Tract

What it is

A tract (tractus) is a chant of the MassGlossaryThe Church's central act of worship—the Sacrifice of Calvary made present, and the sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood. proper, sung after the Gradual in seasons or Masses when the Alleluia is suppressed — especially LentGlossaryThe forty-day penitential season before Easter—fasting, prayer, and almsgiving in preparation for the Passion and Resurrection.. It is typically a continuous psalm setting, more expansive than a short antiphonGlossaryA short scriptural or liturgical text sung or said before and after a psalm, canticle, or as a refrain in the Mass and Office..

What it is not

Not a theological “tract” (pamphlet), and not the same as a sequence. If someone says “the Lenten tract,” they mean the chant.

How you encounter it

On the First Sunday of Lent, hear Qui habitat — among the longest tracts in the Graduale Romanum.