Our people need Missals...
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    With plans to leave the OCP Breaking Bread behind this Advent, we need to locate something for people who want to be able to follow the readings of the Mass...especially those who have hearing problems.

    At the same time, we want something that is a Missal...and that's all. No music inserted for seasonal use nor for singing the Psalms...a bound book with A, B and C in it....

    And it has to be a permanent book....not a throw away.

    Thanks.

    noel at sjnmusic.com
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    I think WLP's We Celebrate has a Missal only option.
  • David AndrewDavid Andrew
    Posts: 1,206
    GIA publishes a paperback edition for each year of the three-year cycle. If they're not too badly abused, they can be saved and reused when the cycle repeats. (The readings aren't dated, only numbered, i.e., "20th Sunday in Ordinary Time", etc.)

    Perhaps this isn't the place for this, but I've had discussions regarding the "message" that gets sent to people when we use "disposable" printed material that contains scripture. There is a certain psychology to the use of a more permanent hand missal over any kind of disposable resource. I realize that not everyone can afford a leatherbound hand missal, but I think there's something to the argument that disposable resources send the wrong message. So much of what we use in life is use-and-throw-away. Scripture is here to stay.

    Just a thought.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,847
    I TOTALLY agree with you DA. The constant disposal and purchase of Missalettes is truly a waste. And as I and others have said on this forum, It also keeps us all off balance. Texts change, sometimes melodies change, and it keeps the Church feeling as though it is in a constant state of flux instead of the immovable rock that the Faith represents.
  • GavinGavin
    Posts: 2,799
    I recall one priest blogger mentioning doing away with missalettes at Mass. After reading his reasoning (most of which is that he's proclaiming the Gospel to the top of everyone's heads), I can't think of a single reason we have those in our pews. If someone is financially burdened and in need of a missalette, the church should be willing to provide something cheap. And let's face it, these things CAN be handy to non-Catholic visitors, but none of them KNOW to use them!

    I would recommend a "Missal fair" where the parish could present varied missals that people might consider buying as well as to promote the usage of a personal missal. I still have laying around my old children's missal. Somehow that book got the Mass more correct than any modern priests...
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    Gavin,

    Great suggestion...the Missal fair.

    Now how do we find them? My Google searches have found little...

    noel
  • OlbashOlbash
    Posts: 314
    What about the St. Joseph Missal? It's expensive, but permanent.

    Another thought is to publish your own readings every week -- disposable, but free.
  • Maureen
    Posts: 678
    Just remember, there'll be a new translation coming along Real Soon Now. You don't want to buy anything _too_ expensive and permanent.
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    Just remember, there'll be a new translation coming along Real Soon Now. You don't want to buy anything _too_ expensive and permanent.

    They've been saying that for years, though, haven't they?
  • francis
    Posts: 10,847
    nihil sub sole novum nec valet quisquam dicere ecce hoc recens est iam enim praecessit in saeculis quae fuerunt ante nos
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    An update, I have found the best choice so far for our parish is Celebrating the Eucharist:

    http://www.litpress.org/mass_guides/mass_guides_ce_text.html

    The only music is two versions of each responsorial psalm, one being a psalm tone.

    I could live with this or even the Classic, which has 100 hymns and songs....and I recommend them both at being much superior to the GIAOCP conglomerate of worship aids....Gee-ah-oh-sip...the "I" is silent.

    But there is little chance that our parish will end up with one or the other....
  • G
    Posts: 1,401
    Our parish uses Celebrating the Eucharist -- classic? in any case, with hymns in the back.
    I chanted the psalm for the Vigil from it this evening -- and will do so for the Mass tmw morning at 7.
    I like it pretty well, truth be told, I would prefer we use only this and the Dread Gather would somehow disappear over night.

    (Save the Liturgy, Save the World)
  • Gilbert
    Posts: 106
    Any Missal bought now will be "outdated" when the new Missal translation hits the scene, in about 4 years, probably longer. Buying something meant to last 7 or 8 years might be appropriate, depending on the need. Buying something meant to last 30 years doesn't seem prudent.
  • G
    Posts: 1,401
    "Buying something meant to last 7 or 8 years might be appropriate,"

    Would it be piling on to say that the binding on Gather does not seem designed to last much longer than that?

    (Save the Liturgy, Save the World)
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    "Would it be piling on to say that the binding on Gather does not seem designed to last much longer than that?"

    I emphatically piled on JourneySongs 1.0 back in the day. But generally I think a lot depends on the spirit of the observation. Nowadays, I simply would be thankful for such design...
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Just F.Y.I., I have never in my life seen a more confusing Missal (for the Ordinary of the Mass) than the WLP disposable Missallettes our Cathedral uses for the Spanish Mass. It is no wonder nobody these days knows the parts of the Mass.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    I just saw the Celebrating the Eucharist from LitPress.

    this is the best I've ever seen. This and the PBC would be the perfect thing.
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 994
    This Liturgical Press publication has never been able to get the traction of the OCP or GIA publications. The same was true with their hymnal. People complained that it didn't have tons of music. (Not that they sing the "tons of music," they just like to know it's there.)

