My Dear Friends,

During Lent, like we did last year, we are singing the Holy, Holy, Holy and the Lamb of God in Latin. We have added the Lord have mercy in Greek as well this year. Some people seem to be afraid of Latin and/or Greek because they claim that they do not know what it means. (Surprisingly these same people never seem to mind if we have Spanish in one of our hymns). The Greek is more difficult to try and make a connection to the prayer in English, but it is sung during the same place of the Lord, Have Mercy in English, so there should be no problem in figuring out what the Greek means.

The Holy, Holy, Holy is a bit different. Many of our English words come from Latin, so when we begin with the words, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, these words match the words, Holy, Holy, Holy. Sanctus gives us the English word, sanctity, which is a synonym for holiness. Dominus Deus Sabaoth gives us two more words. Sabaoth is a Hebrew word that means armies. It is translated in our prayer in English as Hosts (previous translation was power and might). Dominus is translated as Lord and Deus is God. Dominus is a bit harder to see English words but Deus is clearly God as our English word deity comes from Deus. The next phrase, Pleni sunt caeli et terra, Gloria tua has several words that match with English. Pleni is translated in our prayer as full. Pleni is the root of the English word plentiful. Caeli et terra is heaven and earth. These words form the words for celestial and terrestrial, heavenly and earthly. Sunt is the verb that means are. Hosanna in exclesis is of course, hosanna in the highest. Hosanna is a Greek work that means a cry of adoration or acclamation. In our English prayer it is not translated from the Greek. Excelsis forms the word excel. When you excel at something you are at the highest degree of your profession or skill.

Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini. The words in this phrase are also roots for English words. Benedictus is the root for the English word benediction. A benediction is a blessing that even colleges and universities as well as Congress use when gathered for graduation or the opening of the congressional day. Qui is the word for who. Venit is the word for comes. Some examples in English are revenue (money that comes back from sales of products), prevent (come before it to stop it from happening), convention (a gathering of people who come together), convenient (agreeable place or time to come together), intervene (come between two things), invention (that which is come upon for the first time) and venue (a place where people come). In nomine is in the name of. The words nominee (a name of someone) and nominate (to name a person for an award) as well as the word denomination (a naming of something).

When put together with an understanding of our English words, and knowing that the Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus is sung in the same place at the Mass as the Holy, Holy, Holy, it is clear then how the Latin hymn can be understood without a knowledge of Latin per se. God bless

 

 

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