No really, I do pay attention in church —but for years I’ve been mystified by one of those songs they sing every week. It comes up right around the time they’re doing the whole breaking bread thing and getting ready to hand out communion. All I could ever make out were the first few words:
“Are you staying…blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, ….” And so on.
Am I staying? Of course, I wouldn’t leave before communion. I’ll pass on the wine because I don’t care if they wipe off the chalice, handing that thing around to hundreds people seems a like a very bad idea. And then there’s the issue of backwash.
Anyhow, here I am listening to that song again —and again not getting it. I leaned over to my wife Ann recently and whispered, “What the hell are they singing?”
She handed me the song sheet that’s given out at the beginning of mass.
Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, misere nobis.
That explains why I can’t understand it: it’s in Latin. Didn’t we get rid of Latin under Vatican II? Not that anyone cares what I think, but let’s just switch everything to English —and while we’re at it maybe it’s time to consider individual serving cups for the wine.
I’ve always wondered who Dies Irae was or if maybe they got his name backwards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dies_Irae