When
the Epistle has been sung, the choir responds quietly, saying (not
singing), “Deo gratias,” which means, “Thanks be to God.”
What other response could we make to hearing the Word of God than to
quietly thank him for the instruction he has given us through his
servant and apostle? The subdeacon then goes up to the altar to
receive the priest's blessing.
Following
the Epistle is ordinarily a Gradual and an Alleluia verse.
The Gradual is the oldest chant in the Mass, being as old as the
readings themselves, which, as said before, date from the early
Church. In ancient times, an entire psalm was often sung in this
place. Today, the Gradual is just a few verses of a psalm. This
practice of psalms alternating with scriptural readings dates back to
the worship of the Jewish Synagogue and the Jewish Temple, the latter
having the fifteen Gradual Psalms sung on the highest feasts. (These
psalms are noted in the Bible as, depending on the translation,
“gradual canticle,” “song of degrees,” or “song of
ascents.”) The Gradual and the following Alleluia verse are the
most difficult chants of the Mass to sing, as elaborate musical
praise to God is due to accompany the proclamation of his Word.
This
element of praise is especially brought out in the Alleluia verse
that follows, in which the word “alleluia” is sung by the cantors
and repeated by the choir, a verse or two from a psalm is chanted by
the cantors, and then the choir repeats “alleluia.” “Alleluia”
is a Hebrew word meaning, “all hail to him who is.” “All hail”
is the same as “glory in the highest,” as in the Gloria, and “him
who is” is a reference to Exodus 3:14, when God identified himself
to Moses as, “I am who I am.” Described by the 1911 Catholic
Encyclopedia as “the liturgical mystic expression," this word
is used to give praise to God first in Tobit 13:22, then in Psalm 104
and many other psalms, including the beginning and end of Psalm 150,
but the word is used in the New Testament only in the book of
Apocalypse. In the Alleluia verse in the Mass, we give praise to God
for his Word revealed through Jesus Christ in the Gospel.
A
couple times in the year, the Church desires to expand her praise of
God beyond the one word “alleluia,” so in place of the repeated
alleluia after the verse, a Sequence is sung. The Sequence is
a longer hymn, not from scripture, that elaborates on the verse. For
example, here is the Gradual, Alleluia verse, and Sequence for Easter
Sunday.
Hæc
dies, quam fecit Dóminus: exsultémus et lætémur in ea.
Confitémini Dómino, quóniam bonus: quóniam in saeculum
misericórdia eius.
Allelúia,
allelúia. Pascha nostrum immolátus est Christus.
Víctimæ
pascháli laudes ímmolent Christiáni. Agnus rédemit oves:
Christus ínnocens Patri reconciliávit peccatóres. Mors et vita
duéllo conflixére mirándo: dux vitæ mórtuus regnat vivus. Dic
nobis, María, quid vidísti in via? Sepúlcrum Christi vivéntis
et glóriam vidi resurgéntis. Angélicos testes, sudárium et
vestes. Surréxit Christus, spes mea: præcédet vos in Galilaeam.
Scimus Christum surrexísse a mórtuis vere: tu nobis, victor Rex,
miserére. Amen. Allelúia.
|
This
is the day which the Lord hath made: let us rejoice and be glad in
it. Give praise unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy
endureth forever.
Alleluia,
alleluia. Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
Christians,
to the Paschal Victim offer your thankful praises. The Lamb the
sheep redeemeth: Christ, who only is sinless, reconcileth sinners
to the Father. Death and life have contended in that conflict
stupendous: the Prince of Life, who died, deathless reigneth.
Speak, Mary, declaring what thou sawest wayfaring. “The tomb of
Christ who now liveth: and likewise the glory of the Risen. Bright
angels attesting, the shroud and napkin resting. Yea, Christ, my
hope is arisen: to Galilee he goeth before you.” We know that
Christ is risen, henceforth ever living: Have mercy, Victor King,
pardon giving. Amen. Alleluia.
|
In
the Middle Ages, many sequences were composed, so that by the
beginning of the sixteenth century many feasts had sequences.
However, at the Council of Trent, the number was reduced to just four
so that this type of expanded praise could be reserved the highest
and most theologically deep feasts.
When
the character of the Mass is sorrowful, such as in Lent and at Masses
for the Dead, the Alleluia verse is not sung, as such a joyful
element would be out of place. Instead, a Tract is sung, which
is a longer portion of a psalm sung without refrain or antiphon. Very
elaborate chant melodies are also composed for Tracts, though they
are also often sung to simple psalm tones. The extended length of the
Tract expresses the Church's desire to extend her watch with Christ
during those times. At Masses for the Dead, the famous sequence Dies
iræ is sung after the Tract. In this case, as with the sequence
Stabat mater dolorosa on the feast of the Seven Sorrows of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, the purpose of the Sequence is not to expand our
praise and joy, but our lament and sorrow.
During
these chants, a few ceremonies take place. After the subdeacon has
finished singing the Epistle, the ministers read the Gradual and
whatever follows to themselves. Then the subdeacon moves the missal,
the book from which the
priest reads the texts of the Mass, to the gospel side of the
altar. He ascends the steps of the altar on the epistle side, takes
the missal, descends the steps, ascends the steps on the gospel side,
and then places the missal there. “Steps” in Latin is “gradus,”
hence the name “Gradual.” This ceremony has two different levels
of meaning. First, the ascension and descension of the altar steps
represents our walk through life (Ecclesiastes 1:3-6), and the
Gradual Psalms of Jewish Temple worship were sung while ascending the
steps of the Temple. Second, whereas most of the Mass until now
paralleled Jewish Temple worship, the Gospel is where that parallel
ends. The movement of the missal from the epistle side to the gospel
side represents the transition from the Old Covenant to the New, and
the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what sets the
worship of the New Covenant apart from that of the Old.
