ASK FATHER: Why isn’t there a paper book with the Sunday propers in Latin and English?

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From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I’ll keep this short – I use my Kindle for Mass – the Missal available from the Patrimoniuim Press with propers for Sundays only. PP also sells a Kindle version daily missal. My wife prefers paper as do most others, I think. She uses the “red book” plus weekly sheets with the propers. I ordered a new missal from the St. John Cantius folks that is like the “red book” but also includes propers. though I haven’t received it yet, I believe the propers are only in English and not Latin, too. WHY is there no one who will publish a paper book with the Sunday propers in Latin and English? I contacted Patrimonium and he said he knows no one who does so. I will continue to use my Kindle .

Friend… buy a hand missal.  Get it know it.  Fill it with your holy cards and memorial cards and slips of paper with intentions for prayer.  Treasure it.  Pass it down.

Roman Catholic Daily Missal (1962) US HERE UK HERE

Baronius Press US HERE UK HERE

Lasance Missal US HERE UK HERE

To the question.

First, I suspect it would take a lot of work to make such a thing and it is hard to motivate when there are good hand missals available.

Kindle.  Okay.   I really like my Kindle.  However… consider a hand missal.

It just seems right if you are regularly attending Holy Mass in the traditional form.

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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15 Comments

  1. moon1234 says:

    My preference for a hand missal is the the 1964 St. Joseph Daily missal. It has the propers in “Modern” english as they are heard from the pulpit. The others are also good choices, but the english will be more antiquated. Some prefer that, but I like the more current rendering. It is not the “inclusive” language of modern bibles, just not “old english.”

    I also greatly prefer the pictures in the St. Joseph missal. The parts of the Mass are in Red and Black so you know when to speak, sit, stand, etc.

    The problem today is there is no place to go an flip through different options before purchasing. One must buy and then determine if you like that version or not. I own six of the St. Joseph Daily missal for my family and that isn’t enough.

    You can find them on e-bay and other auction sites. Look for the 1964 version. That is the last year before the novus ordo versions. Don’t get anything 1955 or before as Easter and the Triduum had changes after 1955 which are quite a bit different. So anything AFTER 1955 but BEFORE 1965, with 1964 being the most “up to date” version of the St. Joseph Daily missal.

    You can also find it in the following versions:
    – Black with hard cover
    – Black Leather with red ink gilding
    – Black Leather with gold gilding
    – White Leather with gold gilding

    They also shipped with various slipcovers from vinyl to some really nice ornate ones. The original box also included some prayer cards, a page finder with multiple colored ribbons, etc.

  2. Jack in NH says:

    They’re out there, but a tad hard to find. Bought mine in a thrift shop. Printed in 1936, in Belgium, but distributed from New York. Includes propers for all days of the year. Happy hunting!

  3. jhayes says:

    The first two Missals listed (Angelus Press, Baronius Press) are the 1962 text approved by Summorum Pontificum. The third (FSSP, Fr. Lasance) says it is a “reproduction of the original 1945 text”

    Link

    The publisher’s page also says:

    “Please note: This missal is reprinted from an old type-setting. The print looks old, and occasional numbers or letters may be imperfect or missing. Copies that contain such imperfections will not be considered damaged or defective.”

  4. APX says:

    I inherited my grandma’s which was rather interesting because it came in a box, which had other interesting old time Catholic things in it including all her 1948 Trudy choir notes from playing the organ at Mass as well as this really old Catholic booklet on dating and how to not fall into sin.

    I don’t see why a re-print couldn’t be made such as with the Father Lansce prayer books.

  5. Julia_Augusta says:

    I’ve had the Lasance missal for a few years. It’s small, portable but has tiny print. I use it not just for Mass but for prayers and devotions.

  6. Suburbanbanshee says:

    If you need musical resources, the “Simple English Propers” by Adam Bartlett is excellent, and you can find links to that and other propers-related resources for free and online at: CMAA’s Church Music Resources page.

  7. WVC says:

    One of the joys of a hand missal is those late Sundays in Epiphany and After Pentecost where trying to find all the propers makes it feel like reading a choose-your-own-adventure book. When you can make your way through that, you know you’ve arrived.

  8. Sportsfan says:

    Those who are not prone to lose things have little sympathy for those of us that do.

  9. WmHesch says:

    The Catholic “Vest Pocket Manuals” of the early 20th century were portable and accessible…. 32mo sized book

  10. ddhue says:

    I have a missal given to me by a dear friend. I am convinced it is because of that gift that we now have a son studying with the Institute and a daughter who just started her novitiate with a new order that only has the Latin mass.

    However, I was in the adoration chapel this morning and saw someone using the Magnificat (monthly for N.O.) for her readings and prayer, and I imagine she uses it for mass. I wish there was something similar for the Latin mass, not that we necessarily need it because of the various missals available. But I would appreciate readings from church fathers and other saints along with the mass readings.

  11. Something is tugging at me from within my lumber yard memory. I think someone out there is working on a booklet like Magnificat for the TLM.

  12. Patrick says:

    There was a monthly publication several years ago called “Laudamus Te” that was like a Magnificat for the TLM. It had the proper for all feasts, a copy of the ordinary, essays by priests and maybe some sermons or excerpts of books, too. I still have a couple copies I purchased. It was a neat little book that I generally liked more than my Magnificat but they went under or ceased publication within a year or two (I think they put out between 4 and 6 issues total)

  13. Rob83 says:

    The closest I have seen to this was a 1961 St Joseph continuous Sunday missal, but that missal is mostly useful in foreshadowing the liturgical wreck to come – it has number coding for 3 different forms of dialogue Mass and omits Latin unless it is part of a response the people might say.

    The simple reason I think there is no mass market paper option is that the calendar does not lend itself to such convenience. The extra commemorations change year by year for Sundays and there is enough choice for daily Mass that even with a hand missal I can be frantically page turning trying to figure out which votive father is saying.

  14. At the risk of being metaphorically burned at the stake ;-) , my wife and I simply use our iPhones for all this. For the EF, we use iMass (FSSP). It has both the Mass and Breviary. There is also iPieta, which has both the Mass and Breviary, plus such things as Butler’s Lives of the Saints, etc. For the Chants for the day, we use the Chant Tools app.

    And if we find ourselves at a Latin OF liturgy, we have the “Liturgia Horarum” and the “Missale Romanum” apps. Chant Tools will also give us the OF chants for the day.

    The nice things about these apps is that the texts are all in-line. So no need to flip pages between the propers and commons. You also get to adjust text size. Something much harder to do in the print copies.

    Just a thought.

  15. LegendaAurea says:

    This site might be a useful resource.. http://www.latine.ca/

Comments are closed.