Lingua latina simul cantare sciant

Part II: Latin in Mass

Pope Paul VI and his successors have made frequent pleas for a return to the use of Latin in the Mass. They reiterated the need for the people to sing parts of the Mass in Latin. Concrete evidence of this is found in the issuance (by papal decree) of a booklet of simple Gregorian chants for use by the faithful in regular liturgies. A copy of this booklet was sent from Rome to every bishop in the world, with the hope that they would begin the task of instructing their flock in the traditions of the Roman rite.

We can see that emphasis is not on a return to a Latin Mass, but on a renewed use of Latin at Mass. There are many ways chant can be used in the liturgy. Simple litanies (Kyrie, Agnus Dei) may be used to replace the vernacular translations of the texts (Lord, Have Mercy; Lamb of God). Perhaps the Preface Dialogue or Sanctus could be sung. A technique often used in Europe for singing the longer texts in Latin is to alternate phrases between choir and people. The congregation then need not know immediately the entire Gloria or Credo.

Many hymns can be taught to congregations and are valuable in their repetition of one melody for several verses. Pange lingua, Ubi caritas, Veni Creator, Veni Emmanuel, and the sequence Victimae paschali laudes are all in this category (and are found in various common worship aids, in the Booklets of Chant published by CNP, and in the Liber cantualis, also available from CNP).

A clear, concise and straightforward statement on the use of Latin in the Mass is found in the General Instruction on the Roman Missal, from which the title of this article comes. "It is expedient that the faithful know how to sing together in Latin [lingua latina simul cantare sciant] at least some parts of the Ordinary of the Mass." The passage of time has made this ideal difficult. Hopefully, it's not too late to begin. What better time than the present!

CNP's Latin index in our Online Catalog has a list of all our selections that include Latin texts.