The Twelth Sunday after Pentecost: A Case Study in the Unity of the Propers

In Episode 07, we talked about the unity of the texts of the Mass.  A reflection I wrote on the 12th Sunday after Pentecost, provides a splendid example of a Mass with a unified theme. By the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Church raises before our eyes Christ, the new Moses, who establishes the true and perfect worship that has power to save us from sin and Satan.

Jesus: New Moses in the Parable of the Good Samaritan

"He went over to him," we read of the Good Samaritan, "and poured oil and wine of the wounds of injured man."

What is this oil and wine? Is it not our anointing with the Holy Spirit and our being fed with the body and blood of the Lord? And what is that but our spiritual worship. We, adopted as children of God, and given the seal of salvation, offer with, in, and through Christ the one sacrifice pleasing to God: His own son, under the form of bread and wine.

The old law of Moses was not able to save a man. We, injured by the side of the road, could not be saved by the priest of the old law, for whom ritual purity forbade his ministration. The priests of Levites of the Mosaic law of worship could not heal us. Only the true worship instituted by Christ has power to restore what the thieves have taken.

In order to show us that this is what the Church puts in front of us by the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are given a Epistle, from Second Corinthians. Paul, claiming to be a minister of the New Covenant, the spiritual Covenant that brings life, contrasts Moses' Covenant, a death-bring Covenant, with that of Christ's, and he proves the superiority of the new.

"If the ministry of promulgating a Law written on stone was surrounded by such splendor that the Israelites could not look Moses in the face, will not the ministry by which we propagate the Spirit be far more glorious still?"

But, lest we miss what the Church would have us focus on, the Church makes it clear directly in the Offertory:

"Moses prayed in the sight of the Lord his God and said: Why, Lord, art thou angry with Thy people? Put thy wrath from thy heart: remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to whom Thou didst swear to give a land flowing with milk and honey. And the Lord was appeased and refrained from the mischief He said he would do to His people."

The Liturgy Applies to Us

We, O Christian, are the one injured and robed by the side of the road. It is not the first Moses, but the second who is our priest. He prays for us, offering the bread and wine of His own body and blood, and the Lord hears Him and is appeased . Pouring wine and oil into our wounds, He heals us. This ministration far surpasses the old ministration that we cry out, in the words of the gradual:

"I will bless the Lord at all times, His praises ever on my lips. My heart shall find its glory in the Lord, let the lowly hear and be glad. Lord, God of my salvation, day and night have I cried before Thee. Alleluia!"

It is the injured man, cured by the water and wine, who has cried day and night, who has been heard, who has been saved; it is on his lips that the praises of God ever abide. Though once so lowly he lay abandoned at the side of the Lord, the law of old unable to save him, not he is saved. And thus he offers to God, in the words of the secret, "the offerings placed on the altar", the offerings of the New Covenant in His blood, begging "that through [God's] generous forgiveness, they may honor [His] name."

That this offering is the very wine Christ had poured into his wounds in the parable of the Good Samaritan is brought out by the Communion verse:

"With the fruit of Thy works, Lord, shall the earth by filled, to bring forth food from the soil and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to give him a joyful countenance, and bread to strengthen his heart." 

It has not been without effect that the Church prayed in the Collect at the beginning of the Mass:

"Almighty and merciful God"--almighty because He saved us, merciful because he looks upon us in our misery, beaten and bruised by the side of the road--"by whose gift Thy faithful are able to serve and praise Thee,"--the gift is the pouring of wine and oil, and by this gift we can serve Him, which in liturgical terms means to offer Him liturgical service, for He is the New Moses, who has established a new and efficacious worship--"grant, we beg thee, that we may run without failing towards Thy promises"--run, as athletes, who have, in the ancient tradition, been anointed with oil.

