Secret (liturgy)

Secret (liturgy)

The Secret (Latin: Secreta, oratio secreta) is the prayer said in a low voice by the celebrant at the end of the Offertory in the Mass. It is the original and for a long time was the only offertory prayer. It is said in a low voice merely because it was said at the same time the choir sang the Offertory, and it has inherited the special name of Secret as being the only prayer said in that way at the beginning.

The silent recital of the Canon (which is sometimes called "Secreta") did not begin earlier than the sixth or seventh century. The present offertory prayers are late additions, not made in Rome until the fourteenth century. Before that the offertory act was made in silence, and the corresponding prayer that followed it was the Secret. Since it is said silently the Secret is not introduced by the invitation to the people: "Oremus."

The Secret is part of the Accentus of the Mass, changing for each feast or occasion, and is built up in the same way as the Collect. The Secret too alludes to the saint or occasion of the day. But it keeps its special character inasmuch as it nearly always (always in the case of the old ones) asks God to receive the eucharist and sanctify it. All this is found exactly as now in the earliest Secrets we know, those of the Leonine Sacramentary. Already there the Collect, Secret, Postcommunion, and "Oratio ad populum" form a connected and homogeneous group of prayers. So the multiplication of Collects in one Mass entailed a corresponding multiplication of Secrets. For every Collect the corresponding Secret is said.

The name "Secreta" is used in the "Gelasian Sacramentary"; in the Gregorian book these prayers have the title "Super oblata." Both names occur frequently in the early Middle Ages. In "Ordo Rom. II" the prayer is called "Oratio super oblationes secreta". In the Gallican Rite there was also a variable offertory prayer introduced by an invitation to the people; it had no special name. In the Ambrosian Rite the prayer called "Oratio super sindonem" (Sindon for the veil that covers the oblata) is said while the Offertory is being made and another "Oratio super oblata" follows after the Creed, just before the Preface. In the Mozarabic Rite, after an invitation to the people, to which they answer "Præsta æterne omnipotens Deus," the celebrant says a prayer without a special name that corresponds to the Secret and continues at once to the memory of the saints and intercession prayer. In these other Western rites this prayer is said aloud. All the Eastern rites have prayers, now said silently, after the Great Entrance, when the gifts are brought to the altar and offered to God, but they are invariable and none of them can be exactly compared to the Roman Secret.

At either high or low Mass the celebrant, having answered "Amen" to the prayer "Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium", says in a low voice the Secret or Secrets in the same order as he said the Collects, finding each at its place in the proper Mass. He ends the first and last only with the form "Per Dominum nostrum" (as in the Collects). The last clause of the last Secret: "Per omnia sæcula sæculorum" is said or sung aloud, forming the ekphonesis before the Preface.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Liturgy of the Mass —     Liturgy of the Mass     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Liturgy of the Mass     A. Name and Definition     The Mass is the complex of prayers and ceremonies that make up the service of the Eucharist in the Latin rites. As in the case of all… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Secret — • The prayer said in a low voice by the celebrant at the end of the Offeratory in the Roman Liturgy Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Secret     Secret      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Liturgy of Addeus and Maris —     Liturgy of Addeus and Maris     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Liturgy of Addeus and Maris     This is an Oriental liturgy, sometimes assigned to the Syrian group because it is written in the Syriac tongue; sometimes to the Persian group because… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Liturgy of Addeus and Maris — This is an Oriental liturgy, sometimes assigned to the Syrian group because it is written in the Syriac tongue; sometimes to the Persian group because it was used in Mesopotamia and Persia. It is known as the normal liturgy of the Nestorians, but …   Wikipedia

  • secret — secretly, adv. secretness, n. /see krit/, adj. 1. done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others: secret negotiations. 2. kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated or privileged: a secret password. 3. faithful or cautious in… …   Universalium

  • secret — /ˈsikrət / (say seekruht) adjective 1. done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others: secret negotiations. 2. kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated: a secret sign. 3. Aboriginal English of or relating to a place or object… …  

  • Mass (liturgy) — A 15th century Mass …   Wikipedia

  • Ordinary (liturgy) — The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Eucharist or of the canonical hours[1] that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted to… …   Wikipedia

  • Pope Pius XII Liturgy Reforms — The Liturgical Reforms of Pope Pius XII continue a process initiated by Pope Saint Pius X, who began the process of encouraging the faithful to a meaningful participation in the liturgy. Pope Pius XII redefined liturgy in light of his previous… …   Wikipedia

  • African Liturgy — • In use not only in the old Roman province of Africa of which Carthage was the capital, but also in Numidia and Mauretania Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. African Liturgy     African Liturgy …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”