ABSTRACT
Remigius of Auxerre (d. after 908) opened his commentary on the mass not by referring to the origin of liturgical celebration or by emphasizing its significance but rather by considering the congregation, and their experience as participants. He explained that the mass should begin in a way that would put them in a proper state, one in which they would attend to the reading of the Gospel with burning desire (ardenti affectu). This desire occurred as the direct result of singing and psalmody (canendo et psallendo) because “the charm of sweetness first softens the heart of those listening and thus after the singing of sweet little songs the people, focusing on spiritual matters through compunction of the mind, might receive the healing word of the Gospel with burning desire.”1