We can see how this prayer has been fulfilled mysteriously in the celebration of Mass, and thus we pray in the post-communion prayer: "may the participation in this holy mystery [the one now offered] give us expiation and protection", expiation because we were the ones wounded by sin, and protection because, having been rescued, we long to never again be left to die by sin and Satan.
God has indeed, in the words of the Introit, "come to [our] aid", for though our enemies sought our life, God has made them tremble and perish.

Suaviter Disponensque Omnia--Sweetly Providence Places All in Order

In the marvelous workings of providence and the beauty of the Liturgical Calendar, the feast of the Transfiguration is placed near this Sunday. In that feast, we see the greater glory of Christ, the new lawgiver, than that of Moses.

And in another happy event, the Matins readings for today, the readings for the first Sunday of August, is the beginning of Proverbs, where we read: "Hear, my son, the discipline of thy father and dismiss not the law of thy mother." How can we, reading this on this Sunday, see anything else in this than Christ, the new lawgiver, speaking to us, urging us to follow the way of life He has set before us by His teaching and example (discipline) and submit our heart to the traditions maintained in the Church, our mother?

As we continue to contemplate the Transfiguration this week, let us recall the manner in which Christ gave us the new law of Eucharistic worship and healed us and anointed us that we may run unfailingly, and let us turn to this law, preserved in Mother Church, and submit our life and heart to the discipline of her liturgical worship.

The Unity and Theme of the Mass Propers - LMP007

Podcast (30m26s): Play in new window | Download

NOTE: In another post, we have given the 12th Sunday After Pentecost as a case study in the unity of the Propers.

The Unity of the Propers

Masses sometimes are called by the first word of the introit. So, for instance, the third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete and the fourth of Lent Laetare, and the Sunday after Easter is often called Quasimodo Sunday. Each one of these are named after the first words of their introit.

Usually a proper Mass has its own Introit, Epistle, Gradual, Alleluia (or Tract), Gospel, Offertory, and Communion. Oftentimes there is a theme that runs through and connects all of these together. In some seasons, such as Advent, the theme can be very strong and obvious. At other times, it can require some reflection to discover.

In this podcast, we examine two examples of Masses, the Mass for the Second Sunday of Advent, with it's clear theme of Christ, the savior of the Gentiles, coming as the anointed of the Lord to bring peace; and the Mass for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, which, at first glance, doesn't seem to have much binding the Mass texts together.

Just for the sake of reference, we've included the propers we refer to in the podcast below:

The Second Sunday of Advent

Introit
Populus Sion, ecce Dóminus véniet ad salvándas gentes: et audítam fáciet Dóminus Glóriam vocis suæ in lætítia cordis vestri. (Ps. 79: 2) Qui regis Israël inténde: qui dedúcis velut ovem, Joseph. v. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Repeat Populus Sion...
People of Sion, behold the Lord shall come to save the nations: and the Lord shall make the glory of His voice to be heard, in the joy of your heart. (Ps. 79: 2) Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. v. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Repeat People of Sion...

Collect
 Let us pray. O Lord, our God, multiply Thy graces upon us, and grant that joy may follow in the holy praise of those whose glorious festival we anticipate Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God. Forever and ever. R.Amen.

