Latin Chants During Mass

Why sing Latin?

During the month of November and the season of Advent, St. Anthony’s Music Ministry will be employing the Latin chants for part of the Ordinary at all afternoon, evening, and bilingual Masses. At this time, the Latin chants will not be sung at Sunday morning Masses.

One of the most common misconceptions following the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s is that Latin and chant music was no longer necessary. In fact, the opposite is true. According to the Sacrosanctum concilium, or Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy:

116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action, as laid down in Art. 30.

When will St. Anthony’s be singing chant?

To this end, we will be singing the Latin chants during our afternoon liturgical celebrations. During a time of cleansing, penance, and renewal, the Latin chants bring us back to our historic and traditional roots as Roman Catholics.

In the 2007 document entitled Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops established minimum standards that all parishes within the jurisdiction of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops must follow. This includes:

75. Each worshiping community in the United States, including all age groups and all ethnic groups, should, at a minimum, learn Kyrie XVI, Sanctus XVIII, and Agnus Dei XVIII, all of which are typically included in congregational worship aids. More difficult chants, such as Gloria VIII and settings of the Credo and Pater Noster, might be learned after the easier chants
have been mastered.

To better facilitate “full, active, and conscientious participation” at our liturgies, the YouTube links below have been provided to help you learn the words and music that we will be using at Mass.