Reference
Glossary
The vocabulary is genuinely specialized. None of it is a test.
- Ad orientem
- Toward the east. The priest and people face the same direction, toward the altar.
- Altar rail
- The low rail across the entrance to the sanctuary, at which Communion is received kneeling.
- Canon
- The central prayer of the Mass, containing the consecration. Said quietly.
- Chasuble
- The outermost vestment worn by the priest at Mass, in the color of the day.
- Ciborium
- The covered vessel holding the hosts for Communion.
- Collect
- The prayer of the day, said before the Epistle.
- Consecration
- The moment at which the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.
- Ember Days
- Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of four weeks of the year, kept as days of fast.
- Epistle
- The first reading, usually from the letters of the New Testament.
- Feriaferia
- A weekday with no feast assigned to it.
- Gradual
- The chant sung between the Epistle and the Gospel.
- High Mass
- Sung Mass with deacon and subdeacon. Also called Solemn Mass.
- Introit
- The chant at the beginning of Mass, proper to the day.
- Low Mass
- Mass said rather than sung, without music. Usually thirty to forty-five minutes.
- Missal
- The book containing the texts of the Mass. A hand missal is the congregation's copy, with translations.
- Ordinary
- The parts of the Mass whose texts do not change: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei.
- Paten
- The small plate holding the host.
- Predella
- The top step on which the priest stands at the altar.
- Propers
- The parts of the Mass whose texts change with the day.
- Requiem
- A Mass for the dead, celebrated in black vestments.
- Reredos
- The carved screen or structure rising behind and above the altar.
- Sanctuary
- The area around the altar, usually raised and set apart by the altar rail.
- Scholaschola cantorum
- The group of singers who sing the proper chants.
- Server
- A layman or boy who assists the priest at the altar.
- Sung MassMissa cantata
- Mass sung by the priest with a schola, without deacon and subdeacon.
- Tabernacle
- The locked box, usually at the center of the altar, in which the Blessed Sacrament is kept.
- Vigil
- The day before a major feast, formerly kept as a day of fast.