Removal of missalettes from Church

[DebChris]

That I have not seen – but in Canada almost every parish I have been to has a copy of one of the editions of the Catholic Book of Worship: it is a hymnal with the Order of the Mass in the fore section. It includes the Psalms and acclamations for each Sunday, but not the readings. The missalettes are usually Living with Christ, and are usually brought back and fro by parisioners who subscribe, or buy them at the parish bookstore…

You provided the name of a book that I did not have, the * Catholic Book of Worship*.
I referred to it as a hymnal. This is similar to the Book of Common Prayer that a person will find in in mainline Protestant churches such as Presbyterian and Episcopal.
This is definitely an alternative to providing missalettes that cost money that could be used elsewhere. The idea that parishioners buy their own missalette is an answer to those that turn up missing because somebody “borrowed” them for home study.
My parish is small and does not have a bookstore, nor do I know of any nearby parishes that have one. We do however have a great Franciscan bookstore downtown.
Two of the parishes have libraries with a simple checkout system.

 

[LilyM]

Some, but not most, of the parishes around here provide missalettes for their parishioners. They’re not cheap, so I can see that for some parishes cost actually would be an issue.

Besides which the ones I’ve seen (being Australian) don’t actually have the readings in full, just the references and a short summary. Like I said, not cheap to provide for hundreds of people even so.

I do have a Sunday missal of my own - not a daily one though (I may buy one soon, finances permitting).

 

[Don9of11]

We solve that by bringing in Missals that the faithful can buy if they want. We simply don’t supply everyone in the pew with Missals. In the pews we have hymn books that also contain the Ordinary of the Mass without readings/Eucharistic Prayers. Anyone can use the hymnal and follow along with the Mass and be able to give the appropriate responses.

I think you missed my point, if the priest doesn’t want missalletes used he would most likely be opposed to the use of any form of missal. He shouldn’t have had them removed until he thoroughly understood there significance to the congregation. It’s truely an irresponsible act on his part.

In my parish we don’t have hymn books, the hymns are in the missaletes, so removing them would be disastrous. To paraphrase another who states missaletes are expensive, hymn books are more so and with hymns changing the way they do, hymn books would be out of date in very short order. I like using the missalete and I think there integral to the mass as we know it today.

 

[Phemie]

I think you missed my point, if the priest doesn’t want missalletes used he would most likely be opposed to the use of any form of missal. He shouldn’t have had them removed until he thoroughly understood there significance to the congregation. It’s truely an irresponsible act on his part.

In my parish we don’t have hymn books, the hymns are in the missaletes, so removing them would be disastrous. To paraphrase another who states missaletes are expensive, hymn books are more so and with hymns changing the way they do, hymn books would be out of date in very short order. I like using the missalete and I think there integral to the mass as we know it today.

Looking only at cost, a Catholic Book of Worship III, Canada’s official hymnal, costs less than a one year subscription to “Living with Christ”, the missalette most used in Canadian churches. The hymnal has been around for 16 years, a much better investment than missalettes any day.

 

[DebChris]

Looking only at cost, a Catholic Book of Worship III, Canada’s official hymnal, costs less than a one year subscription to “Living with Christ”, the missalette most used in Canadian churches. The hymnal has been around for 16 years, a much better investment than missalettes any day.

Quality over quantity.

 

[bleve]

Not all parishes have listening devices for parishioners. It is an act of charity to provide these devices. If we are called to love one another, how is providing these listening devices ridiculous?

Apparently some of you didn’t read my second post entitled “What a response” on this thread to clarify some things.

Providing listening devices for the hard of hearing isn’t ridiculous - but claiming that they are an adequate and practical substitute for having a missalette to follow along with, is.

Perhaps some people that are commenting are not aware of the type of missalette I’m referring to, its NOT a weekly print out that ends up in the trash heap, its a yearly or seasonal book that gets reused - and can be recycled! People don’t take them from the church, they stay in the pews.

Like I said, we sit in the cry room and there are plenty of circumstances, including elderly readers not speaking clearly, that inhibit “hearing” the Word of God. It would be great if everyone sat in the front seat, but that’s not the reality and there’s plenty of times that i’ve been at church with no kids and often times its impossible to hear the readings clearly - that’s at many different churches and I have great hearing.

As far as the listening devices, I guess if you’re a couple of minutes late to church, you’ve missed out on God’s Word. Some of you people are out of touch with reality.

