By Fr. Christopher Danel

In this article we examine the Preface and the Sanctus, presenting the work of Msgr. Nicholas Gihr in his fundamental liturgical commentary The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Liturgically, and Ascetically Explained. Msgr. Gihr was a priest of Freiburg in Breisgau whose work of liturgical research took place during the time frame spanning the pontificates of Popes Pius IX to Pius XI, including that of Pope Saint Pius X. The early years of his work were contemporaneous with the last years in the work of Dom Prosper Guéranger. (The English translation of his study appeared in 1902; the original is: Gihr, Nikolaus. Messopfer dogmatisch, liturgisch und aszetisch erklärt. Herder: Freiburg im Breisgau, 1877.)

Historical Origin

To trace the origin and introduction of the Preface in the sacrificial rite, one must go back to the days of the Apostles; this is evident from the testimony of the holy Fathers, and especially from the most ancient liturgies, not a single one of which can be found without a Preface. The oriental liturgies have had from the beginning until the present time but a single Preface. In the West, on the contrary, the number of Prefaces, even at an early date, increased to such a degree that before the time of St. Gregory the Great almost every formula of Mass contained a separate Preface. It is probable that St. Gregory himself reduced this immense number to ten. It was under Urban II (1088 to 1099) that the Preface of our Lady’s Masses was added. Therefore, the present 11 Prefaces in the Roman Missal date back to the eleventh century. According to their text and melody the Prefaces belong to the most solemn, sublime and touching chants of the Church; they are the purest poetry, flowing from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

Introductory Verses

The Introduction consists of three Versicles with corresponding Responses.

V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
V. Sursum corda.
R. Habemus ad Dominum.
V. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
R. Dignum et justum est.

At the words Sursum corda the priest raises his hands. By this movement of the hands is expressed the longing for that which is exalted above us, that is, for the heavenly and eternal. Thus the Church complies with the invitation of the Prophet: “Let us raise our hearts together with our hands to the Lord in heaven’’ (Lam. 3:41). The Sursum corda, therefore, admonishes us, especially at the Sacrifice of the Mass, to have our mind occupied with heavenly things only and to be intent upon them. “No one should be present in such a manner, that, although he may say with the lips: “We have lifted our hearts to the Lord,” his thoughts are directed to the cares of this life. We should indeed think of God at all times; but if this be impossible, on account of human frailty, we should take it to heart most especially at least during the Holy Sacrifice.

St. Martin of Tours is a striking example in this respect. The Church says of him in his Office: ‘”With eyes and hands raised toward heaven, he never let his mighty spirit slacken in prayer.” His life of constant prayer and attention to the presence of God reached its highest degree of perfection during the celebration of Holy Mass. In a sacristy intended especially for his use, he carefully prepared himself for the divine service: when he afterward approached the altar, he appeared as an angel of the Lord, rapt in devotion and inflamed with love. Once when raising his hands during the Holy Sacrifice, they shone with crimsoned light and appeared adorned with precious jewels. At another time his head was environed with bright rays, as though his spirit had soared heavenward.”

The Body of the Preface

The priest standing in a reverential posture, with uplifted hands and elevated heart, continues to say or sing the following hymn of praise and thanksgiving on ordinary days (for some festal and votive Masses, the following basic preface is expanded with proper texts):

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus: per Christum Dominum nostrum. Per quem maiestatem tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates. Coeli coelorumque Virtutes, ac beata Seraphim, socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admitti jubeas deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes….
(It is truly meet and just, right and salutary, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to Thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ our Lord. By whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominations adore it, the powers tremble before it, the heavens and the heavenly virtues, and the blessed seraphim, exultingly celebrate it in common. Together with whom we beseech Thee, that we may be admitted to join our voices in suppliant confession, saying….)

The priest calls special attention to the great importance of the obligation of returning thanks to God: “It is truly meet and just, right and salutary, that we should always and in all places give thanks to God the Lord.” Four reasons are cited, which here clearly manifest the importance and necessity of gratitude.

a) Dignum: Giving thanks acknowledges and glorifies the dignity of God, on the one hand; and, on the other, it contributes to our moral dignity, revealing the beauty and nobility of the soul. Gratitude is the sign of a noble heart, while ingratitude is the mark of a mean soul.

b) Justum: Gratitude is allied with justice: for it is the will and the endeavor to return and repay, as far as possible, the benefits received. He who possesses strict justice, will also entertain grateful sentiments, that is, he will strive to reward the benefactor.

c) Aequum: Gratitude appears in the highest degree an act of equity, which performs more than what is required according to strict justice and law. Reflect on the excessive goodness of God toward you and the riches of His mercy, wherewith He daily visits you: is it then requiring too much, that your heart should be inflamed with an ardent, strong, and grateful love?

d) Salutare: To thank God promotes the temporal and eternal welfare, inasmuch as it enriches the soul with great blessings and precious graces. Gratitude opens to us the treasures of the divine liberality. Inasmuch as we sincerely thank God for benefits received, we draw down new and more special graces upon ourselves. God takes complacency in a grateful heart; nothing shall be wanting to it.

