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How did the Roman Missal originate?

In the early Christian Church, many of the prayers that were said at Eucharist were memorized and handed down by word of mouth. Eventually the prayers were collected and written down in books known as sacramentaries (book of sacraments). Scripture readings were recorded in other books and the Psalms were written in a book called the Psalter. Throughout the ages, as these manuscripts were passed down, modifications and additions were made. Eventually, all the chants, prayers, instructions and scriptures were organized into one book. It was written in Latin and as the texts contained in it continued to evolve over the next five centuries it became quite large. After the Second Vatican Council, the Mass was translated into many different languages (the vernacular).

The Sanctus
A Walk through the New Mass

The various Prefaces all end with the same words:

Former: New:
And so we join the angels and the saints in proclaiming your glory as we sing (say): And so, with the Angels and all the Saints we declare your glory, as with one voice we acclaim:

A clear change here is the introduction of the word ‘acclaim’ which covers both ‘saying’ and ‘singing’.

Apart from punctuation, there is only once change in the section which follows:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

The words ‘Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts’ come from Isaiah 6:3 where they are sung by the seraph angels in God’s temple. Both the New Revised Standard Version and the New American Bible use the word ‘hosts’ here. The Latin translation uses ‘Sabaoth’– as does the Jerusalem Bible – a Hebrew word that denotes armies.

An iconographical tradition has grown up around the Christian world – in both the East and the West – of depicting angel hosts massed around God’s throne. The new translation respects that tradition.

 

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