Ongoing Instructions and explanations of the Divine Service

The Gloria in Excelsis is the first canticle in the Divine Service. It comes after the Kyrie in all sung masses except during penitential seasons (and even then,

on Maundy Thursday). It is not said at spoken masses. It can be observed in our video (from the 6:47 to 8:48 minute markers).

The fact that the Gloria follows the Kyrie is significant, for it effectually answers the Kyrie. In the Kyrie we begged God for his mercy, and here we sing an expansion, or elaboration, on the song of the angels that rejoices in the mercy he has given us. The celebrant opens the Gloria still standing at the center facing the altar, stretching out his arms as he intones, “Glory be to God on high,” to which the congregation immediately follows as the celebrant rejoins his hands, “and on earth peace, good will toward men.” This is the song of angels. Our repetition of it is a dim echo of those majestic voices first heard by the Bethlehem shepherds at the birth of Christ.

Then follows the elaboration on these words. The elaboration of the angelic song at Mass is a distinctly Roman element (Fortescue, The Mass, 244), though there is evidence of use of the unadorned text of St. Luke 2:14 in some ancient rites (as recounted in Fortescue, 244n). The elaboration seen in the Gloria highlights in particular the meaning of the word “glory.” For in it we say, “We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory.” The head is bowed twice during these words, specifically, at “we worship Thee,” and at the first part of the last phrase (“we give thanks to Thee”), since what we are praising, blessing, worshiping, and giving thanks to him for is his “great glory.” This is because in thanking God for his glory, we indicate that his glory is something more than simply a reference to his majesty or dignity. Thanks are offered for something given, and thus we may ascertain that the giving of thanks for his glory is meant to highlight the fact that his glory is most especially manifest at the birth of Christ the Savior of the world. This is a clear reflection of the meaning latent in the angels’ song. That is, Glory be to God on high at the birth of Christ is defined as this: and on earth peace, good will toward men. A realignment of thinking is therefore needed if we are inclined to regard glory here in the customary sense, as pertaining to eternal divine attributes of power and infinite splendor. What the angels’ message was, and what the Gloria amplifies, is the truth that what really glorifies God is the salvation of mankind. His chief desire is to be merciful, and therefore since the birth of Christ is the manifestation of His chief desire, His glory consists foremost in this bestowal of mercy. To give thanks for His great glory is to give thanks for His mercy.

For this reason it is also fitting to bow the head whenever the name of Jesus is uttered, first of all in this canticle (which is the first place during the Mass in which it is uttered), and also at every point throughout the Mass where it is heard. Since the heart of God’s glorification is found in Jesus, therefore an implicit acknowledgment of this, and of the profound debt of thanks we owe Him, is conveyed by the bowing of the head whenever Jesus’ name is heard at any point throughout the Mass, whether in its parts, or in the hymns, or in the readings, or even during the sermon. This gesture also indicates a willing desire to learn humility, that is, to place oneself beneath Him who so humbled Himself for us.

The Gloria continues with a doxology: “O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, That takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us,” At “receive our prayer,” the head is bowed again as we adopt the same sense of humility as when we had begun to sing the Kyrie: we are asking here for something utterly undeserved. Here, that he would receive our prayer.

Then the Gloria’s doxology concludes, “For thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord. Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.” At that last sentence, which is a trinitarian confession, a profound bow (from the waist) is made; and when the verb of the sentence (“art”) is said, the sign of the cross is made.

Portions of this explanation are taken from Burnell F Eckardt Jr., The New Testament in His Blood: a Study of the Holy Liturgy of the Christian Church (Kewanee, Ill.: Gottesdienst, 2010), 76-77, available here.