Latin Parts of the Mass Explained

From the Desk of Father Haan
Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus

In the beauty of the Faith, the Church prepares us to spiritually equip ourselves by penitential seasons.  During lent, we deprive ourselves of good things to unite ourselves to our crucified and suffering Lord and to gain self-mastery so as to be more capable of loving the Lord completely. Each day of Lent should be characteristically different from other times of the year: we should be penitential, sacrificial, and simple.

Our experience of the liturgy of the Mass should feel profoundly different, as well. The instructions in the Roman Missal indicate that flowers are not permitted in the sanctuary during Lent, and musical instruments are only used sparsely to support the singing of the people. We omit the festive hymn “Glory to God,” and we fast from singing Alleluia until the Easter Vigil. These absences will create a longing to sing them with more joy when we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection. During Lent we also plan to sing the various Mass parts in Latin, which include the Sanctus (“Holy, Holy, Holy”), the Mortem Tuam (“We proclaim your death O Lord…”) and the Agnus Dei (“Lamb of God”). This was chosen not because Latin is penitential (it shouldn’t be!) but because these particular Latin chants lend themselves best to the simplicity in the liturgy.

This is not a blatant attempt by your parish staff to turn back the clock! We profoundly adhere to the reforms promulgated at the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), and in fact, we believe we are doing precisely what the Council asked for! The document Sacrosanctum Concilium states that while “a suitable place may be allotted to their mother tongue” (in our case, English), “nevertheless steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them” (#54).
Just eight months prior to the opening of the Council, Pope St. John XXIII wrote the Apostolic constitution Veterum Sapientia to promote the study and use of the Latin language and to “restore this language to its position of honor.” One year after the close of the Council, Pope St. Paul VI urged religious institutes to “eagerly guard” the Latin language in their liturgical recitation of their prayers, for it is “an abundant well-spring of Christian civilization and a very rich treasure-trove of devotion” (Sacrificium Laudis). There are many reasons the Church retains Latin within the liturgy, but I’ll limit myself to two:

Latin is a geographical link: Latin is the official language of the Catholic Church throughout the world (since the 4^th century) and is the language that unites Catholics from every continent and nation. Many of us have had the beautiful experience of attending Mass overseas and experienced the unitive power of these ancient Latin texts and melodies. They make us feel at home in the Catholic Church, no matter where we travel. What a beautiful thought: that Catholics from Bolivia, Tanzania, Egypt, Cambodia, Australia, and Fishers, Indiana, could pray together in one tongue!

Latin is a chronological link. They are the same Latin words that were sung in the Christian catacombs in Rome in the early days of the Church and by priests throughout the centuries, including St. Augustine, St. Dominic, St. Louis de Montfort, St. John Bosco, St. John Paul II and so many others. In a linguistic and liturgical way, it unites us to our ancestors.
 

Chants

Agnus Dei
Sanctus
Kyrie
Mortem Tuam

Pronunciations

Agnus Dei
Sanctus
Kyrie
Mortem Tuam

Even so, while Latin is the “common language” of most of Catholicism, it is not the language in everyday use. But because of that, Latin helps remind us that the Mass is not an everyday event, but rather an eternal mystery defying time and space.

Listen to Gregorian Chant of the Mass Parts