Epistle
Léctio Epistolæ beáti Pauli Apóstoli ad Romanos. Fratres, quæcúmque scripta sunt, ad nostram doctrínam scripta sunt: ut per patiéntiam et consolatiónem Scripturárum, spem habeámus. Deus autem patiéntiæ et solátii det vobis idípsum sápere in altérutrum secúndum Jesum Christum: ut unánimes uno ore honorificétis Deum, et patrem Dómini nostri Jesu Christi. Propter quod suscípite invicem, sicut et Christus suscépit vos in honórem Dei. Dico enim Christum Jesum ministrum fuisse circumcisiónis propter veritátem Dei, ad con-firmándas promissiónes patrum. Gentes autem super misericórdia honoráre Deum, sicut Scriptum est: Proptérea confitébor tibi in géntibus Dómine, et nomini tuo cantábo. Et iterum dicit: Lætámini Gentes cum plebe ejus. Et iterum: Laudáte omnes Gentes Dóminum: et magnificáte eum omnes pópuli. Et rursus Isaías ait: Erit radix Jesse et qui exsúrget regere Gentes, in eum Gentes sperábunt. Deus autem spei répleat vos omni gáudio, et pace in credéndo: ut abundétis in spe, et virtute Spíritus Sancti.
Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans. Brethren, What things soever were written, were written for our learning: that, through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope. Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind one towards another, according to Jesus Christ: that with one mind and with one mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive one another, as Christ also hath received you unto the honor of God. For I say that Christ Jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: but that the Gentiles are to glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: Therefore will I confess to Thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and will sing to Thy name. And again He saith: Rejoice ye Gentiles, with His people. and again, praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and magnify Him, all ye people. And again, Isaias saith: There shall be a root of Jesse and He that shall rise up to rule the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing: that you may abound in hope, and in the power of the Holy Ghost.

Gradual
Ex Sion spécies decóris ejus; Deus maniféste véniet. V. Congregáte illi sanctos ejus, qui ordinavérunt testaméntum ejus super sacrifícia
Out of Sion the loveliness of His beauty: God shall come manifestly. V. Gather ye together His saints to Him, who have set His covenant before sacrifices.

Gospel
In illo tempore: Cum audisset Jóannes in vinculis ópera Christi, mittens duos de discípulis suis, ait illi: Tu es, qui ventúrus es, an álium exspectámus? Et respóndens Jesus ait illis: "Eúntes renuntiáte Joánni quæ audístis, et vidístis. Cæci vident, claudi ámbulant, leprósi mundántur, surdi áudiunt, mórtui resúrgunt, páuperes evangélizátur: et beátus est, qui non fúerit scandalizátus in Me. Illis autem abeúntibus, coepit Jesus dícere ad turbas de Joánne: "Quid exístis in desértum vidére? Arúndinem vento agitátem? Sed qui exístis vidére? Hóminem móllibus vestítum? Ecce qui móllibus vestiúntur, in dómibus regum sunt. Sed quis exístis vidére? Prophétam? Etiam dico vobis, et plus quam prophetam. Hic est enim de quo scriptum est: Ecce ego mitto angelum meum ante fáciem tuam, qui præparábit viam ante te."
At that time, when John had heard in prison the works of Christ, sending two of his disciples, he said to Him: Art thou He that art to come, or look we for another? And Jesus, making answer, said to them: "Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them: and blessed is he who shall not be scandalized in Me." And when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: "What went you out into the desert to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went you out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are clothed in soft garments are in the houses of kings. But what went you out to see? A prophet? Yea I tell you and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: Behold I send my Angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee."
 
Communion
Jerúsalem, surge, et sta in excélso: et vide jucunditáatem, quæ véniet tibi a Deo tuo
Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high, and behold the joy that cometh to thee from God. 

 

Fifth Sunday After Pentecost

INTROIT Exaudi, Domine, vocem meam, qua clamavi ad te: adjutor meus esto, ne derelinquas me, neque despicias me, Deus salutaris meus. -- Dominus illiminatio mea, et salus mea, quem timebo? V.: Gloria Patri . . . -- Exaudi, Domine . . .
Psalms 26: 7-9
Hear, O Lord, my voice with which I have cried to Thee: be Thou my helper, forsake me not, nor do Thou despise me, O God, my Savior. -- (Ps. 26. 1). The Lord is my light, and my salvation, whom shall I fear? V.: Glory to the Father -- Hear, O Lord, my voice . . .

EPISTLE
1 Peter 3: 8-15
Dearly beloved, Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, being lovers of the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble; not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for railing, but contrariwise, blessing: for unto this you are called, that you may inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him decline from evil and do good; let him seek after peace, and pursue it: because the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and His ears unto their prayers, but the countenance of the Lord against them that do evil things. And who is he that can hurt you, if you be zealous of good? But if also you suffer anything for justice' sake, blessed are ye. And be not afraid of their fear, and be not troubled: but sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts.

