Question: Is there a protective cover for this missal?
Answer: No, we do not have a zippered cover that fits this missal.
Question: Why is there no Imprimatur for this missal?
Answer: The Committee on Divine Worship, a committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, does not issue an Imprimatur (“permission to publish”) for liturgical publications such as missals, lectionaries, rituals, and books of blessings. Instead, the Committee has issued a Concordat cum Originali, which is an attestation that the texts included in the book faithfully reproduce what are found in the official publications. Since this missal has been granted a Concordat cum Originali, no further permission to publish is necessary (or even possible to obtain).
Question: What sections of this book are in both Latin and English?
Answer: The Order of Mass—including the Eucharistic Prayers, the Entrance and Communion Antiphons, the response to the Responsorial Psalm, the Sequence, the Alleluia Verse Before the Gospel—and many of the devotions and prayers are in both Latin and English. The Prefaces are in English only.
Question: What is the difference between the two large-print editions?
Answer: The leather edition “with Additional Eucharistic Prayers” includes an appendix with two Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation and four Eucharistic Prayers for use in Various Needs and Occasions, and it includes the Latin text of the Prefaces; to accommodate this it does not include the “Devotions and Prayers” section except the prayers before and after Mass found in the altar missal. The hardcover edition “with Devotions and Prayers” has the same contents as the standard-print editions; it includes the “Devotions and Prayers” section but not to Eucharistic Prayers and Latin texts in the leather edition.
Question: Where are the Latin texts of the Prefaces?
Answer: The Prefaces in this edition are in English only; however, the edition “Large Print Edition with Additional Eucharistic Prayers” includes the Latin and English texts of the Prefaces.
Question: Where are the Prefaces for Eucharistic Prayers I and III? They are not on pages 767 and 791, respectively.
Answer: There are no proper Prefaces for these Eucharistic Prayers. Whereas Eucharistic Prayers II and IV have proper Prefaces, I and III do not; this is not something the editors forgot to include or decided to omit. When praying Eucharistic Prayer I or III, use the Preface specified by the rubrics. For example, in Ordinary Time see page 839, no. 5: “[O]n Sundays one of the Prefaces of Sundays in Ordinary Time is said, pp. 745–749; but on weekdays, a Common Preface is said, pp. 758–762.”
Question: Can I use this missal outside the USA, for example, in Canada, England, or Nigeria?
Answer: To a limited extent, yes. The Latin texts are universal and the English texts from the missal are copyrighted by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, which are used throughout the English-speaking world. However, the readings are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament, which is approved for all Masses in the dioceses of the USA; furthermore, the calendar is adapted for use in the dioceses of the USA, so feasts proper to other English-speaking countries are not in this missal.
Question: How can I find the readings for a particular day?
Answer: Table I, on pages xxxiv–xxxvii, is a useful guide. For example, let us use Table I to find the prayers and readings on the Sunday of Pentecost 2019. This feast is listed on page xxxv, about 4/5 the way down the table. The header rows of the table inform us this feast in 2019 will use the readings for Year C, and tracing this down to the row labeled “Pentecost” informs us this feast will fall on June 9. Turning to page 689, as indicated to the left of “Pentecost,” we find the beginning of this Mass.
Question: Is the sequence on Pentecost obligatory or optional?
Answer: It is obligatory. In some print runs, there is a rubric on page 701 that reads, “The sequence may be said or sung.” This was unintentionally misleading—making the sequence sound optional rather than just the manner in which it should be prayed—and has been removed from later print runs of this missal.
Question: Where can I find the Mass for the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
Answer: It is on page 1823. This is a moveable feast, meaning its calendar date is not the same every year. The feasts at the end of Ordinary Time are Feasts of the Lord, which this is not. Therefore, the altar missal and lectionary place it between May and June because most years it is celebrated in June.
Question: Why do some of the Psalms have two numbers and others have only one?
Answer: The Psalms are numbered differently in the missal and the lectionary; we have reproduced faithfully what appears in each publication. In the lectionary published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in 1998 and 2002, the Psalms are numbered according to the Hebrew tradition; however, in the altar missal published by the USCCB in 2010, the Psalms are numbered according to the Hebrew tradition with the Greco–Latin tradition acknowledged in brackets. As we have no authority to alter either source when printing our missal, we have reproduced faithfully what appears in each one. The number of a Psalm in the Greco–Latin tradition (Septuagint, Vulgate) is often one less than in the Hebrew tradition. Citing both traditions as the missal does conveys more information but is a more accurate citation.
Question: Why does the “Prayer to Jesus Christ Crucified” list the citation as Psalm 21 when the quote is from Psalm 22?
Answer: There are two traditions for numbering the Psalms, and this references the Greco–Latin tradition. The number of a Psalm in the Greco–Latin tradition (Septuagint, Vulgate) is often one less than in the Hebrew tradition. Since this prayer is printed in both Latin and English, the editors thought it would seem more dignified to number it according to just the Greco-Latin tradition rather than the Hebrew as well.
Question: What do the abbreviations “V.” and “R.” mean?
Answer: They indicate the leader’s verses and a person’s or the people’s responses. The abbreviation “V.” indicates where the leader of the prayer speaks, and “R.” indicates the response. For example, in the Angelus on page 2299, the first two lines are thus:
V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary;
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
In this example, the leader reads the first line, and everyone else responds with the second line.
Question: Where can I find the Presidential Prayers (Entrance Antiphon, the Prayer over the Offering, and the Communion Antiphon) for the weekdays in Ordinary Time?
Answer: The answer begins on page 839. This quoted section of the missal explains what elements from the missal are used during Ordinary Time. Number 3b reads, in part: “On weekdays, however, any of the thirty-four [Sunday] Masses may be used.” Unless there is a feast day, the Entrance and Communion Antiphons are taken from one of the Sunday Masses. There is no way for us to know which antiphons will be chosen, again quoting from number 3b, considering that “the pastoral needs of the faithful are taken into consideration.” The best way to learn this would probably be to ask the celebrant; perhaps he has a pattern, for example, using the previous Sunday’s antiphons. Page xx also includes a helpful guide for Mass on weekdays.
Question: Does this missal include the invocation of St. Joseph in Eucharistic Prayers II, III and IV?
Answer: No. However, we do provide a free set of stickers which includes his name in specific stanza for each Eucharistic Prayer. All of the characteristics of the sticker are meant for it to blend with the printed page. The stickers are sent out upon request.