Mozarabic Mass

I attended the Mozarabic Mass this morning in the Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) Chapel of the Cathedral this morning (the shorter tower, on the right). The mass, Western Christendom's oldest, is celebrated every morning at 9 AM. The entire mass is sung in Latin by eight priest. Only three people were in attendance: myself, a drunk, and a very sad looking local man. It was a terrific experience.

The mass was very different from the Roman Mass which anglophones are familiar with. It is in Latin, of course, and is sung, which really adds to the whole ceremony. There are various other differences, mostly surrounding the presentation of the host. It does have the familiar recitation of the Creed, exchange of tokens of peace (handshakes), and readings from the Bible (Luke and Paul to the Galatians today).

The Mozarabic Rite has a very interesting history. Presumably, this was the last form of the Catholic Mass celebrated in the Visigothic Kingdom prior to the Muslim conquest in 711. It survived among the Mozarabs, the Christians living in Al-Andalus, and among the Asturians of the far north. In 1085, when Alfonso VI captured Toledo. In the wake of the celebration of Christian expansion, the Roman Mass was imported into Spain, and it replaced the Mozarabic Mass in all but the six parish churches of Toledo itself. Over the years, the native practice was neglected, but Cardinal Cisneros, the foremost Spanish political and ecclesiastical figure of the early sixteenth century, restored it to its proper place. In a move very much in line with Reformation-era philosophy, Ximenez de Cisneros dedicated a chapel in the Cathedral to the Mozarabic Mass, and published new missals and breviaries for the ceremony (remember, Jan Hus, one of the foremost proto-Protestans, called for national, rather than universal, churches).

So today we still have this unique Catholic ceremony, which dates to the seventh century. Having never seen the Mass in Latin, I found this to be a fantastic experience. In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti.