The Mass: Propers

THE PROPERS OF THE MASS (from Latin proprium) are the parts that change with the liturgical season or the intentions of the Mass -- the introit, collect, tract, sequence, the three readings from the Bible (Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel), preface, etc. The term is used in contrast to the part of the Mass which is constant--the Ordinary.

Introit

The Introit (Introitus) of the Mass is the fragment of a psalm with its antiphon sung while the sacred ministers approach the altar. The Introit changes with the liturgical season and with the feast associated with each day of the Kalendar. In the western church, the Mass has begun with such a processional psalm since the earliest times from which we have any historical documentation. At Ascension and Saint Agnes, the choir begins the introit as soon as the entrance hymn is completed and the sacred ministers have completed the Preparation. As the introit is sung, the sacred ministers ascend to the altar where they bow and the celebrant kisses the fair linen spread upon the altar. To read more, visit the Catholic Encyclopedia or Fr. Richard Major's Freeze Frame Mass, chapter 4.

Collect

The Collect [stress on the first syllable] combines a liturgical action with a short, general prayer, which begins with a greeting by the celebrant, "The Lord be with you", to which the people respond, " And with thy spirit." The celebrant invites all to pray with "Let us pray."

In ancient practice, following an invitation to kneel, the people spent a short time in silent prayer and then were invited to stand. The celebrant concluded the time of prayer by "collecting" their prayers in a unified petition of a general form, called a collect. In the West, these were originally composed in Latin according to a prescribed, seven-part structure:

Invitation ("Oremus" - Let us pray)
Address (the person of the Trinity who is being addressed, but usually the Father)
An attribute or quality of the deity, which relates to the petition (often "qui ..." - who)
The Petition (the matter being asked about or requested)
The Reason or Result expected (begins with the word "ut" - that)
Christian conclusion ("per Christum Dominum nostrum" - through Christ our Lord), or other longer doxologies
General affirmation ("Amen.", untranslated from the Hebrew)

For example, the "Collect for Purity," which immediately follows the Introit, is an English translation from the Latin --

Celebrant: Dominus vobiscum.
People: Et cum spiritu tuo.
Celebrant: Oremus.
Deus, cui omne cor patet et omnis uoluntas loquitur, et quem nullum latet secretum: purifica per infusionem Sancti Spiritus cogitationes cordis nostri, ut perfecte te diligere et digne laudare mereamur, per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum. Amen.

The English rendering, with the seven-part structure shown, is as follows:

Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And with thy spirit.
[1] Celebrant: Let us pray.
[2] Almighty God,
[3] unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hid:
[4] cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit,
[5] that we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify thy holy name,
[6] through Jesus Christ our Lord,
[7] Amen.

Typically two or three collects may be used in a traditional western Mass. To read more about the the collect, go to Freeze Frame Mass, chapter 11.

Tract

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Sequence

Readings

Preface

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