Holy, Holy, Holy

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they hovered. One cried out to the other:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”

At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it. “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” 
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

Isaiah 6:1-8

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At every Holy Mass or Divine Liturgy the angels and saints in the heavenly court join the earthly, pilgrim Church in adoration of the Most Holy Trinity. The end of the preface invites the faithful:

And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim:

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 in the Mass combines Isaiah 6:3 (“Holy, Holy, Holy”—the Trisagion) and Matthew 21:9 (“Hosanna”). In the first part, we are drawn into the transcendent, ineffable realm of the Lord God Almighty before whom the seraphim reverently cover their faces with wings. In the second part, we hail the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the beginning of his Paschal sacrifice.

Christ in his priest leads us to Calvary and the Lord’s Supper as in Eucharistic Prayer I:

On the day before he was to suffer,
he took bread in his holy and venerable hands,
and with eyes raised to heaven
to you, O God, his almighty Father,
giving you thanks, he said the blessing,
broke the bread
and gave it to his disciples, saying:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT: FOR THIS IS MY BODY WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.

In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took this precious chalice in his holy and venerable hands, and once more giving you thanks, he said the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT: FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT, WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.

The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.”¹ Christ unites all believers in the sacrament of unity and makes us “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4, RSV). The Holy Spirit transforms and divinizes the world one person at a time. The final words of the Mass recall the exchange between the Lord and Isaiah:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” 
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

Isaiah 6:8

The “Mass” is named for the concluding words of the Divine Liturgy: Ite, Missa est (literally, “Go, it is sent”). The feminine form of the Latin verb for “send” (mittere) is commonly interpreted as referring to the Church (ecclesia). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1332) states:

Holy Mass (Missa), because the liturgy in which the mystery of salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (missio) of the faithful, so that they may fulfill God’s will in their daily lives.

In English, the dismissal takes the following forms:

Go forth, the Mass is ended.

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

Go in peace.

And the Church responds in gratitude for the gift and privilege of being children of God:

Thanks be to God.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come.

Revelation 4:8 

Reference

¹ Catechism of the Catholic Church 1324; Lumen Gentium 11.