According to Catholic Tradition, Is It Really Necessary to Say "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord"?

The Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments publishes the Missale Romanum or Roman Missal. The Vatican writes the Roman Missal in Latin, then the churches throughout the world translate the Roman Missal into their respective languages. The "Holy, Holy, Holy" hymn is a translation of the Latin "Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus" hymn in the Roman Missal, a LITURGICAL document. This liturgical document, that is the Roman Missal, however, is based on the Bible.

The text of the Sanctus in Latin is the following: "Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis."

The text of the Sanctus in English is the following: "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest."

The Sanctus is inspired by Isaiah's vision of God's glory in Isaiah 6:2-3. In the Hebrew Bible, Isais says, "Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHWH Tseva'ot." The divine name, which is the unutterable name, is represented by the Tetragrammaton, which simply means the four letters. When the Tetragrammaton appears in Scripture, Jews replace it with the word Adonai, which means "my Lord." Tzeva'ot literally means "armies." Nevertheless, it is often translated as hosts because the word refers to the army of powers. Hosts are the invisible powers that work at God's command over heaven and earth.

The Septuagint was the most popular Bible during the time of Christ and early Christian. It was written in Greek. In the Septuagint, "Tzeva'ot" is translated "Sabaoth," which means host. The original Latin Bible, the Vulgate, was translated from the Septuagint. The Latin Bible translates "Sabaoth" with exercituum. It is important to note, however, that when you translate "tzeva'ot" directly from its Hebrew into Latin, you still get exercituum or hosts. So the Hebrew Bible says: Tseva'ot. The Septuagint says: Sabaoth. The Vulgate says: exercituum. They all mean the same thing: hosts. In the past, "Dominus Deus Saboath" was translated "Lord God of power and might." This is an incorrect translation.

The Roman Missal does not directly translate the verse for Isaiah. It picks up a phrase from Revelation 4:8. In Latin, Revelation 4:8 says, "Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus omnipotens, quia erat, et quei est, et qui venturus est." That is, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come." The Roman Misal picks us "Dominus Deus." The Roman Missal also does not translate Sabaoth from the Greek. Instead of saying exercituum in Latin, it says Sabaoth in Greek. Some scholars argue that Sabaoth should not be translated at all because the Vatican refrained from translating the Septuagint. The Roman Missal also adds the word "heaven" to earth. The point is the Sanctus is not a literal translation of the Bible. It is inspired by the Bible, but it is a translation of a liturgical document. Therefore, we have to understand its liturgical significance in order understand why we are saying it in the first place.

In the context of the liturgy, the Sanctus plays a vital role in awakening the communities understanding of the Eucharistic mystery. The Mass is composed of four parts: the Introductory rights, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the Concluding Rites. During the Mass, the congregation sings two ANGELIC hymns. Both angelic hymns are based on Bible text, but they are the liturgical creations of the church.

The first angelic hymn is sung during the Introductory Rites. In the Introductory Rites, the community makes the Sign of the Cross, the priest greets the gathered people, the faithful recall their sins (i.e., I confess), and the community makes a penitential act (i.e., the Kyrie or Lord, have mercy). Except during Penitential seasons (Advent and Lent), the community joins the choirs of angels in praising God for his mercy by singing the Gloria or the Glory to God in the Highest. Gloria is based off the hymn the angels sung to the shepherds at Jesus' birth. The Introductory Rites conclude with the Collect, a prayer in which the priest invites the community to listen to God's Word. In the Liturgy of the Word, the community hears God's words, listen to a sermon that puts the Word of God in present-day context, renews their baptismal promises by confessing the Catholic faith in creed, and, finally, prayers for the church, the world, and the dead.

The second angelic hymn is sung during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The heart of the Liturgy of the Eucharist is the Eucharistic Prayer. Catholics believe that in the Eucharistic Prayer, Christ acts through the priest to offer worship to God the Father as was at the moment of his passion, death, and resurrection. This is very important. Christ is acting. Christ's act of worship to God the Father is the Paschal mystery, that is, Christ's passion, death, and resurrection. Revelation reminds us that the Paschal mystery is a perpetual act of worship. Christ continues offer this saving work in heaven as atonement for the sin of the world. In the Eucharistic Prayer, the community is participating in the Paschal mystery. The Eucharistic Prayer is a participation in Christ's saving work in the past and his saving work in heaven. When Catholics bring their prayers and intentions to Mass, they can literally join their prayers with Christ at his Cross and in the heavenly sanctuary. It's a very mystical tradition. The Sanctus serves as a means of transporting your minds to the heavenly reality of Christ's ultimate worship. The Sanctus is an acclamation by the entire community, joining with the heavenly powers. It is an invitation to participate fully in Christ's Eucharist or Thanksgiving.