The Mass of the 7th Sunday opens with an Introit that sweeps us along as we enter into the presence of the Lord.
Domine, in tua misrericordia speravi : exsultavit cor meum in salutari tuo : cantabo Domino, qui bona tribuit mihi.
O Lord, in your mercy have I trusted; my heart has rejoiced in your salvation; I will sing to the Lord, who has given me good things. (Psalm 12: 6)
The introit begins in a mood of quiet confidence, with a melismatic development on the word “speravi” – I have hoped. In the following phrase, the mood changes as the melodic line surges forward and up on the words “exsultavit cor meum”, as if imitaing the movement of the rejoicing heart, to reach the climactic word “salutari” – salvation. The last phrase immediately drops back to the lower register before another surge up to the DO and melismatic development on “bona” – good things.
The chant captures succinctly the attitudes we must bring to the Mass: a true self-knowledge of our need for God’s mercy, gratitude for his having saved us, and remembrance of the blessings we have received. Even though this is a verse from the Old Testament, we read it in the light of the New Testament. Moreover, we read it in its liturgical context as the entrance chant for the Mass, when we celebrate the paschal mystery, that very work of salvation wrought by our Lord. Our heart must rejoice at our participation in that mystery as members of the Body of Christ. But if our hearts feel dull, perhaps it is because we do not see how much we are in need of mercy and thus have lost sight of the wonder of our salvation. Thus we are in danger of narrowing the good things that God has given us to this or that thing that has happened in our lives what because it delights us, seems “good” and which we then attribute to God. We may begin to value the gift rather than the giver. Trials and difficulties thus fall outside the good things God as given us, as defined by us.
The placing of this text at the start of the Mass should remind us that the best thing God has done for us is having saving us, having made us co-heirs in Jesus Christ, calling us to a supernatural vocation that exceeds our human nature and giving us a new life, his life, which he renews in us as we receive him in the Eucharist.