4th Sunday of the Year, Simple English Propers

Simple English Propers

Four Missals Reviewed (Part 3 of 3)

In our first and second part of our review, we have looked at the external binding and some of the internal aspects of the following four missals:

1. The Magnificat "Altar Edition", priced at $199.00 USD.
2. The World Library Publications (WLP) "Deluxe Edition", priced at $395.00 USD.
3. The Midwest Theological Forum (MTF) "Regal Edition", priced at $500.00 USD.
4. The Catholic Truth Society (CTS) "Altar Edition", priced at £230.00 GBP

For our third and final portion of this review, our attention turns to the interior artwork of these missals. Let's get right to it.

Missal Art - Overview

Before we get into specific considerations of each missal, let's give a general overview comparison of the four missals placed side by side.

Four random samples from each Missal
Top Left: WLP, Top Right: CTS
Bottom Left: Magnificat, Bottom Right: MTF

The art used for Eucharistic Prayer I (The Roman Canon)
Top Left: WLP, Top Right: CTS
Bottom Left: Magnificat, Bottom Right: MTF

Speaking of each of these missals, one point which I think was lost out upon in each instance was that each Eucharistic Prayer does not include some sort of crucifixion art plate. While this would be difficult where a singular source of the Missal art has been chosen (as for example in the CTS edition), I believe it would have been good for each missal to somehow include such plates for each Eucharistic Prayer.

The Magnificat edition does include a plate for both EP I and EP II, however in the latter case, this is an image of Christ resurrected rather than crucified. The other editions include a crucifixion art plate only for EP I.


Missal Art - WLP Edition

With regard to the art and design of their binding, I haven't rated the WLP edition as highly by comparison with the other three editions under review. However, I have to say that when it comes to the interior artwork, this is another matter entirely.

I very much like what they have done here. The plates are well integrated into the text, both in the way they are reproduced on the paper, and also in the way they relate to the liturgical texts themselves. There is plenty of art within the Missal, but one is not inundated with it either.

WLP went with art from the illuminated manuscript tradition, and thus the artwork very much presents a consistent and unified sense through the book. The images are well proportioned to the page and include white space around them, which suitably frames each plate and integrates it well with the rest of the text.

Here are some examples of the artwork in their edition:

A job well done.


Missal Art - Magnificat Edition

While I was quite pleased by the front and back cover design of the Magnificat missal, its marbled endpapers and its large ornamental capitals, I'll have to say that I was personally disappointed with the way the interior art was handled within this edition of the Missal -- even though I like much of the art used within the missal itself taken on its own. (In fact, in at least one of those instances I quite liked the fact that they stretched our horizons a bit by including such works as Vincent Van Gogh's "The Good Samaritan." That inclusion, for myself, shows some of the positive potentialities that can exist for more modern styles of art within this context. Kudos to them for helping to explore that front.)

Where I was disappointed was not in the pieces selected, but rather in the way the art was generally approached in this missal, taken as a whole and in view of layout considerations. So then, what do I mean by this?

In the first instance, this particular missal includes a rather curious feature throughout it, whereby there are two consecutive pages of colour plates, thereby making for two individual plates and one two page plate:

While it is laudable to not take a minimalist approach to the art within a missal, I personally do not believe this is the way to approach an abundant use of art plates.

The art of a missal should clearly relate to and embellish the liturgical texts, serving as a sort of visual meditation on the particular feast or part of the Mass being entered into. (Hence the crucifixion art at the beginning of the Roman Canon for instance, or an image depicting a saint or one of the mysteries of our Lord to accompany a related feast within the liturgical year). While the art used in the Magnificat Missal does indeed make these linkages to the time of the liturgical year, I can see little purpose or benefit from these double page spreads. Such spreads may be suitable for an art book or text book (though even in that context they are unsatisfying since the centre of the image is always obscured), but not for an altar missal in my estimation for they offer little or no real co-relation to the liturgical text, being pages that would never be turned to in the liturgical use of the missal.

Further to this matter of the layout of the art, I would also comment that, with the exception of the crucifixion plate opposite EP I, the art work lacks any sort of bordering, with the images being published right to the edges of the page. Here I would reference back to the tradition of manuscript illumination and book printing in general where plates and illustrations nearly always included white space and potentially other bordering as well. Within a book context, having art without any sort white space is, to me, comparable to hanging a picture on the wall without a matte and frame; the result tends to look unfinished and informal.

