1962 Missals and Pius XII Psalter

[tdub]

I am on the verge of ordering for myself the Angelus Press 1962 missal, which is most fully described here. I chose the Angelus edition over the Baronius because I need as large and legible a Latin font as possible. My big uncertainty concerns the Latin text of the Psalter I can expect to find in the Angelus 1962 missal. (Please forgive any ignorance my question betrays, as, although I have studied Latin for a long time and have long been developing my interest in the Latin liturgy, I have never owned or used a missal with such a large scope.)

So, my basic question is: Will I find the text of the Pius XII (neo-Latin translation of the) Psalter anywhere in the Angelus 1962 missal? Or will the Psalms be in the Gallican Vulgate version everywhere in the missal?

I have gleaned that in many books from this period, one might expect to find Psalm 42 in the Vulgate version in the mass itself, but in the Pius XII version when given as part of a psalter. (Back to the subject of my ignorance, I am not even totally clear on whether this book contains a separate Psalter per se!) But I have also heard that many reissued books of Latin liturgy are substituting the Vulgate psalms where once the Pius XII psalms were printed (for example, the forthcoming Baronius breviary). (I am also curious to know whether, on this point or on any other points, there is a significant difference between the Latin I will find in the Angelus missal and what was given in the same book as it would have been printed in 1962.)

My preference, simply because of their long tradition and influence, is for the Vulgate psalms, but here I’m really just looking for reliable information about the books.

Many thanks for your help in advance! (Angelus did not return an email with the same question, and I have just joined this forum because I found better-informed discussions here than anywhere else.)

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

The Pian Psalter was for optional use in the office, but I don’t believe the Mass texts were ever changed. There is not a full Psalter in the Angelus Missal (nor in the Baronius, to my knowledge), so I think you should only be dealing with the Vulgate versions from the Mass texts (unless the small selections of the Office - like Sunday Vespers and Tenebrae - use the revised Psalter, which I somehow doubt but have no idea for sure).

 

[tdub]

Thanks for the reply. It confirms the possibility I had suspected, that there is no psalter per se in the missal. So I will expect only the traditional psalm texts in it.

It’s great that Angelus has resupplied booksellers with the missal. But I am a bit distressed that the price (through OLRL) shot up from $35 to $56.70. I gather this may reflect the switch to a genuine leather binding. I really couldn’t care less about having genuine leather; does anyone know if copies of the older and cheaper printing are out there anywhere?

I’m glad to hear that Baronius’ forthcoming breviary will go back to the Gallican psalms. (I think it’s great that we will have a complete office in three volumes, but I also hold out hope that one day we will have a new, one-volume Latin publication as compendious as the Anglican Breviary.)

I respect those who look at the Latin language’s role in the liturgy today differently, but for me, modern languages have replaced such modern Latin compositions as the Pius XII psalter and the Nova Vulgata, in serving the role of glosses on the original-language texts. For me, the strongest interest held by the scripture (and liturgy) in Latin stems from its deeply ingrained presence in the hearts and minds of Western Europeans over more than a millennium.

 

[BlyssfulDreamer]

You might try eBay. That is where i got both my Angelus and Baronius missals. The Catholic bookstore didn’t even have any 1962 missals in stock.

I received mine both for under $55.00…which I think is about average on eBay right now.

:heart:Blyss

 

[tdub]

You might try eBay. That is where i got both my Angelus and Baronius missals.

Thanks for the valuable advice. I ordered a copy from a “make me an offer” seller on ebay. After a couple of rounds of counteroffers, I paid $42.50 (plus $3.88 shipping).

 

[Max_Script]

For anyone else wondering, you can get the Angelus Missal at All Catholic Books.com for about $47. It has the skivertex cover. The leather cover edition is out of print.

 

[tdub]

My Angelus missal arrived today, and it fully meets my expectations. Plus, it’s the genuine leather binding, which, from what I’ve read on this forum, is kind of rare, & even a better deal at the price I paid. Oddly enough, the item description indicated Skivertex, but the binding of my copy is stamped GENUINE LEATHER on the back. This is the eBay item in case this information is useful to anyone; of course, I’d confirm with the seller rather than assuming that any other copies are not Skivertex as described.

 

[tdub]

P.S. As to my original question, I can confirm that the psalms always follow the (Gallican) Vulgate. For example, I’ve checked Psalms 109-113, as they appear in Vespers for Sundays.

 

[tdub]

Now that I have my Angelus missal, I note something that was mentioned nowhere in all the forum discussions I’d read of the differences between the Baronius and Angelus editions.

In the main presentation of the ordinary of the mass, the Angelus missal includes copious annotations on the meaning of the mass. Some of these are drawn from Gihr’s
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained (St. Louis 1902). The copyright page states

New commentary throughout this edition has been adapted from these sources The Mass of St. Pius V by Rev. Fr. Bernard-Marie de Chivré, O.P.; The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Holy Sacrifice… by…Gihr…; and Your Mass and Your Life, by Rev. Fr. Richer-Marie Beaubien, O.F.M. (Montreal: Franciscan Editions, 1960).

I find this no detraction, but it’s a significant difference between the two editions. The format adopted is sensible: the left page is “clean,” containing only the rubrics and the Latin text of the liturgy, while the right page has the English translation plus an outer column of commentary, even on the English side. (The only notes on the Latin side are of the sort that mention that local usage may vary, which would seem logically to go with the rubrics.) The quite different format of the Baronius can be seen here and here. The Angelus layout is very distinguished, with lots more whitespace, but I could see that some would resent the presentation of secondary commentary alongside the text of the mass itself. Presumably some of the occasional devotional material before and after the sections of liturgy (thanksgiving after mass for small children; etc.) come from these same sources. “Your Mass and Your Life” gives its name to a section at the front of the missal.

I hope this information may be of use to someone.