NEW TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS PEW MISSAL & HYMNAL
The publication of a gorgeous new pew missal and hymnal is a signal event for traditionally minded Catholics. From the Foreword (by Fr. John Berg, superior general of the FSSP) to the new St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal for the Traditional Latin Mass:
"The first time one attends the Usus Antiquior he quickly discovers that it is multilayered . . . He may choose to pray the Offertory chant, or the prayers silently said by the priest at the same time, or simply follow the gestures which accompany them. Indeed, the riches never seem to be exhausted, but there is another level to discover; as the first text of the liturgy for Sundays after Pentecost exclaims: O altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei! . . . . . One of the great efforts of Benedict XVI has been to restore the liturgy to its proper place in the life of the faithful. . . . . . Perhaps no greater aid is available to the faithful than the missal used at each Mass. For this reason, the St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal for the Traditional Latin Mass is an important contribution for souls desiring to delve into the vast wealth of the Usus Antiquior. It is more than a translation of the Mass into the vernacular. In a certain sense it is analogous to the Rites themselves in that it is multilayered. One who first picks it up can use it to follow the texts or the gestures through the pictures for both Low Mass and Solemn Mass. For one who is already familiar, it also provides references to the meaning and history of these same prayers, chants, signs and gestures, and thereby serves to encourage one to dig deeper and come to know the 'depth of the riches' of the Church’s liturgy."
The whole volume is beautifully designed to highlight the whole beauty of the Traditional Mass. Many of the color photos illustrating parts of the Mass show Fr. James Fryar, FSSP, whom some here remember from his 2007 visit to our local community. A unique feature is the placement, side by side, of ancient images from liturgical books, some over 1200 years old, with the exact same words used by the Latin Church all the way down to the 1962 edition of the Roman missal--thus showing in stunning fashion how traditional Catholics worship using the exact same words as their Roman Rite ancestors in the faith, since time immemorial.