GRADUAL
Protector noster aspice Deus: et respice super servos tuos. V.: Domine Deus virtutem, exaudi preces servorum tuorum.
Alleluia, alleluia. V.: Domine, in virtute tua laetabitur rex: et super salutare tuum exsultabit vehementer. Alleluia.
Psalms 86: 10, 9
Behold, O God our protector, and look upon Thy servants. V.: O Lord God of hosts, give ear to the prayers of Thy Servants.
Alleluia, alleluia. V.(Ps. 20. 1). In Thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy; and in Thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
Matthew 5: 20-24
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: Except your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother: Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say: Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother; and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift.

OFFERTORY
Benedicam Dominum, qui tribuit mihi intellectum: providebam Deum in conspectu meo semper: quoniam a dextris est mihi, ne commovear.
Psalms 15: 7, 8
I will bless the Lord, who hath given me understanding: I set God always in my sight; for He is at my right hand, that I be not moved.

COMMUNION
Unam petii a Domino, hanc requiram: ut inhabitem in domo Domini omnibus diebus vitae meae.
Psalm 26: 4
One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

POST COMMUNION -
Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that we whom Thou hast fed with the heavenly Gift, may be cleansed from our hidden sins and delivered from the snares of our enemies. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth . . .

Previous Episodes:
Episode 01: A Sacrifice More Pleasing than Sin Displeases
Episode 02: Sacramentality & the Cosmic Liturgy -- the Body in Divine Worship
Episode 03: Sacred Music Part I
Episode 04: Sacred Music Part II-- Antiphonality and the Chants of the Mass
Episode 05: The Structure of the Traditional Latin Mass
Episode 06: Different Types of Masses  

Different Types of Masses - LMP006

Podcast (22m03s): Play in new window | Download

Sung and Spoken Masses

     There are two basic forms of the Latin Mass: the Sung Mass and the Spoken Mass. The Sung Mass is also known as the High Mass, because the priest sings in a "high" (loud) voice, and the Spoken Mass is also known as the Low Mass, because the priest speaks in a low (soft) voice. This distinction is the most fundamental, but it is not the only distinction we can make regarding different "types" of Masses. Private vs. Public Masses, the Conventual Mass, the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified, and others reveal the ways in which the Mass can take on different "characters" depending on certain circumstances or needs.

   The Sung Mass is most ideal, as singing is the most ancient and most fitting way of offering the Divine Sacrifice. Singing the Mass "decorates" it in such a way as to make it reflect the Heavenly liturgy, giving it more depth and beauty. And it is indeed the case that the Sung Mass predates the Spoken Mass, such that we can actually see the liturgy beginning as a complex event happening once a week and, over time, becoming celebrated more frequently with less ceremony and singing. As Masses multiplied per week (beginning perhaps in the third century), it became impractical to have a choir always present, and the priest resorted to speaking the parts of the Mass, including those the choir would have sung.

The Multiplication of Masses

    The multiplication of Masses per week occurred principally in the West, and it was driven by the practice of offering Mass for the dead. The more Masses offered, the more grace was made available to the souls for which they were offered. Thus, though with Pope St. Gregory the Great in the late 6th century we find the practice of offering Mass once every Sunday predominating in Rome, by the beginning of the 9th century, we have the example of Pope Leo III offering perhaps 8 or 9 Masses per day. This practice also encouraged the multiplication of altars in single church, which further discouraged frequent Sung Masses, as priests might often say Mass simultaneously at different altars, for which the Low Mass was especially suited.

East and West

    Churches in the East continue to have only one altar, though eastern practice allows for concelebration (the offering of the Victim by more than one priest together). Churches in the West originally also had only one altar, located at the crux of a cross-shaped church. Over time, altars were added along the walls of the church, though there remained a main altar - the high altar. However, not until after the Second Vatican Council was concelebration generally allowed in the West.

