Important Update Affects “Agnus Dei”
On September 12, 2012 there was an update made to
“Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship”, a
document developed by the Committee on Divine
Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB). The USCCB Administrative Committee
has made a change in the text of the document so that
the Agnus Dei, (Lamb of God) would be brought into
conformity with the General Instruction of the Roman
Missal. The original text of the document allowed for the
use of “tropes” (additional Christological invocations
such as “Jesus, Bread of Life”, and “Jesus, Prince of
Peace”, etc). The revised text now explains that “the
invocation accompanies the fraction and, for this
reason, may be repeated as many times as necessary
until the rite has reached its conclusion,” (STL, 188),
but the “Agnus Dei should not be prolonged
unnecessarily nor may other texts be added to this
chant.” (GIRM, no. 83)
In the post Vatican II Church, composers began to
expand the texts, taking a more creative approach to the
prayers in the sung Mass parts. Presently, simply put,
when we sing the “Lamb of God’ before Communion, only
the title of “Lamb of God” will be able to be used. In
addition to this, the document “Sing to the Lord”, will
undergo an editorial review in light of the third edition of
the Roman Missal.
