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REVIEW: Angelus Press hand missal
I think it is of upmost importance to participate at Holy Mass also using a sound "hand missal". A good hand missal, whether of the TLM of the Novus Ordo, can enrich your interior receptivity.
A while back I reviewed the hand missal published by Baronius Press.
Now let’s look at the hnd missal published by Angelus Press, the publishing arm of the SSPX. For the purposes of this review, the fact that it comes from the SSPX’s printing concern matters not a whit to me. I am grateful that they sent me a copy for my review.
First, let’s have a look general look at the cover and binding.
There are five ribbons and the pages are gilded. the gilding isn’t like it was in the old days, but that’s no surprise. It is still pretty good. The binding of the new volume was still pretty tight, but it seems durable from what I can tell. That is very important in such a book.
I still have to hold it open with my fingers for the shot, but it will loosen up.
You can see that the pages well laid out. There is both English and Latin side by side. The black ink is dark and well contrasted with the paper which is slightly yellowish.
Here is the basic information for the translation and the commentaries. You can see that the paper is very thin, to keep the book a reasonable size, but the paper seems sturdy.
NB: They are in their 3rd printing for November 2007.
There are good sections for devotions and private prayers.
There are propers for the USA and Canada.
In the back there is a Kyriale. I hope that means that the SSPX wants people in the pews to sing along… (which I doubt). Seriously, this could help in the formation of a small schola: you would not have to buy too many more books to get it started.
I liked this feature in the back: pages for you to write in special events like baptisms, marriages, ordinations, deaths, and your own special intentions. If someone were to use this at St. Agnes Church in St. Paul, however, that ordinations page would have to have an extension added.
Here is the first pages of the Ordinary. you can see that they use red ink for the rubrics and comments.
Let’s now compare the Angelus Press version with the Baronius Press version.
The Baronius Press version is a little smaller, but they are roughly the same thickness and feel in the hand.
The Baronius binding is somewhat subtler.
Let us see them open and next to each other. The Angelus Press edition is on the top, Baronius below.
Click the image below for a bigger view.
Note that the Baronius edition has somwhat whiter paper.
I don’t know if that would help in a darker church or, in a brigher space it might annoy.
The gilt on the pages of the Baronius is marginally better accomplished. The Baronius edition has 6 ribbons and the Angelus version 5.
In sum, the Angelus Press book is very good. I like the commentaries and the extra sections for devotions.
I did not do a side by side comparison of the translation, so at this point I have nothing to say about that.
This book is very useful and should prove to resist years of being hauled around in bags or in the hand.
I am sure that some of you readers will have your own experienecs and preferences, which you can post below.
I have the Baronius missal, pre-MP edition. I haven’t had a chance to get the Angelus one, but your review does a lot to point out the differences between the two, thank you! The Baronius one is hardcover, which I like. The Angelus one looks like it is a soft cover, is that correct?
Comment by Jacob — 23 February 2008 @ 8:44 amJacob: The editions that I have are not hard cover. They are flexible, leather bound.
Comment by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf — 23 February 2008 @ 8:51 amFr. Z wrote: “In the back there is a Kyriale. I hope that means that the SSPX wants people in the pews to sing along… (which I doubt).”
Doubt no longer: singing is encouraged at SSPX chapels, at least the ones that I am familiar with. I think if it is unsuccessful it might be in part due to the fact that, as an American SSPX priest told me once, American men don’t like to sing.
Pax.
Comment by Neal — 23 February 2008 @ 9:09 amJacob: I’m the same; not a hardcover but this kind of flexible leather stuff.
I like the Kyriale in the Baronius Missal. It comes in very handy for singing along.
Comment by Mark M — 23 February 2008 @ 9:22 amOver the years I’ve used a number of both old and new missals, including the Angelus and Baronius 1962 missals. The Angelus missal has come to be my favorite among them all, and I now use it exclusively. I like the thin paper and the thinner volume (as compared with the first-edition Baronius that I’ve used). It is especially well balanced in the hand, and after use stays open readily. This may vary from printing to printing, but the paper in my Angelus is clearly whiter than that in my Baronius, and is easily readable in a dimly lit church (as is its typeface). The Angelus missal has held up well since its purchase in early 2005, and to me seems more durable than the Baronius acquired shortly thereafter. My only preference for the Baronius would be the prefaces all collected in a single section preceding the Ordinary, whereas in the Angelus missal this section must be paged through just before the Canon.
