The Mass we celebrate today was shaped by twenty centuries of popes who added, moved, and reformed its parts. Which pope gave us the Gloria, the Kyrie, the Agnus Dei — and what does it mean that the Church can change the liturgy at all?
The History of the Catholic Mass: The Popes Who Changed It
This session traces the history of the Catholic Mass through the popes who reshaped it across two millennia. Drawing on the Liber Pontificalis and early liturgical witnesses, Dr. Pitre walks through the ancient popes credited with specific additions — St. Alexander I and the institution narrative, St. Sixtus I and the Sanctus, St. Telesphorus and the Gloria, St. Innocent I moving the Sign of Peace, St. Celestine and the responsorial psalms, and St. Gelasius arranging the Roman Canon — then the great medieval reforms of St. Gregory the Great (the Kyrie, the placement of the Our Father, Gregorian chant), and modern developments through Trent, St. John XXIII, Pope Francis, and Vatican II. The framing question comes from the Catechism (CCC 1205): the liturgy has an "immutable part" that is divinely instituted and parts the Church may adapt. So what may change, what may not, and by whose authority?
Key passages & sources examined: CCC 1205; Pius XII, Mediator Dei no. 58; Liber Pontificalis (Sts. Alexander, Sixtus I, Telesphorus, Celestine, Leo the Great, Gelasius, Sergius I, Gregory III); Innocent I, Letter 25 to Decentius; Gregory the Great, Letters 9.26; Durandus, Rationale 4.35.12; Council of Trent, Session 21 (1 Cor 4:1); Sacrosanctum Concilium 22, 50; St. Paul VI, General Audience (Nov 19, 1969)
What does the history of the Catholic Mass reveal about how it can change? The video shows, for example, that individual parts — the Gloria, Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei — entered the Mass at identifiable moments under specific popes, while its divinely instituted core remained. The distinction between the changeable and unchangeable is the heart of the discussion.
Which popes are credited with the biggest changes? Dr. Pitre highlights Gregory the Great above all, along with the ancient popes named in the Liber Pontificalis and the reforms of Trent and Vatican II.
Can a priest change the Mass on his own authority? The session takes up this question directly through the Council of Trent and Vatican II's teaching on who may regulate the liturgy — watch for the full answer.
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It is a great service to provide the excellent Mass Reading Explained by Dr. Brant Pitre. I like the feature to download the transcript of the video which is very helpful. However, there are some rooms for improvement as followed:
1. The media player's controls are spotty. Very often, the Closed Caption button is not available. Therefore, I could not enable the subtitle.
2. It will be very helpful if the videos can be searched or sorted by the calendar date, and not just the "Number of Sunday in Ordinary Time".
3. It will be nice if you have an app (for both iOS and MacOS) to launch it, such that I do not have to open a web browser and type in the URL address manually every time. I talked to your support folks on this and I was informed that an app is coming soon. Please make sure it supports both iOS and MacOS.
Thank you very much for your hard work.
Yours in Christ
simon
The only thing I'd prefer is to have a search options within the readings/explanations. For example, like youtube, except now that I purchased the service, I'd like to have Sunday explanations for Purgatory or Predestination. It would really help when I'm debating Calvinists because I could resource back to Pitre.
It is a great service to provide the excellent Mass Reading Explained by Dr. Brant Pitre. I like the feature to download the transcript of the video which is very helpful. However, there are some rooms for improvement as followed:
1. The media player's controls are spotty. Very often, the Closed Caption button is not available. Therefore, I could not enable the subtitle.
2. It will be very helpful if the videos can be searched or sorted by the calendar date, and not just the "Number of Sunday in Ordinary Time".
3. It will be nice if you have an app (for both iOS and MacOS) to launch it, such that I do not have to open a web browser and type in the URL address manually every time. I talked to your support folks on this and I was informed that an app is coming soon. Please make sure it supports both iOS and MacOS.
Thank you very much for your hard work.
Yours in Christ
simon
The only thing I'd prefer is to have a search options within the readings/explanations. For example, like youtube, except now that I purchased the service, I'd like to have Sunday explanations for Purgatory or Predestination. It would really help when I'm debating Calvinists because I could resource back to Pitre.