@bpbasilphx

Your high-brow attitude suggests that you may be someone who sits in the front row with no kids - let me assure you, that’s not the experience for the majority of people that go to church.

Missalette’s have been in the church pews of our congregation for decades - so its kind of a big deal, regardless of some people’s unrealistic ideals.

 

[bleve]

**@DebChris **

Exactly how is it an act of charity to provide listening devices for people in a congregation - who contribute money weekly - so that they can hear the Word of God. Is it an act of charity to provide wheelchair access to the church for those who can’t walk? It’s actually the right of the parishoners, thank you.

Many people unfortunately believe that they have absolutely no say so in the goings on of their parish - and should be completely happy and subservient to the wishes of whatever is foisted on it without questioning it. Its this lack of questioning that has taken kneelers right out of many Catholic churches, as well as allowed the Blessed Sacrament to moved to a closet on the side of the church.

Keeping the church alive and growing demands an active, questioning and vocal parish.

Unfortunately, in these times, there are assaults on the church from the outside world, as well as from subversion from within the church itself. The other side has its agents actively working within the Catholic Church and we must be vigilant, knowledgeable and on guard at all times as to subtle changes within the church itself… I’m not claiming that this is one of those subversions, but I think its a bad sign that most parishoners won’t even bother to question it, or question why we don’t kneel anymore when communion is being served, etc.

 

[DebChris]

Apparently some of you didn’t read my second post entitled “What a response” on this thread to clarify some things.

Providing listening devices for the hard of hearing isn’t ridiculous - but claiming that they are an adequate and practical substitute for having a missalette to follow along with, is.

Perhaps some people that are commenting are not aware of the type of missalette I’m referring to, its NOT a weekly print out that ends up in the trash heap, its a yearly or seasonal book that gets reused - and can be recycled! People don’t take them from the church, they stay in the pews.

Like I said, we sit in the cry room and there are plenty of circumstances, including elderly readers not speaking clearly, that inhibit “hearing” the Word of God. It would be great if everyone sat in the front seat, but that’s not the reality and there’s plenty of times that i’ve been at church with no kids and often times its impossible to hear the readings clearly - that’s at many different churches and I have great hearing.

As far as the listening devices, I guess if you’re a couple of minutes late to church, you’ve missed out on God’s Word. Some of you people are out of touch with reality.

@bpbasilphx

Your high-brow attitude suggests that you may be someone who sits in the front row with no kids - let me assure you, that’s not the experience for the majority of people that go to church.

Missalette’s have been in the church pews of our congregation for decades - so its kind of a big deal, regardless of some people’s unrealistic ideals.

The missalettes in my parish are likewise seasonal books.
Some daily communicants bring their own daily Missal or a copy of the Magnificat since daily readings are not provided in the missalette.
The suggestion has been made that you may bring your own missal if the parish chooses to no longer supply missalettes. This is not being out of touch with reality. It is a way around a change that may simply be uncomfortable for you.
It may be as much a cost cutting effort on the part of the new pastor as it is following the Conference of Bishops suggestion that parishioners listen to the readings rather than read along. For many of us, myself included, it is still easier to hear if I simultaneously read along. I am not opposed to bringing my own book if need be. As already mentioned, at times I attend Mass outside my own parish. Missalettes are not always provided.
While missalettes are supposed to stay in the pews, there are parishes where these seasonal books turn up missing because individuals have “borrowed” them and forgotten to return them.
Hymnals, or at least printouts of the music that will be sung during Mass, are provided. There are some new churches which have yet to purchase hymnals. As the person enters the church, he/she picks up the printout at the back of church and returns it when Mass is over.
Your parish may choose to purchase hymnals that have the ordinary of the Mass included, saving money over the long term rather than purchasing seasonal missalettes.

 

[FrDavid96]

**@DebChris **

Exactly how is it an act of charity to provide listening devices for people in a congregation - who contribute money weekly - so that they can hear the Word of God. Is it an act of charity to provide wheelchair access to the church for those who can’t walk? It’s actually the right of the parishoners, thank you.
…

I believe that what people are saying is not so much that it is charity in the sense of “a handout” but charity in the sense of “caritas” meaning love for one another.

 

[Sarabande]

I suspect, however, that this will be short-lived, more along the lines of a year or so.

