Sunday Mass

Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term ''Mass'' is commonly used in the Catholic Church, in the Western Rite Orthodox, in Old Catholic, and in Independent Catholic churches. The term is used in some Lutheran churches, as well as in some Anglican churches. The term is also used, on rare occasion, by other Protestant churches.

Other Christian denominations may employ terms such as '' Divine Service'' or ''worship service'' (and often just "service"), rather than the word ''Mass''. For the celebration of the Eucharist in Eastern Christianity, including Eastern Catholic Churches, other terms such as ''Divine Liturgy'', ''Holy Qurbana'', ''Holy Qurobo'' and ''Badarak'' (or ''Patarag'') are typically used instead.

Etymology

The English noun ''mass'' is derived from the Middle Latin . The Latin word was adopted in Old English as (via a Vulgar Latin form ), and was sometimes glossed as ''sendnes'' (i.e. 'a sending, dismission').

The Latin term itself was in use by the 6th century. It is most likely derived from the concluding formula ("Go; the dismissal is made"); here is a Late Latin substantive corresponding to classical .

Historically, however, there have been other etymological explanations of the noun that claim not to derive from the formula . Fortescue (1910) cites older, "fanciful" etymological explanations, notably a latinization of Hebrew () "unleavened bread; oblation", a derivation favoured in the 16th century by Reuchlin and Luther, or Greek "initiation", or even Germanic "assembly". The French historian Du Cange in 1678 reported "various opinions on the origin" of the noun "Mass", including the derivation from Hebrew (), here attributed to Caesar Baronius. The Hebrew derivation is learned speculation from 16th-century philology; medieval authorities did derive the noun from the verb , but not in connection with the formula .''De vocabuli origine variæ sunt Scriptorum sententiæ. Hanc enim quidam, ut idem Baronius, ab Hebræo Missah, id est, oblatio, arcessunt : alii a mittendo, quod nos mittat ad Deum'' Du Cange, et al., ''Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis'', éd. augm., Niort : L. Favre, 1883‑1887, t. 5, col. 412b, s.v
4. missa
Thus, (9th century)''De divinis officiis'', formerly attributed to Alcuin but now dated to the late 9th or early 10th century, partly based on the works of Amalarius and Remigius of Auxerre. M.-H. Jullien and F. Perelman, ''Clavis Scriptorum Latinorum Medii Aevii. Auctores Galliae 735–987. II: Alcuin'', 1999, 133ff.; R. Sharpe, ''A Handlist of the Latin Writers of Great Britain and Ireland before 1540'' (1997, p. 45) attributes the entire work to Remigius. explains the word as ("from 'sending', that which sends us towards God"),
while Rupert of Deutz (early 12th century) derives it from a "dismissal" of the "enmities which had been between God and men" ().

Order of the Mass

A distinction is made between texts that recur for every Mass celebration (, ordinary), and texts that are sung depending on the occasion (, proper). For example, for the Tridentine Mass:

Ordinaries

A ("full Mass") consists of a musical setting of the five sections of the ordinarium as listed below.

I. Kyrie

In the Tridentine Mass, the Kyrie is the first sung prayer of the Mass ordinary. It is usually (but not always) part of any musical setting of the Mass. Kyrie movements often have a ternary (ABA) musical structure that reflects the symmetrical structure of the text. Musical settings exist in styles ranging from Gregorian chant to Folk.

In what are presumed to be the oldest versions, the same melody is repeated for the first eight iterations, and a variation used on the final line (that is, formally, AAA AAA AAA'). These repeats are notated by the Roman numerals "IIJ" (for three times) or "IJ" (for twice). The Kyrie for the Requiem Mass in the has this form. Later Kyries have more elaborate patterns, such as AAABBBAAA', AAABBBCCC', or ABACDCEFE'. The final line is nearly always modified somewhat; in some cases this may be because it leads into the Gloria better. In forms both with and without literal repeats, most Kyries in the have a closing phrase used in nearly all of the lines of the text. This in fact parallels the text, as each line ends with the same word .

Because of the brevity of the text, Kyries were often very melismatic. This encouraged later composers to make tropes out of them, either by adding words to the melisma (as how a sequence is often considered), or extending the melisma. In fact, because of the late date of most Kyries, it is not always clear whether a particular Kyrie melody or the apparently troped text came first; it could just as easily be the case that a syllabic song was converted into a melisma for a Kyrie verse. In some cases, verses interpolate Latin text between each "Kyrie" (or "Christe") and "eleison".

