''Benedicamus Domino'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: "Let us bless the Lord") is a closing salutation that was formerly used in the Latin

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

instead of the ''

Ite, missa est ''Ite, missa est'' ( English: ''"Go, it is the dismissal"'') are the concluding Latin words addressed to the people in the Mass of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church, as well as in the Divine Service of the Lutheran Church. Until the reform ...

'' in Masses which lack the Gloria (i.e., Masses of the season during

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

Septuagesima Septuagesima () is the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday. The term is sometimes applied to the seventy days starting on Septuagesima Sunday and ending on the Saturday after Easter. Alternatively, the term is sometimes ap ...

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

, and Passiontide; ferial Masses ''per annum'' at which the Mass of the preceding Sunday was repeated, except in Eastertide; most

votive Mass In the liturgy of the Catholic Church, a votive Mass (Latin ''missa votiva'') is a Mass offered for a ''votum'', a special intention. Such a Mass does not correspond to the Divine Office for the day on which it is celebrated. Every day in the yea ...

es). The

response Response may refer to: *Call and response (music), musical structure *Reaction (disambiguation) *Request–response **Output or response, the result of telecommunications input *Response (liturgy), a line answering a versicle * Response (music) o ...

, said afterwards, is ''Deo gratias'' ("Thanks be to God"). It is also sung as a

versicle A versicle (from Latin , ) is a short two- or four-line verse that is sung or recited in the liturgy alternating between the celebrant, hebdomadarian or cantor and the congregation. It is usually a psalm verse in two parts. A series of versicl ...

at the end of all

Offices An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

. The ''Benedicamus Domino'' continues to be used in the Mass of the Lutheran Churches and in the Divine Office.

History and liturgical use

Apparently the chant was unknown in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

before about AD 1000, and may have originated in the Gallican liturgy. In modern chantbooks, the music given for the chant is exactly the same as for the ''

Ite missa est ''Ite, missa est'' ( English: ''"Go, it is the dismissal"'') are the concluding Latin words addressed to the people in the Mass of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church, as well as in the Divine Service of the Lutheran Church. Until the reforms ...

'', but it is not known how much that was true in the medieval period as well.Hoppin, Richard. ''Medieval Music''. New York: Norton, 1977. Page 142. The text was frequently troped, especially by adding text between the two words, or using the melody as the ''

cantus firmus In music, a ''cantus firmus'' ("fixed melody") is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition. The plural of this Latin term is , although the corrupt form ''canti firmi'' (resulting from the grammatically incorrect trea ...

'' for an ''

organum ''Organum'' () is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line (or '' bourdon'') may be sung on the sam ...

''. The use of this chant as a tenor was common in the St. Martial and Notre Dame schools of polyphony, including a dozen settings in the '' Magnus Liber Organi''. During the liturgical reforms of Pope

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

(1938–1958) and

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

(1958–1963) the use of the ''Benedicamus Domino'' was much restricted. By 1963, it was only recited or chanted when an

exposition Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair *Expository writing *Exposition (narrative), background information in a story * Exposition (music) *Trade fair * ''Exposition'' (album), the debut alb ...

immediately follows the Mass (''Eucharisticum Mysterium'', 120). It is rarely heard in Anglo-Saxon countries, processions being rarities there. It is still however, used in the Divine Office. The Lutheran Churches continue to use it in the Divine Office and at the end of the Mass ( Divine Service).

Notes

{{italic title Order of Mass Latin religious words and phrases