Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Narrare
There are certain phrases, or words one remembers after attending the Latin Mass, especially, because they are repeated for reasons of reverence. For instance, subsequent to "Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro, Dignum et justum est." The priest says a following liturgical prayer starting with "Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus..." then he proceeds to finish the prayer.
Even though I did not understand the rest of the prayer, the repetitive phrase "Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus..." stayed in my mind. I did not know why, but I enjoyed hearing, and speaking this word, "Sanctus." Like many other words/phrases in Latin, I could not decipher the meaning, or translation until later on. As time passed, I figured out this word translated to, "Holy."
This made sense to me, our God is holy, and humanity-including myself-is not. I did not comprehend the rest of the following words to the "Sanctus," prayer. Nonetheless, I know our God is holy, and I will repeat this many times in order to remind myself I must follow a path of holiness on this Earth. It is hard to accomplish this objective, but it is possible through God's grace alone.
Below is the etymological explanation of this term:
ETYMOLOGY
- In Latin, "sanctus" is the past participle of the verb "sancire," which means "to make sacred" or "to consecrate."
- In Greek, we have the word "hagios" (ἅγιος), which also means "holy" or "sacred." It is widely used in the New Testament of the Bible.
Visual Representation of the Sanctus In The Traditional Latin Mass
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
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