    Though the Church limited the number of Masses a priest could say in one day by the 14th century, this practice had a great impact on western spirituality.  We can see an example of this in the Irish influence on American Catholicism, which is heavily marked by the tradition of the Low Mass that it received from Irish immigrants. However, in the current revival of the use of the Latin Mass, we more often see it celebrated as a Sung Mass, and this is the ideal.

The Structure of the Traditional Latin Mass - LMP005

Podcast (15m57s): Play in new window | Download

The Two "Dismissals"

In looking at the broader structure of the Latin Mass, we can see that there are two basic parts that, historically, correspond to a rather practical reality. As we noted in episode 1, the word "Mass" comes from "missa," which essentially means "the dismissal," Originally, one would go "ad missam," or "to the dismissal," that is, "up to" one of two moments in the Mass as a whole at which a part of the people were dimissed: the dismissal of the catechumens (Missa catechumenorum) or the dismissal of the faithful (Missa fidelium). In the early days of the Church, catechumens (those seeking baptism) were not allowed to witness the offering of the Holy Sacrifice, and were sent out of the church right around the time of the Gospel (and probably before). The reason for this was that the Church took very seriously Christ's admonition to "give not what is holy to the dogs," reserving the holiest mystery (sacrament) for those who were already baptized. Only the initiate, or the faithful, stayed to the second dismissal, the end of the Mass as a whole. 

"Disciplina Arcani"

Indeed, in the first five centuries or so of the Church's existence, it was customary to guard the most holy mysteries of the Faith from the uninitiate. Besides dismissing all but the baptized at Mass, the Church also did not typically write down the texts of the liturgy, or teach the highest truths and prayers of the Faith (the Creed, the Our Father, the Holy Trinity, etc.) to catechumens until they had almost reached baptism. Many of these things were passed on orally long before being put to writing. This "silence" with which the early days of the Church is marked has been termed the "disciplina arcani" ("the discipline of the secrets") by historians. It was especially strengthened in times of persecution, when the Church was already forced to be guarded and constantly on the watch. Yet even as the persecutions ended and Constantine converted and issued the Edict of Milan in the early fourth century, this "discipline" continued and was even further enforced as the Church wanted to guard that which was most sacred from a society that was still substantially pagan. It would only die out in the midst of a Christianized society around the 6th century.

The Parts of the Mass

Thus we have the following basic structure of the Mass, laid out in its most familiar texts:

Mass of the Catechumens

Introit

Kyrie

Gloria

Collect (Opening Prayer)

Reading 

Gradual

Alleluia/Tract

(First Dismissal)

Mass of the Faithful

Gospel

Creed

Offertory (chant and prayers)

Preface dialogue/prayer

Sanctus

Canon (Anaphora or Eucharistic Prayer)

Agnus Dei

Communion (chant)

Postcommunion Prayer

(Second Dismissal)

Of course, there is no longer a "first dismissal," and though we still have "The Mass of the Catechumens" and "The Mass of the Faithful," the latter is usually marked as beginning at the Offertory, rather than the Gospel. 

Another thing to note is that, in the Latin Mass, these texts are sometimes being said simultaneously with others. For example, while the choir sings the Introit, the priest and altar servers are saying the prayers at the foot of the altar. This once again calls to mind the way in which the Mass is a participation in the Body of Christ, with all the parts working in harmony. To someone used to the sequential/one-prayer-at-a-time structure of the Novus Ordo, the Latin Mass can be confusing at first. It is better perhaps for first-timers not to become overly concerned with following all of the texts, but rather to watch and experience the "motion" of the Mass. 