I’m the type who likes to read and listen and watch. I absorb it much better especially since I don’t have the best eye sight to see the lector and his/her lips moving.This is something I’ve been seeing since I was a kid. I remember at first in Catholic school, we were encouraged to read along. Then around 5th/6th grades there was this short period where we were told that it was wrong to read along and had to listen. Needless-to-say, it didn’t last long. I think they realized that most of us actually do better when we read along and listen. Other parishes I’ve been in, have tried to get the congregation to only listen as well, citing that it was wrong to read and that you wouldn’t be able to take in the readings and prayers as well when looking at a missalette. Again, it didn’t last long.

I have found this interesting. It’s funny how different it is when it comes to singing prayer and reciting prayer/reading along with the lector. As a classical singer, we are taught that when singing sacred/religious music either in church or even at a secular venue, it is important to use your music and not to do it from memory - even if you do know it by heart. This is because when you don’t use your book/music it can be construed as a performance, plus when you are looking at the words in the music while you are singing, you also have more focus on the prayer in the words. I take this idea when I’m in the congregation singing hymns as well. Interestingly, when I only listen to the lector and not read along, I sometimes start looking at them like a person who is reciting a piece of prose or trying to act badly and not someone who is reading a section from the Bible. This is mainly because I will start wanting to hear them place inflections and emotion in their voice to be able to understand better what is being said in the reading. When I read along, I don’t expect to hear that, and look at it as someone just reading while I can interpret it myself by looking at the words.

 

[Beachcomber]

The matter of reading along or simply listening also turns up in non-Catholic churches. An aquaintance of mine who is LDS told me that the powers-that-be in Salt Lake City issued a directive that when a person is giving a talk during the church service they are not to tell the congregants to turn to ‘thus and so page’ and read along. They said they believed it was a distraction and people should pay attention by listening.

Needless to say, that didn’t go over very well in her particular ward. People are all wired differently and some of us get more out of it by reading along.

 

[bleve]

The missalettes in my parish are likewise seasonal books.
Some daily communicants bring their own daily Missal or a copy of the Magnificat since daily readings are not provided in the missalette.
The suggestion has been made that you may bring your own missal if the parish chooses to no longer supply missalettes. This is not being out of touch with reality. It is a way around a change that may simply be uncomfortable for you.
It may be as much a cost cutting effort on the part of the new pastor as it is following the Conference of Bishops suggestion that parishioners listen to the readings rather than read along. For many of us, myself included, it is still easier to hear if I simultaneously read along. I am not opposed to bringing my own book if need be. As already mentioned, at times I attend Mass outside my own parish. Missalettes are not always provided.
While missalettes are supposed to stay in the pews, there are parishes where these seasonal books turn up missing because individuals have “borrowed” them and forgotten to return them.
Hymnals, or at least printouts of the music that will be sung during Mass, are provided. There are some new churches which have yet to purchase hymnals. As the person enters the church, he/she picks up the printout at the back of church and returns it when Mass is over.
Your parish may choose to purchase hymnals that have the ordinary of the Mass included, saving money over the long term rather than purchasing seasonal missalettes.

This is not a cost-cutting matter, the deacon and the pastor made it clear that it is the decision is based on what they believe to be, people relying too much on the written material. Our church often solicits 2nd parishoner offerings for various costs… this was never one of them.

My out of touch with reality comment refers to the fact that when trying to reach an ideal, which is hearing the word of God without reference to written material, more people will end up missing out on a clear hearing and contextual understanding of the Word of God in the long run.

People have been coming to the church for decades with the aid of missalettes, changing behavior of parishoners is a long and arduous process… in the meantime, many people not hearing the Word of God appropriately. The parish only passes out hearing devices before mass, so if someone is a minute late, they’re out of luck.

Parishoners have not been advised to bring their own missalettes, that’s the point of removing them, hello. Not one person has responded to the situation of having children with you or being at the mercy of other kids screaming during mass when trying to hear, or having a situation when someone is coughing or God forbid, talking, near you so that you can’t hear… that’s being in touch with reality.

 

[DebChris]

I believe that what people are saying is not so much that it is charity in the sense of “a handout” but charity in the sense of “caritas” meaning love for one another.

Thank you Father David. We are called to love one another. Given a budgetary choice between missalettes and hearing aids or support for the local food pantry, I would choose the latter.

I’m the type who likes to read and listen and watch. I absorb it much better especially since I don’t have the best eye sight to see the lector and his/her lips moving.This is something I’ve been seeing since I was a kid. I remember at first in Catholic school, we were encouraged to read along. Then around 5th/6th grades there was this short period where we were told that it was wrong to read along and had to listen. Needless-to-say, it didn’t last long. I think they realized that most of us actually do better when we read along and listen. Other parishes I’ve been in, have tried to get the congregation to only listen as well, citing that it was wrong to read and that you wouldn’t be able to take in the readings and prayers as well when looking at a missalette. Again, it didn’t last long.

