Editing Gradual (section)

{{Short description|Christian liturgical chant}}
{{For|the general concept|Gradualism}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
[[File:Gradual of King John Albert.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Gradual of King [[John I Albert of Poland]] in the [[Wawel Cathedral]]'s [[Sacristy]]]]

The '''gradual''' ({{langx|la|graduale}} or {{lang|la|[[responsorium]] graduale}}) is a certain [[chant]] or [[hymn]] in liturgical Christian worship. It is practiced in the [[Mass in the Catholic Church|Catholic Mass]], [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] [[Divine Service (Lutheran)|Divine Service]], [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] service and other traditions. It gets its name from the Latin {{lang|la|gradus}} (meaning "step") because it was once chanted on the step of the [[Ambon (liturgy)|ambo]] or [[altar]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://musingsoftodd.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/traditional-latin-mass-qa-gradual-alleluia-and-sequence/|title=Traditional Latin Mass Q&A – Gradual, Alleluia and Sequence|date=2013-09-17|work=Musings of Todd|access-date=2018-09-03|language=en-US}}</ref> It is customarily placed after a reading of scripture.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-14 |title=What is the Gradual? |url=https://www.gottesdienst.org/gottesblog/2019/11/14/what-it-the-gradual |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Gottesdienst |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the [[Tridentine Mass]], it is sung after the reading or chanting of the [[epistle]] and before the [[Hallelujah]], or, during penitential seasons, before the [[Tract (liturgy)|tract]]. In the [[Mass of Paul VI]], the gradual is usually replaced with the [[responsorial psalm]]. Although the Gradual remains an option in the Mass of Paul VI, its use is extremely rare{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} outside monasteries. The gradual is part of the [[Proper (liturgy)|proper]] of the Mass.

A gradual can also refer to a book collecting all the musical items of the Mass. The official such book for the [[Roman Rite]] is the [[Roman Gradual]] ({{lang|la|Graduale Romanum}}). Other such books include the Dominican Gradual.