Comment by Albwright — 23 February 2008 @ 9:22 amI love my Angelus Missal. The missal can be easily held in one hand, which for parents with young children is essential. I also like the fact that the Latin is in a font that is large enough to be read without difficulty. The small Latin text of the Baronius Missal, always turned me off. I also appreciate the paper, which had to be imported from France. White is the only available “bible” paper in the US. Finally, I am happy that the Angelus Missal was printed in the US, instead of going to India or China to have the printing done. They certainly could have gotten a better deal in either country, but I just do not think it is appropriate for a Catholic liturgical book to be produced by “sweat shop” labor. The Angelus has done a great service to the Traditional Latin Mass movement with this publication.
Comment by Christopher Sarsfield — 23 February 2008 @ 9:33 amI began going to TLM in December and bought the Baronius. I liked it because there is a lot of information and prayers that a returning/evolving Catholic like myself find very useful. The only drawback for me, is that sometimes the ordo missae is difficult for me to follow. Otherwise, I am very happy with this book and it has helped me deepen my faith.
Comment by Bridget — 23 February 2008 @ 9:41 amDoes anyone know when, if ever, 1962 Missals will being to include the new Good Friday prayer for the Jews?
Comment by Michael — 23 February 2008 @ 9:41 amMy wife bought me an Angelus Press missal for our anniversary, God bless her!
I love it, but …
I tend to like books that are not as thick. I wish they left out some of the extras, such as Tenebrae, and published them in a separate volume. Just as I wish the “Blessed Be God” reprint was a little thinner. (The subject, perhaps, for another review. The binding on that is inferior but the price excellent.)
I think the Angelus edition paper is a little too thin and the cover is fake leather. I especially notice the difference when I compare it to my copy of the LOTH, the standard black four-volume leather set. I do not have the same confidence the cover will hold up as well as the LOTH covers.
Comment by Ken — 23 February 2008 @ 9:43 amI was given the Angelus Press missal. I like it except for one thing: I find the Latin hard to read. Too small and too squished in to the binding. Someone remarked that the Baronius was worse … I would love to have the Latin and English switched out. Or just plain Latin would be better.
Comment by Daniel Muller — 23 February 2008 @ 9:48 amI know a lady who bought the non leather version of the Angelus missal and within a year it was a wreck with covers falling off. I don’t know if she used it to practice shooting hoops but that thing was a war zone when she gave it to another person at the same Mass.
Comment by missale romanum — 23 February 2008 @ 9:57 am“I hope that means that the SSPX wants people in the pews to sing along… (which I doubt).”
Father, during my time studying in Paris, I stumbled upon St. Nicolas-du-Chardonnet (I did not know it was run by the SSPX when I did) and stayed for their Sunday High Mass. Apart from being the most beautiful celebration of the extraordinary form I have yet to witness, EVERYONE sang alot the proper responses and ordinary chants. This I contrast with my disappointment over a High Mass celebrated recently in the Washington DC area, where in the printed programs, the pastor-celebrant actually wrote that the 1962 Missal left all singing to the choir and responses to the servers (a subtle request to the congregation to NOT sing) – and sure enough, I got some mean stares even for my mumbled and hushed “et cum spiritu tuo”s – what a contrast! The preference for absolute silence from the congregation seems to definitely be a North American thing, though I have no idea what the preference is in England/Ireland.
Comment by Emilio — 23 February 2008 @ 10:08 amI hate these “eselsbrücke” or “pons asinorum” type books with one language on one side and another language on the other side. It really irritates the life out of me. What is it for? Are you supposed to perform a cirque du soleil kind of a feat – not riding two bicycles at the same time, but read two languages simultaneously? If you’re not going to read the Latin, why bother having it printed? And if you are, what is the English page doing there? Am I the only person left on this earth who believes that Latin is truly a language, that it can be learned, and spoken, and understood? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Catholics! Roman Catholics!
Comment by Andrew — 23 February 2008 @ 10:11 amI would also like to say that at every SSPX Mass I have attended there has definitely been input from the congregation in the singing – and like Emilio above, the most beautiful and reverent Masses I have ever witnessed have been SSPX - I have yet to see a “regular” traditional Mass that comes up to their standards of excellence. Maybe once they are allowed to start training priests outside of their own order we will see some of this beauty and reverence in the mainstream.
Comment by Jamie — 23 February 2008 @ 10:34 amI know a lady who bought the non leather version of the Angelus missal and within a year it was a wreck with covers falling off.
I also have an original non-leather version that I’ve used daily for three years—as my prayerbook, reading all the propers daily, also recently started carrying it with me to daily Novus Ordo. It seems indestructible. I’m curious to know what she did to make the covers start falling off her copy.
I actually prefer my Baron