The Roman Catholic Mass (1570) Part I

Although the Roman Mass, standardized by directives of the Council of Trent (1570), is technically a post-Reformation document, it is not an innovation but rather the summation of the medieval development of western Catholic worship. Consequently the mass below is presented as part of the pre-Reformation liturgies as an example of ancient Catholic worship. Introduction The English text which appears below is a translation of the Low Mass of the Latin Rite which was used from 1570 until the reforms following the Second Vatican Council, which began in 1962. The Roman Mass comprises two classes of material: the "ordinary" of the Mass, those parts that remain constant through all the seasons and celebrations of the church year, and the "proper" of the mass, those parts that vary according to the season, the Sunday of the year, or the particular commemoration of the day. In the Low Mass, the "ordinary" parts (Kyrie eleison, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei) were recited, …