It is not to be replaced with another song of praise, mostly because it is has been in place for a long time, and seems to really set the right tone for the Mass. In most Church settings you can refer to this text as the Gloria, the Glory to God, the Gloria in excelsis , and in some traditions even as the Greater Doxology. It will be no surprise that the first concept for this hymn comes from the birth of Jesus in Luke , when a multitude of the heavenly host appears with the angel, saying "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. As a hymn it first appears in the East Syrian liturgy, and in a fuller form in the Apostolic Constitutions, so the hymn probably dates to around the fourth century.

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The hymn begins with the words that the angels sang when announcing the birth of Christ to shepherds in Luke in Latin. Other verses were added very early, forming a doxology. An article by David Flusser links the text of the verse in Luke with ancient Jewish liturgy. Gloria in excelsis Deo is an example of the psalmi idiotici "private psalms", i.
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The Gloria After examining the first part of the Gloria last week, we turn to the second half of this beautiful, ancient hymn. It is helpful once again to reproduce the entire text of the new Gloria translation:. 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. The first half of the hymn is addressed to God the Father, whereas the remainder is addressed to God the Son. The subsequent lines contain the final changes in the new Gloria. Though a seemingly minor change, it does give greater emphasis to the fact that Christ does not just conquer sin in general, but also forgives all our individual sins. Having examined the text of the Gloria, it is appropriate to say a few words about the musical implications.
Minor repetitions in the text may be approved on a case-by-case basis, although substitutions, insertions, or re-arrangements of the text are not permitted. Depending on the number of other music settings and manuscripts that have been received, the review process can take six to eight weeks. In addition to the Secretariat's verification of the accuracy of the text before it can be used in the liturgy, manuscripts also require the permission of the copyright holder; when necessary, the Secretariat will refer the composer to the appropriate office, which is usually either the International Commission on English in the Liturgy or the USCCB permissions department. All rights reserved. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Greek Kyrie, eleison.