When we sing the hymn, the Church ‘continues the words of the angels.’
The Gloria is one of the Church’s most ancient and solemn hymns. It is modeled on the canticles found in the New Testament: the Magnificat of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:46-55), the Canticle of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79), and the Christological hymn in Philippians 2:6-11. Trinitarian in its structure, it praises the Father and contemplates the Son with the Holy Spirit. In the box below is the new translation of the Gloria.
The Gloria was first used in the morning prayer service celebrated by the bishop in his cathedral in the fourth century. In the sixth century Rome introduced it into the Mass for Christmas, then into Masses for Sundays and feasts of the martyrs when the bishop presided. Priests were permitted to use it in the Easter Vigil and at their installation after ordination. Finally, in the eighth century it was included in Masses for Sundays and feasts of the martyrs celebrated by priests.
The basic structure of the Gloria is biblical, and the new translation closely follows the biblical texts. The opening sentence is taken from Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus: “And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests’” (Luke 2:14).
The section that contemplates the Son (beginning with “Lord Jesus Christ”) cites two verses from John 1. In John 1:18, John describes Jesus as “the only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side.” This is the basis for the phrases “Only Begotten Son” and “Son of the Father.” The second verse is from John 1:29. When John the Baptist sees Jesus approaching, he says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
The concluding section—“For you alone are the Holy One”—references the New Testament book of Revelation and one of the psalms from the Old Testament. “For you alone are the Holy One” is a reference to Revelation 15:4: “For you alone are holy.”
“You alone are the Lord” is a reference to Psalm 83:19: “Show them you alone are the Lord, the Most High over all the earth.”
Once again we see the importance of the principle from Authentic Liturgy concerning translations into the vernacular: “The manner of translating the liturgical books should foster a correspondence between the biblical text itself and the liturgical texts of ecclesiastical composition which contain biblical words or allusions” (No. 49).
Finally, it is worth noting that the sequence “we praise . . . we bless . . . we adore . . . we glorify” was originally addressed to earthly rulers. The early Church rightly applied these expressions of adoration to the one who is truly “King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15).
Dom Prosper Gueranger (1805-1875), abbot of Solesmes and one of the fathers of the liturgical movement, described the Gloria in these words: “Here . . . all is enthusiasm and fervent language of the soul. The angels themselves intoned the hymn; and the Church, inspired as she is, by the Holy Ghost, continues the words of the angels.”
When we sing the Gloria, we make our own the words of the angels and the heavenly host, the prophecy of John the Baptist, and the praise of the Church Triumphant in heaven.
New text (changes from old text appear in bold italics)
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Father Stice directs the diocesan Worship and Liturgy Office. He can be reached at frrandy@dioknox.org.
Tags: The new missal
