Today in our first reading we hear from Isaiah. It begins with the praise of the angels in Chapter 6, Verse 3.
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!”
Obviously, this text sounds very familiar to us as it appears in every single mass as the Sanctus, or Holy, Holy, Holy. It is one of the oldest texts sung in the Church with sources citing it back to the second century after Christ’s death. This title of Lord of hosts has its origins in the Semitic language. The Jewish people used the word ‘hosts’ to refer to the angels, and the non-Jews used the word ‘hosts’ to refer to the stars in their various religions. In Christianity, we continue with the belief of ‘hosts’ as referring to the angels.
A little bit more about the Holy: it then continues with “Heaven and earth are full of your glory.” Once again, this is directly taken from the Isaiah passage.
The Holy concludes with the peoples’ cry that we hear each and every Palm Sunday as Jesus enters into Jerusalem: “Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.” This is taken directly from the Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 21, verse 9.
The current translation of this text from Latin has not changed much from the text we used since 1975. Let us continue this unending hymn of praise:
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.