Kyrie

by Jon Laird

From the August 28, 2011 Bulletin:

Did you ever wonder where this part of the Mass came from, and why we sometimes sing it in Greek? (yes, that’s what language that is!)

This ancient prayer dates not only from the earliest liturgies of the Church, but well before. We see it in psalms such as 6:3 (“Have mercy on me, Lord, for I languish”), 9:14 (“Have mercy on me, O Lord, see how I suffer from my foes”), in Isaiah 33:2 (“O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have waited for you”), and several places in the New Testament (Matt 9:27, 15:22; Mark 10:47; Luke 17:13). The ancient Church, even in Rome, was Greek-speaking in the first few centuries, so the Greek form Kyrie eleison would have been familiar to the earliest Christians. Even though the Latin language came to dominate the Roman liturgy a few centuries later, this and certain other venerable ancient terms (such as the Hebrew words “Hosanna” and “Alleluia”) carried over without being translated.

The Kyrie occurs after we have “called to mind our sins” at the beginning of Mass. Even though we know we are unworthy (“Lord, I am not worthy to receive you…”), we pray that God will have mercy on us and forgive our sins as we prepare to join in the eternal heavenly banquet, the Holy Eucharist. So whether we pray it in English, Greek, or Latin (“Miserere mei, Domine”), let it be a moment of quiet recollection and submission to God, as you pray the words that God’s people have used since before Christianity.