Missalettes are way more expensive than a hardbound. Our subscription for 500 missalettes is about $3000 per year. A one time purchase of hardbound was going to cost $7000 and that would last about ten years. That $23,000 more for missalettes over a ten year period! And then the content is sparse in a missalette (about 100 selections) compared to 500-600 in a hardbound.

More disadvantage in a missalette is that you have a changing repertoire every three months so you can't plan. The page numbers are different every time, and that is an administrative nightmare. They also will alter texts on a whim, PC and deneutered are always issues in ours (WLP).

Which of the "modern" hymns are worth paying for? I made my own hymnal recently for the congregation (words only). We use the CCLI license which allows me 100 songs per year and that only cost $350. Granted, it does not have much from OCP or WLP in it, but more of SpiritSong whose modern song texts seem to be more theologicaly solid, especially when addressing the Eucharist (less table, meal, and sharing ourselves as the bread for the world).

Get a real hymnal. I dont know what the status is with the St Michaels, but it has a wide selection from all publishers and they like to stress orthodox lingo.

Run, don't simply walk away from OCP. My parish and diocese are completely infected by this virus and it takes a lot to finally break free of the monolith.

By the way, Jeffrey's article is called "The Hidden Hand Behind Bad Catholic Music" or something similar.

At our previous liturgical committee meeting, I suggested using the ICEL settings for when the Revised Roman Missal finally hits. My pastor asked me if they were like the OCP versions. I told him and the committee that the ICEL settings would be the default since they will actually be inside of the Roman Missal. I have heard some of the OCP revisions and they are just more of the same bad stuff.

Bring it up at the next meeting, or, ask for a special-called meeting. ASAP.

Just to add... I'm pretty sure I remember reading that all publishers will be required by the USCCB to include the ICEL chant setting in their worship aids inline with the Order of Mass. They are also permitted to include one other of their composed Mass settings.

Thank you all.

We've got S & S and The Cath Comm Hymnal in the pews. What stuff from the ICEL website would be needed to accommodate the upcoming changes?

MaryAnn, that's a great idea. If it's all ready to go, it's an appealing situation. The current director is taking on more responsibility in the upcoming year, so having it all set up would certainly be one less thing for her to worry about.

Thanks,

Mark

I'm looking at the link above...

I'm guessing that the "cards" would need to have these items (in bold): Is this list correct? complete?

Also, am I permitted to take the information and re-format the appearance so that it fits on a card?

Thanks,

-M

The Order of Mass
Introductory Rites

• Greeting
  Penitential Act
  Kyrie
  Gloria
  

The Liturgy of the Eucharist

• Orate, Fratres
• 
  
  The Eucharistic Prayer
  
  • Preface Dialogue
    Sanctus
    Memorial Acclamation
    Doxology
    
  
  

The Communion Rite

• Lord’s Prayer, Embolism, and Doxology
  Sign of Peace
  Agnus Dei
  Invitation to Communion
  

The Concluding Rites

• Blessing
  Dismissal
  

Adam,

When you say "yes" is that a yes to both permission and completeness?

Thank you!

M

PS, my intent was to include the chant settings all along!

From the ICEL site...

Publications not subject to royalties
No royalty is charged for reprinting ICEL translations in a publication for use at a specific Mass or celebration of an individual congregation or institution, for example: convention program booklets, jubilee Masses, ordinations, baptisms, first communions, confirmations, funerals, weddings, etc., provided that the following conditions are met:

a. the publication is not produced by a publishing firm;

b. the publication is not sold;

c. the appropriate copyright notice appears on the cover, inside cover, or title page;

d. the official editions of the texts are followed exactly.

Would this mean that using it at my parish on a weekly basis would be a violation of the terms?

-M

Looks like you're good.

aquinasadmirer

i can help you with producing a layout if you need.

From a director's perspective-
May God reward you for doing this!
I do believe that the ease of the missallettes is a huge factor in parishes dumping $ on them. Most directors (if they are paid) are working for little pay considering hours involved, and if layout and copying tasks were delegated, it's a *huge* help.
I'll be praying that it all works well, and the bullet (OCP subscription) can be dodged. Please keep us posted on this forum.

Thanks MaryAnn,

Your ideas are gems. Thank you! No, I did not have all of them already!

My pastor, Fr. T. remarked a while back about our "Spirit and Song" books. He said something like: "We only sing about 20 songs out there, and the rest of the book is basically unused." I think the benefits you list as #1 and #3 help avoid the utilization problem we have with the S & S book.

While this idea was formulating in my head, I thought about presenting Jeffrey T's essay noted earlier. Your comments confirm my gut in deciding against that. There's not much upside, and lots of potential downside for this situation. Focus on the mission, and the positive points. Negativity about OCP has no place here.

I'm thinking of presenting the cleaned (with the help of y'all and Francis) version to the pastor and the music director individually. Any advice about how to tee-up the conversations is most welcome.

St. Cecelia, ora pro nobis.

-M

Make a hymnal then with 25 hymns, if all you sing is 20. Then you have some room to expand. 7 sheets of paper will hold it all.

Do any of you have experience with the size of worship aids (I don't like that word) that could tell me what size works well for something that would hold up to weekly use?

I can't comment on reusing them from week-to-week, but I have experience making worship aids. We use them every week on a tri-fold 11 x 17 sheet.

Licensing permissions (like OneLicense.net, etc.), hymn downloads, notation software, and cost of printing = still WAY cheaper than any hymnal or missalette.

There are a lot of considerations to size - if you use a letter-sized sheet (in the US) and fold it once it disappears into a hymnal, so legal size folded once tends to be the smallest that you can use if you have a hymnal.

I recommend having a Mass Sheet Ministry - print enough for the largest Mass, have people greet and pass them out, instruct people to return at the door.

Also, it is easy, as already said, to print little seasonal hymnals.

First consideration is size of paper - anything other than letter or 11/17 starts running into money - and legal is available only in limited colors.

Avoiding staples is ALWAYS good, I agree. The more simple and easy it is to print and fold it, the better.

I am unclear about what music you want in the worship aid. If it's to be used weekly with no variation, you should consider light lamination. It will be durable, and people are less likely to "forget" and throw it away.

I've been to lots of parishes with poorly folded programs- my first two thoughts are always: 1. They don't care much about my experience of being here. 2. They don't care much about bringing their best to God.

I don't think that's fair. They probably just care more about other aspects of the experience.

I do the weekly programs for our Latin Mass (usually just download the Una Voce Orange County ones, sometimes with light editing.)

We don't have ushers at that Mass. People who want a propers sheet take it off a table near the entrance. I've lately stopped folding them at all.

While I agree that we bring our best to God, there's more to do than time to do it in. Furthermore, the translation sheet isn't the worship.

It would cost me money to have someone else fold them. I figure people can fold their own after they pick it up. However, if you have an extra folding machine you want to donate to our parish!

Jahaza, I say this in a non-critical way, but have you tried advertising in the parish bulletin for a worship aid folder? At our parish there is a group of retired "office assistants" who volunteer to do this sort of thing. They can't be expected to do every menial task of course, but it helps the music director a lot, and they enjoy doing it (believe it or not!).

Doug, that's a good suggestion.

12 point is usually the minimum for congregational participation. And that bar is set by older people like me! However, font face can sometimes alter the readability. I used 12 point in our hymnal that I made, but I used a condensed font in order to get more content into a smaller space. It's a bit harder to read, but heh. Doesn't cost much to experiment.