I have found this interesting. It’s funny how different it is when it comes to singing prayer and reciting prayer/reading along with the lector. As a classical singer, we are taught that when singing sacred/religious music either in church or even at a secular venue, it is important to use your music and not to do it from memory - even if you do know it by heart. This is because when you don’t use your book/music it can be construed as a performance, plus when you are looking at the words in the music while you are singing, you also have more focus on the prayer in the words. I take this idea when I’m in the congregation singing hymns as well. Interestingly, when I only listen to the lector and not read along, I sometimes start looking at them like a person who is reciting a piece of prose or trying to act badly and not someone who is reading a section from the Bible. This is mainly because I will start wanting to hear them place inflections and emotion in their voice to be able to understand better what is being said in the reading. When I read along, I don’t expect to hear that, and look at it as someone just reading while I can interpret it myself by looking at the words.

I mentioned this same idea earlier. It was a chaplain who told me that no matter how well a priest might know the prayers of the Mass, he was expected to read them.
A side thought–Chief Justice John Roberts swearing in President Obama. No matter how well we may know the words, we still make mistakes.
The local bookstore provides Mass on Wednesdays. There is an awkwardness during the Responsorial Psalm as people struggle to remember what the response is supposed to be. Seeing the print provides “more focus on the prayer in the words.”
Don’t monks and others who pray the LOTH follow along in their books.
I do not sing, but I know that those who play music or sing read a few notes ahead of what they are playing. Likewise, there is generally a pause between what is read and what is heard, reinforcing that which has been read. An exception to this would be a poor reader who may struggle to keep up with the words in the book. In this case, reading along could very well be distracting.

To set things straight, I am not opposed to parishes providing missalettes. I simply see other alternatives when for budgetary, environmental, or other reasons a parish chooses to discontinue the practice. The simplest alternative is to bring your own, whether or not the possibility is mentioned by the priest.

 

[Sarabande]

To set things straight, I am not opposed to parishes providing missalettes. I simply see other alternatives when for budgetary, environmental, or other reasons a parish chooses to discontinue the practice. The simplest alternative is to bring your own, whether or not the possibility is mentioned by the priest.

I totally understand this and actually agree. I think missalettes which are disposed of seasonally are actually a waste of money for parishes and bad for the environment. Some parishes I’ve been to have hard cover books which contain all the readings for all the Years plus hymns. They have these books for years/decades and a parish would save a lot of money and less waste if they did it that way. We’ve had our hymnals I would say for almost 30 years and they are still in excellent shape, almost like new. Our Latin OF mass booklets I think are from the 70s (80s at the latest) and they are still in good shape even though they are paperback.

There is a problem with my generation and younger. I’m Gen X (Gen Y depending on who you talk to with what they consider as X or Y). We did not grow up with the missalettes that people own. I think most people my age wouldn’t even know what those were or how to use them. Most don’t even realize that there are different cycles. I remember getting one from First Holy Communion, but at the time because we had the missalettes in the pews, I always used those and not my own book.

 

[DebChris]

I totally understand this and actually agree. I think missalettes which are disposed of seasonally are actually a waste of money for parishes and bad for the environment. Some parishes I’ve been to have hard cover books which contain all the readings for all the Years plus hymns. They have these books for years/decades and a parish would save a lot of money and less waste if they did it that way. We’ve had our hymnals I would say for almost 30 years and they are still in excellent shape, almost like new. Our Latin OF mass booklets I think are from the 70s (80s at the latest) and they are still in good shape even though they are paperback.

There is a problem with my generation and younger. I’m Gen X (Gen Y depending on who you talk to with what they consider as X or Y). We did not grow up with the missalettes that people own. I think most people my age wouldn’t even know what those were or how to use them. Most don’t even realize that there are different cycles. I remember getting one from First Holy Communion, but at the time because we had the missalettes in the pews, I always used those and not my own book.

Try a subscription to Word Among Us. If you do subscribe to the magazine, be sure to order the Mass supplement edition. This would be very much like the missalette to which you are accustomed.
wau.org/amember/
The Magnificat is more expensive. magnificat.net/english/index.asp

Bringing a personal missal to Mass is a time honored tradition. Both magazines provide the readings and responses for daily mass, not simply for Sunday.