As the Kyrie is the first item in settings of the Mass ordinary and the second in the requiem Mass (the only Mass proper set regularly over the centuries), nearly all of the thousands of composers over the centuries who have set the ordinaries of the Mass to music have included a Kyrie movement.

Kyrie movements often have a structure that reflects the concision and symmetry of the text. Many have a ternary (ABA) form known as a three-fold kyrie, where the two appearances of the phrase consist of identical or closely related material and frame a contrasting section. The AAABBBCCC' form is also commonly used which is known as a nine-fold kyrie. Famously, Mozart sets the and texts in his Requiem Mass as the two subjects of a double fugue.

II. Gloria

The Gloria is a celebratory passage praising God the Father and Christ.

In Mass settings (normally in English) composed for the Church of England's ''Book of Common Prayer'' liturgy, the Gloria is commonly the last movement, because it occurs in this position in the text of the service. In Order One of the newer '' Common Worship'' liturgy, however, it is restored to its earlier place in the service.

III. Credo

The Credo, a setting of the Nicene Creed, is the longest text of a sung Mass.

Organizers of international celebrations, such as World Youth Day, have been encouraged by Rome to familiarize congregants in the Latin chants for the Our Father and the Credo, specifically Credo III (17th century, Fifth Mode) from the . The purpose of singing these two texts in Latin is to engender a sense of unity in the faithful, all of whom thus sing the prayer of Jesus and the shared belief of the universal Church in the same language.

IV. Sanctus and Benedictus

The Sanctus is a doxology praising the Trinity. A variant exists in Lutheran settings of the Sanctus. While most hymnal settings keep the second person pronoun, other settings change the second person pronoun to the third person. This is most notable in J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor, where the text reads ("His glory"). Martin Luther's chorale ''Isaiah, Mighty in Days of Old'', and Felix Mendelssohn's setting of the ( la, Sanctus, links=no) from his also use the third person.

The Benedictus is a continuation of the Sanctus. is repeated after the section, often with musical material identical to that used after the , or very closely related.

In Gregorian chant the (with ) was sung whole at its place in the Mass. However, as composers produced more embellished settings of the text,

V. Agnus Dei

The Agnus Dei is a setting of the "Lamb of God" litany, containing the responses ('have mercy upon us'), repeated twice, and ('grant us peace') once at the end.

In a Requiem Mass, the words are replaced by ('grant them rest'), while is replaced by ('grant them eternal rest').

Short and solemn Masses

There is some additional terminology regarding Mass settings indicating whether or not they include all five usual sections of the ordinarium, and whether or not the Mass is intended for exceptionally festive occasions.

(literally "short Mass") may, depending on time and conventions, indicate the setting of a subset of the five ordinary Mass parts (e.g. Masses containing only a setting of the Kyrie and the Gloria), or a Mass containing all these parts, but relatively short in duration, or a Mass in a setting that is less extended in vocal and orchestral forces than that of a Neapolitan Mass.

("long Mass") can indicate the counterpart of when the aspect of duration is considered.

indicates a solemn Mass, usually for special festive occasions and with an extended vocal and orchestral setting. In this sense, is sometimes used to indicate the counterpart of a .

The ("short and solemn Mass") is an exceptional format, for its best known instances tied to the Salzburg of archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo, although earlier examples are extant. Mozart described it thus in a letter he wrote in 1776 ("the Archbishop" in this quotation refers to Colloredo):Walter Senn, NMA Series I: Geistliche Gesangwerke, Group I (Masses and Requiem)
Division I: ''Masses'', Volume 2, Preface, pp. VIII-IX
1975.

The description applies to several of the Masses Mozart composed in Salzburg between 1775 and 1780, the ''Sparrow Mass'' being considered as its first instance for this composer.

Tongue-in-cheek, and not indebted to Viennese traditions, Gioachino Rossini qualified one of his last compositions, a Mass, as both ("small") and ("solemn") (Petite messe solennelle). In this case, "small" refers to the modest forces needed for its performance, and "solemn" to its duration, although later commentators would describe the composition as "neither small nor solemn".

