Low Mass is the simplest form, celebrated without chant from the priest. While music may be included, it remains separate from the liturgy itself. Choirs cannot sing the Propers or the Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei), which are reserved for High Mass. Instead, hymns, motets, or organ pieces, vernacular or Gregorian may be used. At the altar, only two candles are lit, and no incense is allowed. Typically, two altar servers assist (with an optional Master of Ceremonies).
High Mass (Missa Cantata) elevates the liturgy with chant. The celebrant chants the Collects, readings, Preface, and Postcommunion, while the choir sings the Propers and Ordinary in Latin. Four or six candles are lit, and additional servers may assist, including a Thurifer (incense), Crucifer, Boat Bearer, and multiple Torchbearers. Here, incense may be used, and the Mass becomes both musically and ceremonially fuller.
Solemn High Mass is the most elaborate form a priest may celebrate. It requires a Deacon and Subdeacon with defined roles: the Subdeacon chants the Epistle, while the Deacon chants the Gospel. The traditional “kiss of peace” is also exchanged among clergy and servers.
Requiem Masses, offered for the dead, adapt these forms with distinct prayers, black vestments, and special Propers. There are four principal settings: All Souls’ Day, funerals, anniversaries, and daily Requiem Masses. Often, the liturgy concludes with the ceremony of Absolution at a catafalque when no body is present.
When a Bishop celebrates the TLM, three options exist:
Pontifical Low Mass resembles a standard Low Mass, but the bishop vests and unvests at the altar with chaplains assisting.
Pontifical Solemn Mass at the Faldstool is used by auxiliary bishops or when celebrating outside one’s diocese.
Pontifical Solemn Mass at the Throne is reserved for diocesan bishops in their own sees and for cardinals anywhere.
Notably, the Pontifical Missa Cantata, once popular in dioceses such as Detroit and London (Ontario), was prohibited in 2017 by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. The ruling stated that it was not in use in 1962; the standard year for the TLM rubrics, but gained popularity afterward. Critics argue this decision discourages bishops from celebrating the Traditional Mass, as the Solemn Pontifical forms are highly complex and require significant clergy support.
A growing number of faithful in Goa are voicing the need to revive the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), a form of worship deeply rooted in the Catholic Church’s heritage. Once celebrated widely in Goan parishes, the Latin Mass has declined in frequency over the decades, following liturgical reforms introduced after the Second Vatican Council.