Sacred Music Part II-- Antiphonality and the Chants of the Mass LMP004

Podcast (20m52s): Play in new window | Download

Proper and Ordinary Sung Texts

 There are, in fact, 10 texts in a Sunday Mass that are sung by the people and the choir. Five of these texts change from week to week, and these are called the sung propers or the proper chants, five remain the same, and these are called the ordinary chants.

The proper chants are:

1. The Introit
2. The Gradual
3. The Alleluia (or tract in Lent)
4. The Offertory
5. The Communion

The ordinary chants are:

1. The Kyrie (Lord, have mercy)
2. The Gloria (Glory to God in the highest)
3. The Credo (I believe in One God)
4. The Sanctus-Benedictus (Holy, holy, holy)
5. The Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)

These are texts of the Mass usually all or in part drawn from the Psalms, the Church's "prayer book." The proper chants are generally comprised of an antiphon and/or verse, and can take on different musical characters. For example, the Gradual tends to be "melismatic" (having many notes for certain syllables in the text; more "ornamented"), whereas the Introit tends to be somewhere in between melismatic and "neumatic" (having approximately one note per syllable). This also holds for the ordinary chants. The larger texts, the Gloria and the Credo, are generally fairly neumatic, while the Kyrie can be quite melismatic. 

A melismatic chant can give the text an added emotional power. We see this particularly in the Jubilus, which is the "cry of joy" expressed in lingering on the last syllable of "alleluia" in the Alleluia proper chant.

The Structure of Chant and Role of the Choir

Chant is not a dry recitation of a text, but a music that both serves and embellishes the text so as to bring out its spiritual power. In fact, the very antiphonal structure of chant points to the heavenly liturgy envisioned in Isaiah chapter 6, which depicts the angelic hosts crying out "holy, holy, holy" to each other. This back-and-forth singing is seen at numerous points in the sung Mass, between the priest and people, between the choir and people, or between two choirs. For example, the Gloria and Credo are written to be sung antiphonally, alternating line to line between choirs or between choir and people. Two choirs might also sing the Introit, with one singing the antiphon, each alternating on the verse, and all singing the repeated antiphon.

The choir, then, as the angels in the heavenly liturgy, have an integral role to play in the sung liturgy. Pope St. Pius X called it the "Levitical choir" in order to point to its priestly character. Indeed, the choir used to be composed of clerics (priests, deacons, subdeacons, etc.) when they were more numerous. Traditionally, two choirs of clerics faced each other in pews located between the altar and the nave (where the people stood). Thus the image of the Body of Christ was revealed in the placement of the different roles at Mass: Christ the Head at the altar, with the "neck" composed of the facing choirs and the "body" comprised of the people.

That Christ's Body is present in the offering of the Mass is further revealed in the way in which the prayers or chants of different roles overlap at times, showing that the Church is a living organism in which each part of the Body has something to contribute to what is ultimately a single action done by a single actor: Christ the Priest offering Himself as an acceptable sacrifice to the Father. The Mass becomes a harmonious whole, then, in the very structure of its chant and the roles of the different parts.

Sacred Music Part I - LMP003

Podcast (21m07s): Play in new window | Download

Sacred Music

Part I: Chant and Instruments

 

Singing the Mass vs. Singing at Mass

Sacred music by its very nature is music that is set apart for the sacred liturgy. It is different from secular (worldly) music. We speak of sacred and profane music. The word profane does not mean wicked, sinful, or evil; rather, it means, literally "outside the temple" (from the Latin fanum, temple).

Music that is admitted into the Mass is considered sacred music, in one way or another.

When most Latin Catholics go to Mass, they hear lots of hymns: an opening hymn, an offertory hymn, a communion hymn, a recessional hymn. Hymns are poetic texts sung to simple melodies by the whole congregation. Although 20th century magisterial texts encouraged hymns (for instance, Pius XII in Musicae Sacrae) for their ability to inspire devotion among the faithful, hymns are not actually part of the Mass.

