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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Tiniest Prayer Books: the Key of Heaven

Veronica Brandt · September 19, 2020

When Jeff Ostrowski mentioned little tiny hand missals in his photo from World War II, I knew I had to show him these tiny treasures. I don’t have much background information on these as they came from secondhand bookshops. They seem to be fairly common, with a few friends on Facebook recognizing them. Some have treasured copies from their grandparents. Both of mine are made in Belgium but bear the names of Australian publishers.

Two copies of Key of Heaven
Two copies of Key of Heaven: 1905 and 1939.

They are in fairly poor condition. One particular seems to have been well used at Mass as the Method of Hearing Mass is particularly stained and worn. To give some idea of the scale, here are some pictures for comparison with some other small books: The Madonna Missal, Manual of the Children of Mary and The Imitation of Mary. Hmmm… quite a Marian theme going on here.

Now, let’s look inside! This first collection of photos comes from the older and smaller of the two. This one is dated 1905. The type is a little smaller and has an elegant red border around each page.

The other one comes from 1939 and has larger type and more illustrations. The front cover is detached and has a crucifix embedded inside with the indulgenced Prayer before a Crucifix printed on the facing flyleaf. It seems to be some sort of Mother of Pearl material used to make the cross. See here for a comparison with a more modern book using white plastic instead.

A quick web search revealed a similar such book under the same title is still available. It doesn’t look quite the same – for one thing this new edition is much larger measuring 6″x4″ whereas these older books are a tiny 4″x2.25″. It sounds like the idea is the same though.

It makes sense, when Mass and the Readings are in Latin, having a portable copy of your own vernacular translation makes sense. I wonder if Fr Gereon Goldman had such a book in German. I’ve heard stories of pocket prayer books or Bibles stopping bullets in wartime. There are even some made with a steel plate cover called Heart Shields.

All this goes to show that people did care about praying the Mass with understanding back in the days before ICEL.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: September 19, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

These prayers were not peculiar to Good Friday in the early ages (they were said on Spy Wednesday as late as the eighth century); their retention here, it is thought, was inspired by the idea that the Church should pray for all classes of men on the day that Christ died for all. Duchesne is of opinion that the “Oremus” now said in every Mass before the Offertory—which is not a prayer—remains to show where this old series of prayers was once said in all Masses.

— Catholic Encyclopedia (1909)

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