The other issue I would raise with the artwork selected for the Magnificat missal is the fact that it widely varies in style and type. Various periods are covered from the ancient right up to the very modern; art is used that ranges from full colour plates to uncoloured woodcuts and engravings of different styles and levels of detail. The result is a lack of stylistic unity which therefore doesn't integrate as well into the missal as a whole I think.

Here are just a few examples of some of the art found within the Magnificat edition of the Missal:

I will say that, taken on its own, the EP I page is wonderful. One will note the white space and bordering and how much of a difference this makes in giving a more finished and sophisticated look. I would point out as well the drop capital and how well this all integrates together here.

I want to reiterate that much of the art found within the Magnificat Missal is quite beautiful in and of itself. There are some beautiful engravings and some glorious works in stunning, vibrant colour. My primary issue with regard to the art selected is that I believe it would have been better had the publishers had either chosen one style or period of art, or at possibly two (perhaps one for the colour plates and one for the non-coloured plates) and then given the art a more "bookish" and finished appearance by way of the bordering already discussed.

While I appreciate that there was likely an intent to include art of differing styles and differing periods in Magnificat's case, to accomodate a variety of tastes, and while I can appreciate the desire to not take a minimalist approach, to me this is an example of where less would have been more.


Missal Art - CTS Edition

Like WLP, CTS chose to use art from the manuscript tradition. CTS made the decision to obviously use a singular source for their art and I think the result is very good indeed. Their approach, in this regard, most puts me to mind of the missal printing tradition of old.

Here are a few samples.

The only shame inherited by the otherwise admirable pursuit of a singular art source is that the crucifixion image seen here, opposite EP I, happens to be less pronounced by comparison with the other editions

One will note the use of the white space as a natural 'frame' around the images, and the art depicted is entirely linked to the liturgical texts at hand. CTS opted to use glossier paper for their art plates and while that makes them a little less integrated by way of the different feel of the paper (by comparison with the rest of the pages) it also gives the art a brightness it could otherwise not have. Frankly doing this or not is a trade off either way and I can see merit in either approach. However, what is also pleasing to me is that even though a glossier paper was used, that doesn't mean the art plates were treated merely as extraneous, separate inserts into the missal; rather, missal texts are often found to be printed on the opposing side of these same pages. This was well done I think. (Incidentally, why I believe this integration is important would again relate back to the tradition of the book arts whereby the art was an integral and unified aspect of book itself. The art was designed specifically for the book in question. It is within this unity and integration that I believe we find its particular value and beauty. Anything that approximates it or approaches it likewise is therefore desirable in my own estimation and tends to work.)

Very well done indeed overall and certainly very visually appealing. It is certainly one of my favourites of all the missals I have seen, including those others not covered by this review.


Missal Art - MTF Edition

Finally we come to the MTF edition. While MTF's edition does not use art from a singular source as the CTS edition does, it does however present art of a very similar stylistic quality, and this helps to avoid any sense of disunity in the art. MTF opted, like WLP, to not go with a glossy paper format for their artwork, and as I note this is really a trade off. What they lose in vibrancy of colour, they gain in the very consistent integration of the art with the rest of the printed text.

As with the CTS and WLP editions, MTF uses white space to frame their images, and beyond that, they have also added a gold border around each image in edition. I think this works very well and to good effect.

Here are a few samples:

While I like all of the other "Roman Canon" pages of the four missals shown, I must confess it is very pleasing to see the Velázquez Crucifixion used in the MTF edition, which certain gives a nod back to the Benziger Brothers missals used within the context of the usus antiquior.

They have done a very fine job with their art.


Missal Art - Summary

I will have to say that I appreciate the artwork of the CTS, MTF and WLP editions equally. Each have merits to be seen in their own particular approaches, and each, more importantly, bring dignity and beauty to the respective missal, integrating well with the liturgical texts.

As noted early on, a missed opportunity for the art work in all of the editions is the lack of crucifixion plates for each of the Eucharistic Prayers. I would hope this might be considered in future editions.

My one final comment here about the matter of missal art is that I would generally like to see a revival in our liturgical arts pursued such that we not only rely on the artwork of previous generations, or rely on adapting art from another context to these particular purposes. While we know this can work, as is evidenced above, it seems to me that we should also look to commission original artists to specifically design and execute art for our liturgical books again.

While that is admittedly not a small project, neither is it an impossible one. I believe this would be very enriching, if well pursued and well thought out, and would offer a range of potentialities, from the classicist painter to someone operating more within an illuminative tradition.