    I also recall that it was on better paper than the bottom-of-the-line newsprint of OCP.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    I don't understand it. It is really nice. I would suggest this for any OF parish.
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    I see only preliminary information about this "Mass Guide" there on the Liturgical Press website. Having not seen the product itself, what, may I ask, is so distinctive and laudable about "Celebrating the Eucharist"?
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    Well, it has a smart layout, for one thing. Really neat and not goofy. It prints the propers very clearly and I think (I think) gives a variety of extended options such as Sequences on all holy days. The music selections were solid (with enough of the other to please those who like that sort of thing). The binding was great too. Just a nice, neat, solid, smart, and stable looking and feeling package with no more or less than you need. I'm very impressed actually. this would be my top choice of what I've seen out there.
  • Heath
    Posts: 966
    We use this at a small parish that I play for on Sunday mornings (early, early Mass). Can't say I'm as thrilled with it as Jeffrey is. It has the same issues the other missalettes have in regards to music planning: 1) It's a pain to have to coordinate the numbers in the missalette with the numbers in the accompaniment edition, 2) You don't often have the repertoire that you want for a particular Sunday since they didn't happen to put it in that installment. For instance, last Friday I played for the Assumption and wanted to program "Sing of Mary" . . . nowhere to be found. Thanks. Turns out that it was in the new one that I received this past weekend!

    Also, I was playing a hymn once and found out (too late, I might add) that I had one extra verse inserted in the accompaniment edition that wasn't in the pew edition. Needless to say, I sang verse 3 solo!

    Very poor selection of Ordinary settings. Two complete ones (both relatively unknown), no chant settings.

    The psalm settings are decent, not spectacular. A metrical option and a psalm tone option for each Sunday.

    IIRC, the texts of the Sequences are in there, but the music wasn't. I had to use another source to sing Victimae and Veni, Sancte this past Easter season . . .
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    Thank you, Jeffrey and Heath.
  • JulesVanNuffel
    Posts: 126
    Heath, can you scan a page or two to show us some samples? I saw the one given on the website, but would appreciate a few more examples...thanks.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    Heath, this of course is an aspect I wouldn't know having just seen the missalette. Differences between the pew and accompaniment editions--text and verses--is pervasive in OCP materials. One tries to remember to check this each week, but someone it always catches us off guard. Makes us completely crazy actually! So I guess the question I would have is whether it is better than OCP in this regard. Hard to imagine that it could be worse. As for Psalms, I was very impressed with the few non-metric Psalms I saw. At least there is an option you can't dance to!

    As for Ordinary settings, I really hope that people will at some point stop looking to these resources for that.

    As I say, this book alongside the PBC, I think any parish would be fixed up.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    You may purchase the Liturgical Text edition with no music....there are two responsorial psalm melodies, one a tune the other a psalmtone....very, very nice book.

    The Classic Edition has 100 hymns and songs.

    Sacred Song is a hymnal for use with the LT if you want to purchase it. Jeffrey's right, this is the best book, the LT.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,847
    I have the WLP Choral Companion which is SUPPOSED to be the compliment to the Missalette in the pew. Three weeks in a row, I chose music out of the Missalette which does not exist in the Companion. IMHO that is not a companion, but simply a PITA!
  • Heath
    Posts: 966
    Well, I just wanted to temper somewhat the praise hoisted upon this resource. It's pretty good, don't get me wrong, but not perfect by any means.

    Though I'd like to compare it side-by-side with OCP (don't have both in my office right now), I would probably say that it's superior. The song selection in the back omits most of the schlock that OCP has in abundance, and the layout for the readings, etc. is not too bad.

    Personally, I'd like to see all these disposable missalettes go away forever . . . I wonder if you could frame it as a social justice issue; think of the amount of paper used throughout the US to create these. I'm no tree-hugger, but wow . . . it's a staggering amount of waste.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    Just that fact that Liturgical Press uses not one, friends, but TWO colors of ink should make comparison simple....

    GIAOCP seem to think SAY THE BLACK DO THE BLACK helps assure continued mediocrity.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,847
    oooooooooo! two colors! is it black and red by any chance?
  • tdunbar
    Posts: 120
    yes, black and red
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,220
    I like the layout of Celebrating the Eucharist also: it's clear and readable.

    On the other hand, I didn't like their presentation of hymns. Often the texts were modified without so much as an "alt." notation to acknowledge the editing. Some hymns are presented as text only (no musical notation).
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    Hymns are just there. But there is a music book that can be used from them to supplement it.
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