But there is music that is part of the Mass. In fact, the Mass itself is a song. The most basic sung portion of the Mass are the calls and responses between the priest and the people: "Dominus vobiscum", the Lord be with you; "Et cum spiritu tuo", and with your spirit, and so forth.

But other music belongs to the Mass as well. Chants such as the Gloria or the Gradual are examples of music sung by the choir and sometimes the people that are part of the Mass.

In its 1958 Instruction on Sacred Music, the Congregation for Rites made a list of Sacred music, that is music admissible to the Mass:

1. Gregorian Chant
2. Sacred Polyphony
3. "Modern" Sacred Music (such as Mozart)
4. Sacred instrumental music (mostly organ solos)
5. Hymns

It also speaks of Religious Music, which is music that by its nature isn't appropriate for Mass, but is useful in other circumstances to raise the mind and heart to God.

Among these categories, the first three include music for the texts of the Mass, and among those three, Gregory Chant holds a special place. Sacrosanctum Concilium (116), the constitution of Vatican II on the Sacred Liturgy, summarizes this nicely:

The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as proper to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it is to be given the first place in liturgical services.

The word proper means its own. Gregorian Chant is not separate from the Roman Mass: the two grew up together. It is the Mass's own music. It's not a mere decoration of the Mass: it's part of the Mass. And so, all things being equal, it must be given the first place.

But in the Middle Ages, the chant was decorated and sometimes replaced by music with multiple voices and music accompanied by instruments.

In the High Middle Ages, vocal music reached such perfection in polyphony, that the Church made polyphony her own for the Roman Mass, particularly in the music of Palestrina.

Later on, the music was enriched with orchestral music and other types of music. The Church permitted some of this, but never fully embraced it. Popes attempted to eliminate the operatic and the worldly or profane from this music. Still, it was never entirely forbidden.

Instruments at Mass

The apostolic Christians did not use instruments. Some of the Church Fathers spoke especially negatively about them. Even at the time of Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor considers them to be banned in the Sacred Liturgy. This ban continues to this day in some Eastern Churches, but in the West, they were gradually allowed, but only insofar as the could sustain, imitate, augment, and decorate the human voice.

The organ became the first and only instrument fully embraced by the Church when it had suitably developed so that it had a similar subtlety to the human voice.

There are some historical reasons for this, but the principle reasons why the voice is the liturgical instrument par excellence are theological, namely that the Word become flesh and sent the Holy Spirit who makes nimble the tongue.

Christian worship is logos-centric. It is centered on the word, in honor of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit who spoke through the prophets also loosens the tongues of Christians to proclaim the glories of God, giving to the human voice the power to express even what is beyond words. Thus worship with words is the most spiritual worship. It is our logike latria our word-centered/rational/logical/spiritual worship.

In admitting instruments to the Mass, the Church has never forgotten the word-centeredness of her worship. In fact, Pius XI writes in Divini Cultus:

Voices should be preferred to instruments for no instrument, however perfect, however excellent, can surpass the human voice in expressing human thought, especially when it is used by the mind to offer up prayer and praise to Almighty God.

and Benedict IX in Annus Qui in 1749 permitted certain stringed and wind instruments "only for adding some support to the singing, so that the meaning of the prayers is more clearly brought to the minds of the listeners and the souls of the faithful are moved to a contemplation of spiritual things, and are aroused to a love of God and of things divine."

We can never leave behind Gregorian Chant! Its very rhythms and spirit define Sacred Music for the Roman Mass. We can never leave behind the human voice. And when we introduce new music into the Liturgy, it must be truly sacred.

Sacramentality & the Cosmic Liturgy -- the Body in Divine Worship - LMP002

Podcast (17m21s): Play in new window | Download

The Drama of the Mass: Written into Church Buildings

Episode one concluded with a brief mention of the role of drama in the Mass. The Mass is that sacramental (or mysterious) sacrifice Jesus that breaks down the divisions between God and man by pleasing the Father so much, through the obedience of His Son on the altar, that it more than makes up for the debt of sin.

