Old Catholic Mass Books Should Be Burned or Buried

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Denver, Colo., Nov 27, 2011 / 07:29 pm (CNA/EWTN News).
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After the switch to a new Mass translation, old liturgical books should be respectfully buried, either intact or after being burned, according to the U.S. bishops.
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“Whether or not the Sacramentary has been blessed by an official rite, it is appropriate to treat it with care,” the bishops’ Secretariat for Divine Worship said in a recent response to several queries from U.S. Catholics. “Its disposal should be handled with respect.”
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The bishops’ liturgy office recommends “burying the Sacramentary in an appropriate location on church grounds, or perhaps in a parish cemetery,” after the switch to a new liturgical translation on Nov. 27.
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“Some have even suggested following a custom used in various Eastern churches,” they noted, “whereby liturgical books or Bibles are placed in the coffin of the deceased as a sign of devotion and love for the liturgy.”
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Some Catholics may be surprised to learn that it is appropriate – and even customary – to burn or bury old liturgical books and other religious items.
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According to the U.S. bishops’ secretariat, the ashes of liturgical books should be collected and “placed in the ground in an appropriate location on church grounds.”
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Catholic tradition offers these means of disposal in order to ensure that objects used in worship are not casually discarded or mistreated, even when they are no longer needed for use or reference.
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The liturgy office advised parishes to keep a copy of the old liturgical translations in their archives or libraries, after the switch to the Third Edition of the Roman Missal.
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Hymnals and hand missals are also among the types of items that would traditionally be blessed, and should therefore be replaced respectfully after the changeover.
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But the secretariat acknowledged it “might be difficult to appropriately dispose of a large number of copies of such books.”
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If burning and burial are impractical, non-archived hymnals and hand missals “could be stored for use by prayer or study groups in the parish, offered to parishioners for their own private devotional use, or donated to other small communities that could effectively make use of them.”
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The secretariat also noted that the new liturgical books ought to be blessed, using the rite provided in the Church’s official “Book of Blessings,” before their first use on 2011’s first Sunday of Advent – possibly at a weekday Mass the preceding Saturday, or outside Mass at a separate parish gathering.
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Comments?
 
Can’t I just keep them - you know, along side the Baltimore Catechism and my 1940 copy of My Catholic Faith?
 
My sister still has a missal from 1961; might the 2011 missals have similar souvenir value to some?

I’d agree that recycling of these items, otherwise makes more sense than burial. We need our trees.

ICXC NIKA
 
If the books were blessed, which if they were used in the liturgy, they were, then they should be treated the same as any other blessed object such as a rosary, etc. As noted above in the article, many people request that their private copies of liturgical texts be blessed by a priest. That means they would be burned or buried if they are going to be gotten rid of. For other books which were not blessed, it clearly states in the article that a copy can be kept for study purposes, etc.

I am not sure why anyone would have a concern with the directions quoted above.
 
jwinch2 said:
If the books were blessed, which if they were used in the liturgy, they were, then they should be treated the same as any other blessed object such as a rosary, etc. As noted above in the article, many people request that their private copies of liturgical texts be blessed by a priest. That means they would be burned or buried if they are going to be gotten rid of. For other books which were not blessed, it clearly states in the article that a copy can be kept for study purposes, etc.

I am not sure why anyone would have a concern with the directions quoted above.
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Great post, Burning or burying are universal manners of retiring sacred or important items. (Ex. An American Flag is usually retired by respectful burning)
 
I see no problem keeping some liturgical books as study books treated with great respect.
I have a large old hardcover Tridentine Sacramentary in excellent condition for the year.
How it ended up in an old huge bookstore I don’t know. As soon as I looked at it I knew exactly what it was and purchased it at a low price. My plans are to donate it to my parish library archives which began in 1882 AD

Missale Romanum, Ex Decreto Sacrosanti Concilii Tridentini Restitutum, S.Pii V.Pontif.Maximi
SSMI D. N. Benedicti XV
Apud FRATRES BENZINGER MCMXXI
1921
 
I think at least one copy should be retained in each Parish library, for historical and reference purposes. But, if burning/burying are how blessed items are supposed to be disposed of, then I think it is appropriate for extra copies of the superseded liturgical books to be disposed of in the same manner.
 
Our parish priest said that if we wanted to get rid of our old hand missals to bring them to the church office. They will archive a few and the rest will be burned at the Easter Vigil next year. Of course, he didn’t say we had to get rid of them. Everyone is welcome to keep their own missal if they want to (mine has a nice section of prayers in the back), he only meant that if we didn’t want them anymore to let the church dispose of them respectfully.

By the way, we had a beautiful ritual for blessing the new books before Mass last Sunday. The old and new missals were laid on the altar and every person in the congregation (about 300) came forward and respectfully laid one hand on the old missal and one hand on the new. then he incensed the new one & blessed it.
 
We were instructed to either shred and burn our Sacramentary or return it to the diocese for disposal. I have a problem with destroying all copies, but I fear that retaining a copy in the parish will induce the priest who has made no bones about the fact that he disagrees with this translation to keep using the Sacramentary.

I’m hoping that I can keep the older copy we have for research purposes, for the same reason I wish I had a copy previous Missals.
 
Phemie said:
We were instructed to either shred and burn our Sacramentary or return it to the diocese for disposal. I have a problem with destroying all copies, but I fear that retaining a copy in the parish will induce the priest who has made no bones about the fact that he disagrees with this translation to keep using the Sacramentary.

I’m hoping that I can keep the older copy we have for research purposes, for the same reason I wish I had a copy previous Missals.
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How sad and distressing!
 
Greetings to those posting and or reading this thread,

I plan on keeping my Missal and the Lectionary.

God Bless.
Anathama Sit
 
Personally, the only things I would like to see burned are all hymns dated between 1970 and 1990. 😃 Perhaps it would be well to put a copy of each in some kind of archive in the Vatican somewhere, as a curiosity for scholars. That would be better than keeping those period pieces in current hymnals.
 
Burning and burying books? That doesn’t concern anyone? Creepy man.
 
Rascalking said:
Burning and burying books? That doesn’t concern anyone? Creepy man.
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Your correct. Most older parishes before the Novus Ordo set up historic library archives.
My parish has had an archive for well over 90 years. You’d be surprised what treasured books you can find and study inside.
 
centurionguard said:
Your correct. Most older parishes before the Novus Ordo set up historic library archives.
My parish has had an archive for well over 90 years. You’d be surprised what treasured books you can find and study inside.
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I agree! Since I firmly believe that the Catholic Church is the truth, what is there to hide? Let people read what they want!
 
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