 

[Cat]

1. Devices for the hearing-impaired are supposed to be used by the hearing-impaired. There are a lot of people who can’t hear the Mass, not because of their own physical impairment, but because of extraneous noises (often children and babies), incredibly bad sound system, poor acoustics that create echoes and dead spots, and very poor declamation by the cantor/lector/priest (yes, priest).

It would be inappropriate for someone who is NOT hearing-impaired to use these devices. They are meant for those who are genuinely hearing-impaired.

1. Those who say, “Bring your own” are assuming that Protestants, seekers, and new Catholics know where to get your own. You’re wrong. When my husband and I first started attending Mass, we knew NOTHING about Catholicism (except that it was possibly the Whore of Babylon, that Mother Teresa helped a lot of people, and that Catholics were the best when it comes to pro-life activitism!). We attended Mass for TWO YEARS as non-Catholics before making a decision to start RCIA. We had never heard of a missalette, and we would have had no idea where to get one. If we had seen other people with the missalette, we probably would have assumed that you had to be Catholic to have one, although we probably eventually would have asked.

And most importantly, if we had not had a missalette, we wouldn’t have had a clue what was going on in the Mass. We didn’t know the Nicene Creed or any of the other prayers, and considering how so many Catholics mumble them under their breath, I doubt that we would have ever learned them from our pew neighbors.

Please think outside of your own upbringing and consider that there are many people attending Mass who either were not raised as Catholics and have no clue, or who WERE raised as Catholics and still have no clue due to terrible catechesis.

1. I don’t buy the environmentalist argument. The seasonal missalettes that our parish (and all the parishes in our city) use are made of cheap newsprint, easy to recycle. As long as the missalettes are recycled, I don’t see that we are hurting the environment by using them. That’s what recycling is for–it allows us to USE stuff. Do those of you who are concerned about the environment also not buy books, not receive any newspapers or magazines, not use any paper products (e.g., toilet paper?), etc. Be consistent.
2. It just seems to me that there are many, many compelling reasons to supply parishioners with missalettes, and very few reasons, other than apocryphal childhood legends, to take them away. Think CONVERTS, or SOULS. Isn’t that worth a few trees?
3. If the priest says it, that settles it. But I hope that most priests would see reason, and consider some of the points that I have made above. Converts should always be given as many tools as possible to help them find their way back home. For many converts, a printed missalette is their first piece of CATHOLIC literature. Since there is no official “Rubric” that states that the congregation should listen to the readings, etc. without a paper aid, then IMO, the priest is giving his flock a burden that they don’t need to carry.

 

[Sarabande]

1. I don’t buy the environmentalist argument. The seasonal missalettes that our parish (and all the parishes in our city) use are made of cheap newsprint, easy to recycle. As long as the missalettes are recycled, I don’t see that we are hurting the environment by using them. That’s what recycling is for–it allows us to USE stuff. Do those of you who are concerned about the environment also not buy books, not receive any newspapers or magazines, not use any paper products (e.g., toilet paper?), etc. Be consistent.

Cat, why are you assuming that all those who are in favor of trying to be more environmentally friendly aren’t consistent in their everyday life? That’s assuming a lot and I don’t think that is a fair assessment of most people. For instance, even with my journalist background, I do not buy newspapers, I recycle as much as I can in regards to paper products and things, and try to buy products which uses recycled paper, plastic, etc, even if it costs more. I also try to buy environmentally-friendly products and try to not overuse resources. I’m not a tree-hugger by any means, but I grew up in the country and have a huge love and appreciation for God’s creation and would like to try to help preserve it when I can. I can’t be perfect with it, but I do my best, which I believe most other people do as well.

Also, there are missalettes that parishes can buy which uses all the cycles so that they don’t have to use seasonal missalettes. I’m not against misallettes and I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have missalettes in church, because I also prefer reading while listening and I remember what it was like when our school and parishes tried to make us not read along. But I think if there are ways to help cut down on the usage of paper like purchasing misalettes that can last for years, (Our hard-cover hymnals we’ve had for 30 years and they are like new. We can easily get another 30 years out of them if not more. Although we still buy seasonal missalettes.) I think that would be better than just throwing things out every season, and I know our parish have saved a lot of money just by having those hymnals and not having to replace them every year. Then we also have to assume that every parish recycles. I’m sure there are parishes that do, but there are probably parishes that don’t as well.

