AND MISSALS for use by the faithful during Mass are a rather recent invention. They first became widespread in the early 20th century at the initiative of the Liturgical Movement, which sought to promote deeper and more intelligent participation of the faithful in the sacred mysteries. They are so ubiquitous today that we often think of hand missals as some sort of ancient practice, but my great-grandparents would likely never have seen a hand missal (let alone a “missalette”).
They serve a useful purpose and have undoubtedly brought spiritual profit to a host of Catholic faithful. Legitimate criticisms exist (see, for example, a good discussion of printed resources here and Cardinal Sarah’s thoughts on digital resources here), but the value of hand missals and related resources for helping the faithful to unite themselves more closely to the liturgical action is clear.
A new resource for the Extraordinary Form now makes the Mass propers and ordinary for every day of the year easily accessible on one’s phone, tablet, or computer. A website entitled Missale Meum places the texts of each day’s EF Mass in English and Latin—Sundays, weekdays, feast days, and even votive Masses—at a user’s fingertips. Visit this new project here:
An older resource provides the same texts in an easily printable booklet format. This is very useful for parishes, but cumbersome for individual users. The layout of Missale Meum is much easier to use for a member of the faithful preparing to assist at Mass.
Gratias vobis ago to the team behind Missale Meum!