After
the missal has been moved, the deacon, whose function it is to sing
the Gospel, comes and lays the Gospel book on the altar. The altar
represents Christ, so laying the Word of God on top of it represents
the union between the two: Christ as the Word made flesh (John
1:1-14). The priest puts incense in the thurible and blesses it. The
deacon then kneels on the top step of the altar, bows low, and prays
for purity and worthiness to proclaim the Gospel, alluding to a
seraph's purification of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5-7), before
asking the priest's blessing.
Munda
cor meum, ac labia mea, omnípotens Deus, qui labia Isaíæ
Prophétæ cálculo mundásti igníto: ita me tua grata
miseratióne dignáre mundáre, ut sanctum Evangélium tuum digne
váleam nuntiáre. Per Christum, Dóminum nostrum. Amen.
Iube,
domne, benedícere.
Dóminus
sit in corde tuo et in lábiis tuis: ut digne et competénter
annúnties Evangélium suum: In nómine Patris, et Fílii, + et
Spíritus Sancti. Amen.
|
Cleanse
my heart and my lips, O almighty God, who didst cleanse the lips
of the prophet Isaias with a burning coal, and vouchsafe, through
thy gracious mercy, so to purify me, that I may worthily announce
thy holy Gospel. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sir,
give me thy blessing.
The
Lord be in thy heart and on thy lips, that thou mayest worthily
and in a becoming manner, proclaim his holy Gospel. In the name of
the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
|
The
procession is then formed to the place where the Gospel is to be
proclaimed. The Gospel is sung facing north, symbolically toward the
pagan barbarians (Jeremiah 1:14). Although the Gospel is proclaimed
for everyone, it is especially directed toward those who have not yet
heard the Word of God, in hopes of their conversion. Servers hold
candles on either side of the Gospel book (which is held by the
subdeacon), representing the light of Christ revealed in the Gospel
(2 Corinthians 4:4). To begin, the deacon greets the people with
“Dominus vobiscum,” the only time in liturgy when anyone other
than a priest says this greeting.
Dóminus
vobíscum.
Et
cum spíritu tuo.
Sequéntia
sancti Evangélii secúndum __.
Gloria
tibi, Domine.
|
The
Lord be with you.
And
with your spirit.
The
continuation of the Holy Gospel according to __.
Glory
to you, O Lord.
|
“Glory
to you, O Lord,” we say in anticipation of hearing the Gospel of
Christ. This response is omitted only during Holy Week when the
Gospel is that of the Passion of Christ. While singing this, the
deacon makes small Signs of the Cross with his thumb first on the
Gospel book, then on his forehead, lips, and breast, nonverbally
praying that the Gospel may be on his mind, lips, and heart. The
deacon then honors the Gospel book with incense and sings the Gospel.
The choir responds saying quietly, not singing, “Laus tibi,
Christe.” “Praise to you, Christ,” the one whose good news we
have just heard. This is perhaps a higher form of the response, “Deo
gratias,” that follows the Epistle.
After
the Gospel has been sung, the Gospel book is brought back to the
priest, who kisses it, whispering a poetic prayer.
Per
Evangélica dicta, deleántur nostra delícta.
|
By
the words of the Gospel, may our sins be blotted out.
|
This
prayer originates from the Middle Ages. The deacon then incenses the
priest, on whose behalf he has sung the Gospel. Often at this time,
particularly on Sundays and major Holy Days, the Epistle and Gospel
are then read again (not sung) in the vernacular and a sermon is
preached. Necessary announcements may also be made at this time. This
is not a part of the liturgy, and no mention is made of it in the
missal.
Some
have contended that the Epistle and Gospel ought to be sung in the
vernacular rather than in Latin. However, the rubrics of the missal
require that they be sung in Latin, and rightfully so. Latin is still
the universal language of Christ's universal Church, and the Mass is
the Church's highest form of worship to God, so it uses her sacred
language. Christ is the Word of God made flesh, and the Church is the
Mystical Body of Christ, so the chanting of Sacred Scripture in the
Mass must use the sacred language of the Church. In addition, Latin
is more all-encompassing when the congregation comes from multiple
linguistic backgrounds. Therefore, in the liturgy, Latin must be used
in singing the Epistle and Gospel. It is both allowed and encouraged,
however, to read the Epistle and Gospel in the vernacular before the
sermon, to aid in the congregation's understanding of it.
New
terms
-
Mass of the Catechumens – The first half of the Mass, which prepares us for the sacrifice itself.
-
Propers – The parts of the Mass that are specific to the occasion.
-
Epistle – The first reading, sung by the subdeacon, from an epistle of the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, or the Old Testament.
-
Gospel – The second reading, sung by the deacon, always from the Gospels of the New Testament.
-
Gradual – The psalm verses sung, often to an elaborate melody, after the Epistle.
-
Alleluia verse – A verse from a psalm, preceded and followed by the word “alleluia,” sung after the Gradual on days of a joyful nature.
-
Sequence – A hymn that is sung after the Alleluia verse or Tract on a few special occasions.
-
Tract – A longer section of a psalm that replaces the Alleluia verse on days of a sorrowful nature.
-
Missal – The book from which the priest reads the texts of the Mass.
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