The Traditional Latin Mass - Part I - The Approach and Prayers at the Foot
In this series of articles, the Filii Dei explain the mystery and meaning, part by part, of the Traditional Latin Mass. The reasons are simple. The Faith is the Mass and the Mass is the Faith. Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi—the law of prayer is the law of belief. In this series, we examine, with love, what we have lost and what can so easily be recovered with a reignition of our love and reverence for our Lord. Please enjoy this first which examines the opening portions of the Mass which begins with a simple ring of a bell…
I. “Introibo ad altare Dei”: Entering the Holy of Holies
The Traditional Latin Mass begins not with immediacy, but with approach—a movement laden with the gravity of the Incarnation and the terror of the Cross. Before a word is spoken, the priest stands at the foot of the altar, not yet worthy to ascend. His eyes are lowered, his hands joined, his posture humble. The Church teaches that the priest stands here in persona Christi Capitis, yet at this moment he also stands as Adam, aware he is about to tread upon ground made holy by the Blood of Christ.
This opening scene has theological weight:
The priest approaching the altar recalls Christ approaching His Passion, saying, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem” (Matt. 20:18).
It echoes the Old Testament High Priest entering the Holy of Holies with fear and trembling (Lev. 16).
It represents the pilgrim Church “going up” to God, for in Scripture all movements toward God are ascents—“Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord” (Isa. 2:3).
The liturgy has not yet begun; rather, the drama of redemption is being entered.
This idea—approach before union—is woven throughout Tradition.
St. John Chrysostom says the priest “stands between God and men” and therefore must show “fear and reverence” in approaching the altar.[1]
St. Ambrose describes the priest as “ascending the altar as Christ ascended Calvary.”[2]
The Council of Trent affirms that the Mass is “that same sacrifice of the Cross made present in an unbloody manner,”[3] thus the priest’s initial steps mirror Christ’s journey to Golgotha.
The ritual space between the priest and the altar expresses the infinite distance between God and man—a chasm bridged only by Christ’s mediatorship.
II. The Sign of the Cross: The Opening Key of the Sacrifice
The first prayer is the Sign of the Cross, made deliberately and reverently:
“In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.”
This action is not ornamental—it declares the Holy Trinity as the author, object, and power of the Sacrifice. The Catechism of the Council of Trent teaches that the Sign of the Cross is a “profession of faith in the Redemption wrought by Christ crucified.”[4]
It consecrates the time, the place, and the person. St. Athanasius said that demons “flee from the sign of the cross as from fire,”[5] and Tertullian records that early Christians made the sign constantly, “in all our undertakings.”[6]
Thus the Mass begins with the weapon of our salvation: the Cross.
III. Psalm 42 (Judica me): The Priestly Ascent of the Soul
The priest now begins Psalm 42, a psalm of exile and longing:
“Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause… Send forth Thy light and Thy truth… And I will go unto the altar of God.” (Ps. 42:1–4, DR)
Though Christ is sinless, the priest—standing in His place—prays as the representative of sinful mankind. The Fathers often read Psalm 42 as the cry of the soul yearning for union with God.
St. Augustine saw in this psalm the “pilgrim soul groaning for the immortal banquet.”[7]
Origen regarded it as the soul’s “return to the sanctuary of God after exile.”[8]
That the psalm is prayed at the foot of the altar is ancient and deliberate. Medieval commentators such as Durandus note that this psalm expresses “the soul’s desire to ascend,” mirroring the priest’s physical ascent which will follow.[9]
It is a confession of insufficiency—a declaration that only God can bring a man into His own sanctuary.
IV. The Double Confiteor: Humility Before the Holy
Following the psalm comes the Confiteor, prayed first by the priest, then by the servers representing the people. This double structure comes from the earliest penitential rites of the Roman Church.
Why twice?
The priest confesses his unworthiness, even though he stands in the place of Christ.
The faithful confess on behalf of themselves and for the priest, emphasizing the communal nature of repentance.
The text of the Confiteor invokes:
The Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Michael
St. John the Baptist
Sts. Peter and Paul
“Omnes Sancti”—all the saints
This invocation reflects the Church’s ancient understanding that the saints accompany the Church in her worship.
St. Cyprian writes that the Mass is offered “in the presence of the angels,”[10] and the author of Hebrews reminds us that we worship with the “company of angels and the spirits of the just made perfect” (Heb. 12:22–23).
Thus the Confiteor is not solitary repentance; it is a liturgical act set within the communion of saints.
V. The Priest Ascends: The Three Steps of Calvary
After absolution, the priest finally ascends the altar steps, a movement loaded with symbolism.
The Three Steps = Theologia Mystica
In medieval liturgical commentary, the three steps represent the classic threefold ascent of the soul:
Purgation — cleansing from sin
Illumination — reception of grace
Union — closeness to God
Durandus, echoing the Fathers, teaches that the steps mirror the ascent of Mount Calvary and the spiritual ascent of every Christian life.[11]
Christological Meaning
St. Thomas Aquinas explicitly connects the priest’s approach to the altar with Christ’s approach to His Passion.[12]
The altar is Christ Himself—victim, priest, and sacrifice—so the priest’s ascent is a ritual walking toward Calvary.
Historical Note
Originally, Christian altars were literally graves of martyrs; the physical ascent also symbolized approaching the tomb and rising with Christ.
VI. A Summary of the Theology
In the opening minute of the Traditional Latin Mass, the Church expresses:
The distance between God and man
The need for purification
The humility of the priesthood
The reality of the Communion of Saints
The anticipation of Sacrifice
The approach to Calvary
The Mass does not begin with informality or familiarity.
It begins with fear, reverence, longing, and humility—the disposition proper to those who will soon stand beneath the Cross.
ENDNOTES
[1] St. John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood, Book III.
[2] St. Ambrose, De Sacramentis, IV:2.
[3] Council of Trent, Session XXII, Ch. 2.
[4] Catechism of the Council of Trent, On the Sign of the Cross.
[5] St. Athanasius, Life of Antony, 82.
[6] Tertullian, De Corona, 3.
[7] St. Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos, Ps. 42.
[8] Origen, Homilies on the Psalms.
[9] Durandus, Rationale Divinorum Officiorum, Book IV.
[10] St. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 63.
[11] Durandus, Rationale, IV.
[12] St. Thomas Aquinas, ST III, q. 83, a. 4.