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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Preface of the Holy Cross

Fr. David Friel · March 18, 2018

HE TWO-WEEK season known as “Passiontide” traditionally begins today. This is the period of proximate preparation for the Paschal festivities. It is marked liturgically in a number of ways.

In the Ordinary Form and the Extraordinary Form, for example, this is the time during which sacred images are veiled in the church (with the exception of the Stations of the Cross). In the Extraordinary Form, Passiontide is further distinguished by the suppression of the Gloria Patri and the omission of the Judica (Psalm 42) at Mass.

Another special feature of Mass during Passiontide in the Extraordinary Form is the use of the preface of the Holy Cross, which is among the most superlative examples of all such texts. I reproduce here the Latin original of this preface:

Vere dignum et iustum est, æquum et salutáre,
nos tibi semper et ubíque grátias ágere:
Dómine, sancte Pater, omnípotens, ætérne Deus:

Qui salútem humáni géneris in ligno crucis constituísti,
ut unde mors oriebátur, inde vita resúrgeret;
et, qui in ligno vincébat, in ligno quoque vincerétur:
per Christum Dóminum nostrum.

Per quem maiestátem laudant Angeli,
adórant Dominatiónes, tremunt Potestátes.
Cæli cælorúmque Virtútes, ac beáta Séraphim,
sócia exsultatióne concelebrant.

Cum quibus et nostras voces ut admítti iúbeas, deprecámur,
súpplici confessióne dicéntes:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dóminus Deus Sábaoth…1

And here is my own English translation of the preface:

It is truly worthy and just, fair and salvific,
for us to give you thanks always and everywhere,
Lord, holy Father, almighty, eternal God.

You placed the salvation of the human race upon the wood of the cross,
so that where death arose, there life might rise again;
and the one who conquered on a tree, might also be conquered on a tree:
through Christ our Lord.

Through whom the Angels praise your majesty, Dominions adore, Powers tremble.
Heaven and the Virtues of heaven, and the blessed Seraphim, unite to celebrate together with exultation.

Graciously grant, we pray, that our voices may be joined to theirs, in humble praise, saying:

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts…

The bold sections above are the heart of this magnificent preface, most likely authored by the great eighth-century liturgist, Alcuin of York.

Our first extant source for this text is the Masses of Alcuin. 2 Among this collection of 278 Masses, Deshusses identifies 223 formularies that are simply borrowed from other sacramentaries or that can be found only in one or two MSS. From among the remaining 55 Masses, Deshusses highlights a subset of 21 or 22 that, on account of their homogeneous structure and style, ought to be considered the authentic work of Alcuin, either as editor or as author. 3 Structurally, these formularies are distinguished by their inclusion of the three standard orations, possibly a preface, and a super populum. Stylistically, the choice of words is marked by high refinement and an affinity for elegant comparisons and inversions.

The votive Mass “De Sancta Cruce” is among this special subset, and it includes the preface that remains in use verbatim in Missale Romanum 2008 for both the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14th) and the votive Mass “De Mysterio Sanctae Crucis.” (See also this short history of the feast of the Exaltation.) In Missale Romanum 1570 (and MR 1962), this is the same preface used during Passiontide.

This preface contains rich scriptural allusions. The statement, “qui salutem humani generis in ligno crucis constituisti,” alludes strongly to the following Gospel passage: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15, RSV). These verses, in turn, recall Numbers 21:5-9, wherein the Israelites who had been bitten by fiery serpents are healed by looking upon a bronze serpent lifted up on a pole. It is a beautiful and essential feature of this story from Numbers that the people were healed by means of the same instrument by which they had been struck, namely a serpent; the preface capitalizes upon the same device, extending the imagery to the tree of paradise and the tree of Calvary.

Another scriptural reference apparent in the preface is the phrase, “qui in ligno vincebat, in ligno quoque vinceretur.” 4 The preface text does not specify the subject of this phrase, but scriptural context reveals it to be Satan, who defeated Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3). By whom or what, however, was Satan, himself, conquered on a tree? Scripture answers this question, too, where Peter observes that “he, himself [Christ], bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24, RSV).

The Church offers so much for our reflection during the season of Lent, and the offerings are raised to an even richer register during Passiontide. Let’s not miss the powerful message of this beautiful, ancient, and eloquent preface.




NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Missale Romanum ex decreto sacrosancti oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, auctoritate Pauli Pp. VI promulgatum, Ioannis Pauli Pp. II cura recognitum, editio typica tertia, reimpressio emendata (Vatican City: Typis Vaticanis, 2008).

2   Le Sacramentaire grégorien: Ses principales formes d’après les plus anciens manuscrits, édition comparative, vol. 2, ed. Jean Deshusses (Fribourg, Switzerland: Éditions Universitaires Fribourg, 1979), 1837. See also Edmond Moeller, Corpus Praefationum, CCL 161C (Turnhout: Brepols, 1980), 1200.

3   Deshusses, vol. 2, 25-26.

4   A very similar thought is expressed in a homily of Theodore the Studite: “ἐπειδὴ τὸ πρὶν διὰ ξὐλου τεθανατὠμεθα, ὲν ξύλῳ τὴν ἀθανασίαν εὑράμεθα · ὑπὸ ξύλου χατασοφισθέντες τὸ πρότερον, ἐν ξύλῳ τὸν σοφιστὴν ὄφιν ἀπεχρουσάμεθα.” Theodore the Studite, Oratio in adorationem crucis, in J.-P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca 99: 696.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal, Latin, Roman Missal Third Edition, Traditional Latin Mass Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ with regard to 1960s switch to vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“It is very curious, rather barbarous, much too ornate, immeasurably less dignified than ours now, anything in the world rather than archaic or primitive.”

— Fr. Fortescue describing the “Sarum Use” in 1912

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