During the Lenten season, we’ll be singing the Lamb of God in Latin (Agnus Dei) and the Lord Have Mercy in Greek (Kyrie Eleison). Latin is the universal language of the liturgy and deserves special (albeit infrequent) recognition in our celebrations. It is a way of demonstrating that we are part of something much bigger than our neighborhood; we are part of the universal church. Every Mass is a celebration of the heavenly liturgy. It is you and I joining with all our Catholic sisters and brothers on earth and everyone in heaven to praise God.
“But didn’t the Second Vatican Council change all that Latin stuff?” Not really. The Council permitted the Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular [language of the people] but never desired that we never use Latin.
Below is a phonetic pronunciation of the Kyrie and Agnus Dei. These parts of the mass can be found in the Breaking Bread hymnal, #852 and #858.
Kyrie Mass of Remembrance (click on the title to hear a recording)
| Greek | Pronunciation |
| Kyrie | Kee-ree-eh |
| Eleison | Eh-leh-ee-sohn |
| Christe | Kree-steh |
Agnus Dei (click on the title to hear a recording)
| Latin | Pronunciation |
| Agnus Dei qui tollis | Ah-nyoos Deh-ee kwee toh-lees |
| peccata mundi | peh-kah-tah moon-dee |
| miserere nobis | mee-seh-reh-reh noh-bees |
| dona nobis pacem | doh-nah noh-bees pah-chehm |
The letter R is “flipped” in both Greek and Latin. It sounds more like the letter “d”.
