Learn Latin with me - 2

(And I am not joking, since even though I know these phrases by sound, I am certainly improving my correct spelling of them! ;-)

We learned Oremus, which means "Let us pray."

We learned Credo in unum Deum, which means "I believe in one God." That is the first line of the long statement of Creed, our set of beliefs and thus, also, the first line of musical compositions, such as the one by Bach, of that Creed.

Here is another first line that I think we can all agree on in principle :-)

Gloria in excelsis Deo. This means "Glory be to God on high (in heaven.)" It is a simple but fundamental exclamation of praise to God, giving Him all the glory. This is the first line of what is called The Gloria, which is a prayer that praises God.

During the Catholic Mass, when this prayer is recited, like the Credo, the priest sings this first line. I love that the first line is sung and it is always splendid, because of the uninhibited devotional meaning, whether the priest has a superb singing voice or not!

Here is another short phrase we can all learn and agree on, which is simply to thank God.

Deo gratias. "Thanks be to God."

You can see how Spanish and Italian are descended from Latin in the similarity of many words.

I could write more about why I love Latin, but I'll save it for another time :-)