Other types of Masses with fewer than five of the usual parts of the ordinarium

During Lent () and Advent () the Gloria is not sung. Thus , "Mass for the period of (Advent and) Lent" indicates a Mass composition without music for the Gloria. Michael Haydn composed a Mass suitable for Lent and Advent, the , in for the modest forces of choir and organ.

("Mass without a Credo") indicates a musical setting of the usual parts of the Mass ordinary with exception of the Credo.

A (weekday Mass) leaves out both the Gloria and the Credo.

Other sections

The sixth and last part of the Ordinarium (either , or, in Masses without Gloria, ) is usually not set as part of a Mass composition. In a Tridentine Mass that part of the Ordinarium is usually spoken, or sung to the Gregorian melody provided in the Roman Missal, although early polyphonic settings for the response (e.g. in Guillaume de Machaut's ''Messe de Nostre Dame'') and for the Benedicamus Domino (e.g. in ) are extant.

The Proper of the Mass is usually not set to music in a Mass itself, except in the case of a Requiem Mass, but may be the subject of motets or other musical compositions. Some Mass compositions, like for instance Rossini's , do however contain parts outside the Ordinarium. Some Mass compositions even consist entirely of such additions: Schubert's , a set of eight hymns with epilogue, is an example of such a Mass.

Purely instrumental compositions can also be part of a Mass celebration, e.g. a Sonata da chiesa, sometimes with a liturgical function, like Mozart's Epistle Sonatas.

Propers

In a liturgical Mass, there are other sections that may be sung, often in Gregorian chant. These sections, the "Proper" of the Mass, change with the day and season according to the Church calendar, or according to the special circumstances of the Mass. The sections of the Proper of the Mass include the Introit, Gradual, Alleluia or Tract (depending on the time of year), Offertory and Communion.

Ordinarium and proprium sections of a specific liturgical Mass are not typically set to music together in the same composition. The one major exception to this rule is the Mass for the dead, or requiem.

Following the distribution of the Sacrament, it is customary in most Lutheran churches to sing the .

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church sees the Mass or Eucharist as "the source and summit of the Christian life", to which the other sacraments are oriented. Remembered in the Mass are Jesus' life, Last Supper, and sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary. The ordained celebrant (priest or bishop) is understood to act ''in persona Christi'', as he recalls the words and gestures of Jesus Christ at the Last Supper and leads the congregation (always "we", never "I") in praise of God. The Mass is composed of two parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Although similar in outward appearance to the Anglican Mass or Lutheran Mass, the Catholic Church distinguishes between its own Mass and theirs on the basis of what it views as the validity of the orders of their clergy, and as a result, does not ordinarily permit intercommunion between members of these Churches. In a 1993 letter to Bishop Johannes Hanselmann of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) affirmed that "a theology oriented to the concept of succession f bishops such as that which holds in the Catholic and in the Orthodox church, need not in any way deny the salvation-granting presence of the Lord eilschaffende Gegenwart des Herrnin a Lutheran vangelischeLord's Supper." The Decree on Ecumenism, produced by Vatican II in 1964, records that the Catholic Church notes its understanding that when other faith groups (such as Lutherans, Anglicans, and Presbyterians) "commemorate His death and resurrection in the Lord's Supper, they profess that it signifies life in communion with Christ and look forward to His coming in glory."

Within the fixed structure outlined below, which is specific to the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the Scripture readings, the antiphons sung or recited during the entrance procession or at Communion, and certain other prayers vary each day according to the liturgical calendar. For many variations and options not mentioned here, see the complet
''Order of the Mass''

Introductory rites

The priest enters, with a deacon if there is one, and altar servers (who may act as crucifer, candle-bearers and thurifer). The priest makes the sign of the cross with the people and formally greets them. Of the options offered for the Introductory Rites, that preferred by liturgists would bridge the praise of the opening hymn with the Glory to God which follows. The ''Kyrie eleison'' here has from early times been an acclamation of God's mercy. The Penitential Act instituted by the Council of Trent is also still permitted here, with the caution that it should not turn the congregation in upon itself during these rites which are aimed at uniting those gathered as one praiseful congregation. The Introductory Rites are brought to a close by the Collect Prayer.

Liturgy of the Word

On Sundays and solemnities, three Scripture readings are given. On other days there are only two. If there are three readings, the first is from the Old Testament (a term wider than "Hebrew Scriptures

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