This concludes the review of these four editions of the new English edition of the Roman Missal

Murals by John Singer Sargent at the Boston Public Library

Yes really, I do mean at the Boston Public Library. It is quite a surprise to go into the public library and find a wonderful set of murals painted by the great American artist. One room has a huge set of murals on an Arthurian theme and then right at the top of the building is a room that the library calls quite simply 'Sargent Hall'. This are adorned with a set of Christian sacred imagery all conforming to a unifying schema.

I had heard about them before but only this past weekend have I seen them for the first time. They are oil on canvas set into the wall, with some painted plaster cast reliefs and were painted in a 20 year period from 1895. What surprised me was how Catholic the imagery is for civic buildings. Boston's Irish Catholic heritage is well known, but I hadn't anticipated that this Catholic influence would have reached up to the level of the dignitaries of the city at this time. Perhaps there is a high Episcopalian influence here as well?

We have murals of the Old Testament prophets, of the crucifixion with the a representation of the dogma of the Trinity and angels carrying the instruments of the passion, Our Lady of Sorrows and the 15 mysteries of the rosary. Apparently when artistic tastes turned against the naturalistic style around the early middle 20th century, they were almost destroyed. Luckily for us were saved and the suggestion to paint over them was opposed.

If these had been painted in England at the same time by any other artist, they would most likely have been in the pre-Raphaelite, and indeed there is some of that feel about them. However, Sargent, who is vastly superior to the English pre-Raphaelites, in my opinion, brings his knowledge of the 17th century baroque (which is the authentic liturgical root of the Western naturalistic tradition) into play. So just we would have seen in this earlier original period, we see in Sargent's work here the controlled intensification and depletion of colour; and variation in focus, carried out selectively to ensure that our eyes are drawn first to the most important points in each composition. The pre-Raphaelites in contrast painted with sharp outlines and even colour and so they overburdened their paintings with detail.

It is very difficult to manage complicated compositions with many figures Sargent handles the variation of these components so brilliantly and subltely that I find it difficult characterise further what he is doing beyond knowing that he is doing it.

The room, which is just a 3rd floor hall in the library leading to others containing library books, is difficult to photograph and so I give you the best I have been able to get hold of. One thing to point out about the style is that even though Sargent was trained as portrait painter, he seems to have understood the difference between sacred art and portraiture. The faces are less emotional and quite often placed in shadow, allowing us to identify with the general human characteristics of the person portrayed. This is in contrast to other sacred art of the 19th century and in accord with what a master of the 17th century, such as Zurburan, would have done. I have talked about this in more detail in an article called Is Some Sacred Art Too Naturalistic? We can see this brought out especially in the sketches for one of the mysteries of the rosary. The ones shown are for the finding of the boy Jesus in the temple.

As I studied these I was trying to picture these as a focus of prayer if they had been placed in a church. My personal taste in this regard is for the iconographic or gothic, so I am not the best person to make a judgement here, but my sense is that for those who are strongly attracted to the baroque style as liturgical art, these would seem appropriate and helpful. Certainly, I think that those Catholic artists who are interested in painting sacred art and have been trained in the academic method should study Sargent's style, which owes so much to the earlier 17th century form. This will help them to avoid the trap of imitating inferior artists of the late 19th century such as the aforementioned pre-Raphaelites and William Bougeureau (the reason that his style should be avoided, in my opinion, is described in the article linked above).

Our Lady of Sorrows


The Sorrowful Mysteries, above, and the Glorious Mysteries, heavily gilded, below is a photo of the full set of 15. This is painted on the arched ceiling of the room.

A Review of "The Dorchester Review"

While not liturgical, I know the NLM readership is a diverse audience of broad interests, ranging from other areas of theology to matters political and historical. As such, I wanted to make mention, particularly for our Canadian readers, but also for readers in the United States and elsewhere, about a new, quarterly journal coming out of Canada that I think will be of some interest, The Dorchester Review.

I first learned of The Dorchester Review by way of Andrew Cusack in his piece, A Breath of Fresh, Northern Air.

Andrew caught my attention in his own reference to the estimable German Catholic philosopher, Josef Pieper -- author of such works as Leisure the Basis of Culture and In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity. Said Mr. Cusack:

The editors did issue a brief statement explaining the genesis of their new review. They had me at their Pieperian first sentence: “The Dorchester Review is founded on the belief that leisure is the basis of culture.”