Since this is not a bloody, but a sacramental, sacrifice, the death of the Lord is made present not through the blood and glore of the cross, but through the double consecration of the bread and the wine, and through all of the details of the Mass which act as a dramatic representation of that sacrifice.

The symbols and drama of the Mass speak not only of the sacrifice of Christ, but also of the unity that God wants to establish between heaven and earth, between God and all of creation, “in the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, to restore things in heaven and on earth” ( Eph. 1:10).

This Drama is Built Right Into the Church Building

The archetypal church building is positioned as if at the center of all of creation. It faces the East, the rising sun, which points to Christ, and it is often shaped like a cross, for through the cross is the "reconciliation of all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through His blood" (Col. 1:20). On the far eastern wall, which represents Heaven, is placed a cross, for we have access to the Father only through Jesus. Often the reredos or altar piece is built in the fashion of a gate. On it is placed the likenesses of angels and saints. The ceiling is sometimes filled with stars. The walls and pillars often have the likenesses of vegetation, as if this were a garden. It is like the church building is a mini-cosmos, a microcosm.

We, at the crux between heaven and earth, occupy a unique position in the plan of God. We are spiritual beings, persons with free will and understanding. We are bodily beings. Unlike rocks and stars, we must fulfill our nature voluntarily and so give glory to God. Unlike angels, our nature is biological and material. "You made man a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor" (Ps. 8:5).

Taking up our place in the cosmos, we worship God both "in spirit and in truth" (Jn 4.:24) and also with our bodies. Our bodies enter into the divine worship. They serve to "make visible the invisible, the spiritual and the divine" (St. John Paul II) and to help effect mystically the worship of God, the propitiatory sacrifice, and plan of God for union of all things in Christ.

This Is Called “Sacramentality”

When we hear the word "sacrament", we're used to thinking about the seven sacraments. But there is a broader sense of the word too, and we get the word "sacramental" from this. Something is sacramental when it represents and helps to bring about a reality beyond itself. This is also part of what we've been calling the drama of the Mass. By things like water, incense, statues, icons, and so forth, in the Church and the Liturgy we made present the plan of God: our salvation.

The Body Has a Special Role in Sacramentality

We praise God as male and female (cf. 1 Cor. 11), and we praise God by what we do with our bodies. By baptism, we die with Christ, are raised to newness of life, and adopted as His children. In the Mass, it is in the reception of the Most Holy Sacrament that the sacrifice is brought to completion, and so the Blessed Sacrament is received, according to the formula of the East "for the the remission of sins and for life everlasting."

These are big ways that our body participates in the worship of God. There are also smaller, but not unimportant details.

• We kneel to show adoration and beg for mercy.
• We genuflect and bow as a sign of honor or adoration, and of reverence to God and His Saints.
• We stand as a sign of our dignity as children of God and our willingness to march forward as part of the army of God.
• The priest raises his hands in the orans position as a sing of praying, when he is praying on our behalf.
• We fold our hands as a sign of submission to God when we pray.
• We make the sign of the cross as sign of faith, as a prayer for God's blessing, and as a minor exorcism against the devil.
• The priests blesses with the sign of the Cross to set something apart from divine service.
• The priest also makes the sign of the cross to indicate that something is holy.

There are many more gestures, postures, symbols, etc, that we do as part of the Western, Latin tradition of Catholicism. Doing these gestures is a form of prayer. They help to form us. But prayer is also interior. Doing what is exterior helps to form the interior habits, but praying interiorly gives meaning and power to these external actions. In this way, there is an reciprocal relationship between how we pray exteriorly and how pray interiorly. The two together participate in our worship of God and help to sanctify us.

Guests

Michael and Joseph are joined by Aaron for today's podcast. Aaron is a founding board member and official photographer of Juventutem Michigan the first Juventutem group in the United States.  He is a  cantor and organizer of multiple Gregorian chant workshops.