13“Lift up your hearts” and Holy, Holy, Holy
- Take
- Bless
- Break
- Give
The Eucharistic Prayer begins, the centre and high point of the whole Mass. At the “Holy, Holy, Holy” we join the angels’ song, the same one the prophet Isaiah heard in his vision of heaven.
Do Stand; kneel after the Holy, Holy.
Say “Lift up your hearts.” — “We lift them up to the Lord.” “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” — “It is right and just.” Then the Holy, Holy.
Learn it in Latin: Sanctus
Did you know?
What does “Hosanna” mean?
It’s Hebrew for “(O Lord) grant salvation”: in other words, “save us!” (Psalm 118:25; note on Matthew 21:9). The crowd shouted it as Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9). And the “hosts” in “Lord God of hosts” are armies: the armies of angels (Psalm 148:2; CCC 1090).
For parentsThe theology behind this moment, and where every fact comes from
Go deeper
Where this comes from
- Teaching The Eucharistic Prayer is “the center and summit of the entire celebration”, a prayer of thanksgiving (GIRM 78).
- Teaching At the Holy, Holy, we join “the heavenly powers” (GIRM 79b), and our Mass is a foretaste of the liturgy of heaven (CCC 1090).
- “Let us reach out our hearts toward God in heaven!” (Lamentations 3:41); the angels’ “Holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8); the crowd’s “Hosanna… blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 21:9).
What the labels mean: Teaching, Tradition and Tip.