Indian Mass

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Indian Mass is a partially vernacularized variation of the traditional Roman Catholic Mass, used in the American Indian missions of Canada and the United States. The priest's portion of the Mass was kept in Latin, but the chants assigned to the schola were sung in the vernacular.

Indigenous peoples of the Americas Pre-Columbian inhabitants of North, Central and South America and their descendants

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the Pre-Columbian peoples of North, Central and South America and their descendants.

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The Indian Masses date to the mid-17th century, and permission for them was apparently granted by an indult by Rome, although record of the indult itself has not been found. Nonetheless, these partially vernacularized Masses flourished in the missions with episcopal approval for several hundred years until the time of the Second Vatican Council.

An indult in Catholic canon law is a permission, or privilege, granted by the competent church authority – the Holy See or the diocesan bishop, as the case may be – for an exception from a particular norm of church law in an individual case, for example, members of the consecrated life seeking to be dispensed from their religious vows, or of priests and deacons who voluntarily seek to return to the lay state. An apostolic indult is needed from the local ordinary for presbyteral or diaconal ordinations done within a year before the normal date; if the ordination is done more than one year in advance of the normal date then a papal apostolic indult from the Holy See is also needed.

Second Vatican Council Roman Catholic ecumenical council held in Vatican City from 1962 to 1965

The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II, addressed relations between the Catholic Church and the modern world. The council, through the Holy See, was formally opened under the pontificate of Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and was closed under Pope Paul VI on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1965.

Structure of the Indian mass

The Indian Mass differed from the Tridentine Mass in its use of vernacular language ordinaries and propers. The ordinaries were straightforward translations of the Mass texts. However, the propers often differed significantly from their Roman counterparts. Typically, a handful of Introits rotated duty throughout the liturgical year. Graduals sometimes occur, though hymns are often sung in their place. The Offertory and Communion verses are almost always dropped in favor of vernacular hymns. [1]

Tridentine Mass Type of mass in the Roman Catholic Church

The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass, Usus Antiquior or Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, is the Roman Rite Mass which appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. The most widely used Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in 1969, it is celebrated in ecclesiastical Latin. The 1962 edition is the most recent authorized text, also known as the Missal of Saint John XXIII after the now canonized Pope who promulgated it.

The Introit is part of the opening of the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, psalm verse and Gloria Patri, which are spoken or sung at the beginning of the celebration. It is part of the Proper of the liturgy: that is, the part that changes over the liturgical year.

Gradual Catholic hymn of the Eucharist

The Gradual is a chant or hymn in the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, and among some other Christians. It gets its name from the Latin gradus meaning step because it was once chanted on the step of the ambo or altar. In the Tridentine Mass it is sung after the reading or chanting of the Epistle and before the Alleluia, or, during penitential seasons, before the Tract. In the Mass of Paul VI, the Gradual is usually replaced with the Responsorial Psalm. Although the Gradual remains an option in the Mass of Paul VI, its use is extremely rare outside monasteries. The Gradual is part of the Proper of the Mass.

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References

  1. Salvucci, Claudio R. 2008. The Roman Rite in the Algonquian and Iroquoian Missions. Merchantville, NJ:Evolution Publishing.