I own several and recommend that any Catholic purchase a Roman Missal. It helps to keep one focused at Mass. It also helps with being able to follow along with the readings and the liturgy.Does anyone on here own a Roman Missal and would you recommend It?
A you perhaps looking for a personal missal? An Altar Roman Missal weighs a couple of pounds. The Altar edition is identical in content but of a smaller size because the chapel altars are generally smaller. Still too big to tote around. Neither contains the readings.I have been debating it for sometime, mainly because the wealth of information regarding all types of Masses for every occasion and readings, and I have always found it beautiful and sacred. Does anyone on here own a Roman Missal and would you recommend It? They are kind of pricey, not sure what the difference really is between a chapel edition and altar edition but the former is cheaper on Amazon. Thanks!
I have a hand missal in my traveling Mass kit. It is quite convenient as it has all the texts that I need when I am traveling.I have been debating it for sometime, mainly because the wealth of information regarding all types of Masses for every occasion and readings, and I have always found it beautiful and sacred. Does anyone on here own a Roman Missal and would you recommend It? They are kind of pricey, not sure what the difference really is between a chapel edition and altar edition but the former is cheaper on Amazon. Thanks!
I’m a huge proponent of Missalettes. Our cathedral has them in every pew and I find they are a great aid. It is easier for me to absorb the texts if I am both listening and reading. Hand missals are nice to have but, as you point out Father, not as user friendly.I have a hand missal in my traveling Mass kit. It is quite convenient as it has all the texts that I need when I am traveling.
I see much fewer people using a hand missal than I did, for example, in the years just after the Council.
I think they are a great help, for example, for those who are hard of hearing or who otherwise have trouble hearing the texts proclaimed/declaimed. It is really a matter of personal preference as to whether or not having the text in front of you to follow along is a help or not.
In my experience, many find a worship aid such as a missalette, the Prions en Eglise [which is a French publication] or such more useful than the hand missal as the texts are presented such as to require less flipping about and the use of ribbons.
The altar edition is the missal as you see it on the altar of your parish. I would not recommend that at all. It is an extremely large and heavy book which is also distinct from the lectionary, which is its own set of large and heavy books. It has the text of the Mass together with the rubrics for the sacred ministers. For a lay person to bring such a book as an altar edition Roman Missal with them would be eccentric in the extreme. It would also be very cumbersome to use in a pew; it normally has its own stand on the altar as it is too heavy to hold for prolonged use. I dare say that those about you, and the priest, would find it bizarre…not unlike having your own edition of the full sized Evangelarium from which the Gospel is proclaimed at the ambo.
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The chapel edition is the missal at about 2/3 the size of the altar edition. As its name indicates, we use it in chapels where we do not need the book or the printed text in the missal to be so large – such as the more intimate setting of a chapel where the altar is also normally smaller.
This will give some comparison.
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It is always nice to have a physical and beautiful Missal for display and use at home, much like we get one of those large family Bibles. One problem with physical Missals though is that they do get obsolete. While rites do not change often, new saints get added virtually every year and my 30 year old Missal is missing a great many saints - it is promulgated by JP2, not commemorating him.I have been debating it for sometime, mainly because the wealth of information regarding all types of Masses for every occasion and readings, and I have always found it beautiful and sacred. Does anyone on here own a Roman Missal and would you recommend It? They are kind of pricey, not sure what the difference really is between a chapel edition and altar edition but the former is cheaper on Amazon. Thanks!
I have occasionally used my iMissal app in church, when I haven’t had access to a proper Missal or Missalette, but I always get glances and think people are condemning me in their minds for “checking emails” during Mass or whatnot…It is always nice to have a physical and beautiful Missal for display and use at home, much like we get one of those large family Bibles. One problem with physical Missals though is that they do get obsolete. While rites do not change often, new saints get added virtually every year and my 30 year old Missal is missing a great many saints - it is promulgated by JP2, not commemorating him.
You may also want to consider supplementing the physical Missal with a Missal app on the phone/tablet. This has the convenience of (i) app opens to the right day all the time (no need to hunt around or count which week is it after Pentecost, etc), (ii) it gets updated about a week after canonisation, (iii) no physical books to add check-in weight when travelling, (iv) no need for masking tape when cover falls apart. However, the app do not replace the physical Missal. Other than the beauty and visual symbolism of having a physical Missal, we also use our tablets for a host of other reasons, some of them possibly profane. For that, the app cannot qualify as a sacred book, to me (unless you get a tablet dedicated for that purpose). Whereas the physical Missal will always be sacred.
I ignore them as I pray/contemplate and I leave them in their judgmental prejudices.I have occasionally used my iMissal app in church, when I haven’t had access to a proper Missal or Missalette, but I always get glances and think people are condemning me in their minds for “checking emails” during Mass or whatnot…