Beginning in the late 1600s, the Catholic Indian missions of Canada developed their own unique liturgical traditions that utilized native language ordinaries and propers in the Mass. These liturgies continued to be used through the 1800s and, in some cases, even up to Vatican II and beyond.

The Gradual of the Seven Nations intends to unite these historical liturgies into one liturgical book. The fruit of years of research, it aims to preserve these unique traditions and to make them more accessible to a modern audience, particularly for Native Catholic communities. We hope it also proves useful for the enrichment of Canadian and American Catholicism in general, such as for special liturgical celebrations in honor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

The ultimate goal is to publish the Gradual of the Seven Nations as a single book in the future. But in order to gauge interest and help raise funds for the project, we will be making smaller spiral-bound editions available for each mission use, as each one is properly researched, formatted, and prepared for publication.

First to be released is the section of the Gradual featuring the Iroquois use of Kanesatake or Oka, in the Mohawk language. This section has been compiled chiefly from two 19th-century publications, the Kaiatonserase (1860) and the Tsiatak Nihononwentsiake or Book of Seven Nations (1865). The Use of Kanesatake features a half-dozen Mass Propers for various seasons in the liturgical year, six settings of the Mass ordinaries, and the Requiem Mass. These are reproduced as they originally appeared in 19th-century chant notation, bound in a new choir edition that features a lay-flat spiral binding.

2023  •  spiral-bound choir edition  •  5.5" x 8.5"  •  66 pages  

Contents:
• Asperges & Vidi Aquam
• Introit for Advent, Septuagesima, Lent & Post-Pentecost
• Introit for Christmastide, Epiphany, Post-Epiphany, & Eastertide
• Introit for Passion & Palm Sundays
• Introit for Holy Thursday & Corpus Christi
• Pentecost Sunday
• Introit for the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Ordinaries for Advent, Septuagesima, & Lent
• Mass of the Angels
• Messe Royale (Dumont)
• Bordelais Mass
• Mass of the Second Tone
• Mass of Rev. Burtin, OMI
• Requiem Mass