I didn’t grow up with a bring your own missalette, but I think they are a good idea.

 

[bleve]

Thank you Father David. We are called to love one another. Given a budgetary choice between missalettes and hearing aids or support for the local food pantry, I would choose the latter.

Wow, I came on this board for a conversation, discussion and it seems that like-minded people simply carry on regardless of the original poster’s responses or clarifications.

Once again, this is not an issue of budgetary choice. The pastor doesn’t want people using them, period. Baby’s cry, people cough…

I’m a rabble-rouser and I’ll most likely get signatures from parishoners who feel the same and create pins to wear to mass that state - “bring missalettes back”.

The environmental concern is weak, everyone of those can be recycled.

 

[Cat]

Cat, why are you assuming that all those who are in favor of trying to be more environmentally friendly aren’t consistent in their everyday life? That’s assuming a lot and I don’t think that is a fair assessment of most people. For instance, even with my journalist background, I do not buy newspapers, I recycle as much as I can in regards to paper products and things, and try to buy products which uses recycled paper, plastic, etc, even if it costs more. I also try to buy environmentally-friendly products and try to not overuse resources. I’m not a tree-hugger by any means, but I grew up in the country and have a huge love and appreciation for God’s creation and would like to try to help preserve it when I can. I can’t be perfect with it, but I do my best, which I believe most other people do as well.

Also, there are missalettes that parishes can buy which uses all the cycles so that they don’t have to use seasonal missalettes. I’m not against misallettes and I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have missalettes in church, because I also prefer reading while listening and I remember what it was like when our school and parishes tried to make us not read along. But I think if there are ways to help cut down on the usage of paper like purchasing misalettes that can last for years, (Our hard-cover hymnals we’ve had for 30 years and they are like new. We can easily get another 30 years out of them if not more. Although we still buy seasonal missalettes.) I think that would be better than just throwing things out every season, and I know our parish have saved a lot of money just by having those hymnals and not having to replace them every year. Then we also have to assume that every parish recycles. I’m sure there are parishes that do, but there are probably parishes that don’t as well.

I didn’t grow up with a bring your own missalette, but I think they are a good idea.

Forgive me. I phrased my objection as a question, not a statement. Quote:“Do those of you who are concerned about the environment also not buy books, not receive any newspapers or magazines, not use any paper products (e.g., toilet paper?), etc” I hoped that this would indicate that I am NOT assuming anything about others.

I assume that the reason why the hymnals with missals are not used much is that they really take a beating and need to be replaced every year or so. Our parish had them five years ago when we first converted. They looked awful, all raggedy and tattered, and some of them were missing pages or had the binding broken. (Children? Or clumsy adults?!) It didn’t seem very appropriate for a church of the Lord Jesus Christ to have such dilapidated old books.

So they got rid of them and switched to the seasonal missalettes.

I’m guessing that it’s much cheaper for a parish to replaced seasonal missalettes every season than to replace hymnals/missals every year or so.

I’m also guessing that it’s better for the environment to recycle several thousand season missalettes made of newsprint than to try to recycle hard-cover hymnals made of high quality paper and cardboard and some kind of color/paint on the cover.

I’m also guessing that the priest who made the decision to get rid of the missalettes will probably hear from a lot of parishioners, especially the older ones, and some parishioners will contact their bishop over it, and the bishop will speak with him and offer words of wisdom, and the priest will end up restoring the missalettes. There are just too many good reasons to use them, and his reason for taking them away doesn’t stand up well in the face of real life for real people in the 21st Century.

 

[Cat]

I just remembered something from my Protestant days that may have import here.

We went through a phase when our hymnals–very nice, expensive hymnals–were being desecrated. We couldn’t say who was doing it, but we kept finding indecent sketches, phrases, and words, and also Satanic symbols in our hymnals. These obscenities were done with ink, so there was no choice but for us to throw away our hymnals. We threw away quite a few. Lots of money in the incinerator.

I hope this never has happened in Catholic churches. But if there is likelihood that it may happen, I can certainly see the wisdom of either eliminating all paper documents from the pews, or of using cheap missalettes as opposed to hard-bound hymnals, or asking the members to please bring their own missals, and telling people where they can purchase their own missalettes.

Perhaps the priest in the OP had some knowledge of this situation and is actually trying to protect his people from sacrilege and obscenity.

This makes things difficult for the visitor, especially the converts, but hopefully people would be willing to share their missal with visitors (sorry if this offends those who think that no one should speak to anyone else during Mass!).