Gradual (Noun)
Meaning
(Roman Catholic Church) an antiphon (usually from the Book of Psalms) immediately after the epistle at Mass.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The priest announced the gradual, which was Psalm 42, and the congregation stood to sing the response.
- The cantor's beautiful voice soared as she sang the gradual, a meditation on the prophet Isaiah's words.
- In the Roman Missal, the gradual is listed as a Scripture reading that occurs between the epistle and the gospel acclamation.
- As the deacon read the epistle, the choir stood poised to sing the gradual, which was a beautiful setting of Psalm 130.
- During Lent, the graduale Romanum, or Roman Gradual, was chanted each Sunday, offering a haunting melody to the faithful.