Description The Gloria. After the introit, if the season is right, we sing a song of praise to God beginning with the words sung by the angels at the birth of our Savior and continuing the supplications of the Kyrie. This massive high altar; the gold, the warmth of the wood, catches you up in the loving arms of God. Imposing and majestic, the words of the Gloria burst forth upon looking at it: we praise Thee. We bless Thee. We adore Thee. We glorify Thee. We give thanks for Thy great glory. The Latin in particular always strikes me. The grammatical structure doesn’t have as many words as English. It’s straight and to the point; and when chanted, it accentuates it so well. Laudámus te, benedícimus te, adorámus te, glorificámus te. And it continues down, with many of the phrases sounding similar. Latin is such a beautiful language that leaves in nothing that is unnecessary. Every word is pointed and carefully chosen. Even if you don’t understand the language, words pop out because English and so many other languages are rooted in Latin. With only a little knowledge of Latin you can understand the breath and soul of the prayer. __________________________ The church in this painting is St. John Cantius in Chicago, IL US. Painted as an illustration for Kimberly Fries’ book: Traditional Latin Mass: A Missal for Children found here: https://amzn.to/3FnasK0 (For the Latin Mass loving Catholics checking for Churches to go to, the Canons celebrate the extraordinary form and the Novus Ordo, but Ad Orientum. Their mission is to restore our sense of the sacred and they do amazing work promoting beauty and tradition. 100% worth the visit.)
