The Translation of the Revised Roman Missal - Diocese of Paterson

Single-Sentence Single Sentence Prayers
54. As mentioned above, the Roman Rite’s use of a single g sentence
form for many of its prayers seems to have been adopted from pre-
Christian Roman prayers in which extended subordination serves to
order all of the elements of the sentence to express a dependence upon
God as the source and end of all saving action. Extended
subordination in the Roman single sentence prayer helps to emphasize
what is important by clearly labeling what is secondary or subordinate
to a main thought. Typically, Latin signals this by the use of
conjunctives, as well as historic, causal or successive sequence with ut
or cum, all in an effort to underline the subordination of such
expressions to the principal thought of the speaker of the prayer. In
addition, such clauses are further subordinated through a sequence of
tenses which links all action to that solely of the main clause, with
every phrase dominated often by the power of a single governing verb.
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