To cultivate a spirit of gratitude toward God is, therefore, a practice “truly meet and just, right and salutary”: but how far must we go, what is the extent of this thanksgiving? This is made known by the words, that we “should always and in all places” (semper et ubique) give thanks. There is no time or place in which we should not from the fullness of our heart say: Deo gratias!

The words “O holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God” refer to the first Person of the Deity: they express the majesty and glory of the Father, and should likewise incite us to fervent thanksgiving. But how are we, poor, frail creatures, able appropriately and adequately to thank the holy, the almighty and the eternal God? “Through Christ our Lord,” answers the Church. Christ is our mediator: through Him do all gifts and graces descend upon us “from the Father of Lights” and through Him must our gratitude and praise ascend to God.

The Savior enthroned at the right hand of God is as man the Head also of all the angelic choirs. They constitute a part of the eternal kingdom of God, whose glorious King is Jesus Christ. According to the common teaching (founded upon Scripture and tradition) the angels are divided into nine distinct choirs. Revelation gives no further particulars as to the peculiar nature or the special offices of the different orders of angels.

According to St. Gregory the Great, their order is: 1. Angeli (Angels); 2. Archangeli (Archangels); 3. Virtutes (Virtues); 4. Potestates (Powers); 5. Principatus (Principalities); 6. Dominationes (Dominations); 7. Throni (Thrones); 8. Cherubim (Cherubim); 9. Seraphim (Seraphim). The two lowest and the three highest are enumerated in the same order by all, while the four middle ones are differently grouped by others. In the Prefaces all the choirs with the exception of the Principatus are mentioned by name.

Penetrated with a sentiment of our total unworthiness, we, therefore, implore of God that He would suffer us to join our feeble voices with the angelic choirs and in all humility we praise the glory of the triune God and the glory of the Redeemer in the Sanctus.

The Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.

This exceedingly sublime hymn of praise is made up of words taken from Holy Scripture, and consists of two parts. The first half contains the glorification of the Holy Trinity by the angels of heaven; the second half consists of the welcoming of the Savior by the mouth of the faithful on earth.

With regard to the first part, this magnifying of the Lord God of Hosts is termed the Thrice Holy (Trisagium) or Hymn of the Seraphim, or of the Angels (Hymnus seraphicus vel angelicus) and the second part of the hymn is designated the Victorious or Triumphal Chant (Hymnus triumphalis). The Trisagium is found whole or in part in all the liturgies.

The Trisagium

The first part of the hymn, with some slight alterations, is taken from the grand description of a vision of the Prophet Isaias: “And the Seraphim cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of Thy glory. And the lintels of the doors [of the Temple] were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke [that is, with the cloud of the glory of light]” (Is. 6:3).

St. John the Apostle also heard the celestial canticle: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty” (Apoc. 4:8). As is evident from the universal doctrine of the Fathers and from several passages of Holy Scripture itself, the thrice repeating of the word “Holy” is intended, not merely to proclaim emphatically the holiness of God, but rather to indicate the threefold personality of God: it is a hymn of praise to the adorable Trinity. Since in God’s sanctity His infinite perfection, beauty and glory shine forth most resplendently, He is in the language of revelation and of the Church very often praised as “the Holy One.” The divine holiness is uncreated, immense, unchangeable: the infinitely pure, luminous, spiritual being of God is holiness itself. God is the “only Holy One,” and from God the supernal splendor of holiness is reflected over all the world of angels and of men: His is the type and the source of all created holiness.

Triumphal Chant to Christ

To the praise of the triune God follows the jubilant salutation of the Redeemer, who will soon appear mystically on the altar “in the fullness of mercy.” The hymn concludes with the triumphal chant with which the Savior was welcomed by the multitudes as Prince of Peace and Conqueror of Death at His solemn entrance into Jerusalem, and with which He is now again saluted at His coming on the altar: “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

The Trisagium is not sung by the priest (as is the Preface), but recited in a half audible voice. When he joins in the hymn of praise of the angelic hosts, to glorify the Most Holy Trinity, he lowers his voice and with joined hands bows with humble reverence, in sentiments of unworthiness, to take up the heavenly hymn on his mortal lips. At the joyful praise of the speedily approaching Savior, hailed in advance, he again stands erect and signs himself with the holy Cross to indicate that Christ came as a victorious Conqueror and Prince of Peace to establish His kingdom by means of the Cross, and that He now comes down on the altar to renew mystically the Sacrifice of the Cross.