"Just as no one can live without pleasure, no civilized life can be sustained without recourse to that tranquillity in which critical articles and book reviews may be profitably enjoyed. The wisdom and perspective that flow from history, biography, and fiction are essential to the good life. It is not merely that “the record of what men have done in the past and how they have done it is the chief positive guide to present action,” as Belloc put it. Action can be dangerous if not preceded by contemplation that begins in recollection."

The endeavour of reviewing books, the editors acknowledge, has too often been reduced either to brief puff-pieces in the Saturday insert of the local paper or more high-minded but uncritical praise of like-minded academics for one another. “There are too few critical reviews published today, particularly in Canada, and almost none translated from francophone journals for English readers.” As someone with a lifelong love of Quebec, I am relieved that finally there is a review in my own language willing to take Quebec seriously.

“At the Review,” the editors continue, “we shall praise the good books and assail the bad.”

They also forthrightly explain their rejection of the narrow nationalist perspective that has been on the ascendant in Canada throughout the past century, especially since the foundation of The Canadian Forum. The Dorchester Review effectively throws Canada’s doors open to a more reasoned understanding of the country’s relationship with Europe (Britain and France particularly), America, the Commonwealth, and the world.

With the permission of the editor of The Dorchester Review, I wanted to share with you the following excerpts from the second issue:

And from the same issue, here a piece by Andrew Cusack himself:

And here is the full text of that opening editorial that Andrew referenced:

The Dorchester Review is founded on the belief that leisure is the basis of culture. Just as no one can live without pleasure, no civilized life can be sustained without recourse to that tranquillity in which critical articles and book reviews may be profitably enjoyed. The wisdom and perspective that flow from history, biography, and fiction are essential to the good life. It is not merely that “the record of what men have done in the past and how they have done it is the chief positive guide to present action,” as Belloc put it. Action can be dangerous if not preceded by contemplation that begins in recollection.

Every historian and every writer has an agenda, frequently political and often unadmitted. To the entrenched complacencies of much professional scholarship and literary journalism, one antidote is corrective and restorative history, engagingly written. There are too few critical reviews published today, particularly in Canada, and almost none translated from francophone journals for English readers. It also remains likely, as Orwell put it, that, “The great majority of reviews give an inadequate or misleading account of the book that is dealt with. ... The best practice ... would be simply to ignore the great majority of books and to give very long reviews — 1,000 words is a bare minimum — to the few that seem to matter.” At the Review we shall praise the good books and assail the bad.

The Dorchester Review has no political agenda but a robustly polemical one. If the mandate of The Canadian Forum at its inception in 1920 was “to trace and value those developments of art and letters which are distinctively Canadian,” then the mandate of The Dorchester Review is very nearly the opposite.

The nationalism that began with the 1920s centre-left has in some ways produced a narrowing effect on the country’s imagination, squeezing out elements of tradition and culture inherent to Canadian experience that fail to conform to a stridently progressivist narrative.

We confess another potentially unpopular belief: that, at its core, Canada’s strength and advantage — that of a British liberal society with a strong French national enclave, resilient aboriginal communities, and a vital pluralism born of successive immigrant arrivals — would be void if polemically separated from its European, Judeo-Christian and Classical traditions, which is another answer to: why history. We are conscious and grateful heirs to an invaluable if variously pressured tradition of free expression and criticism that is found and defended with particular seriousness in the North Atlantic societies, and this we think should be recognized, protected, and always enhanced.

In our choice of a moniker and historical patron we take the name of a bewigged British soldier, an astute and unapologetic colonial governor from the pre-democratic era, in order to underline that history consists of more than a parade of secular modern progressives building a distinctively Canadian utopia. That the King praised Sir Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, as “a gallant and sensible man” is no small recommendation.

Finally, we gratefully acknowledge Toby Buchan’s acceptance of our invitation to serve as honorary patron. As an editor, publisher, and illustrator in England he is known as Mr Buchan. We approached him, however, as the 4th Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield and grandson of John Buchan, the great storyteller, historian, and 15th governor general of Canada. In that capacity, Lord Tweedsmuir graciously accepted. In the pages of this edition, notice can be found of the handsome new edition of John Buchan’s classic thriller, The Thirty-Nine Steps, with a fine introduction by his grandson, our hon. patron.

In general the Review will not take editorial positions unless grievously tempted. Four of our five contributing editors have written articles for the first issue: Randy Boyagoda, C.P. Champion, Phyllis Reeve, and John Robson, who bring varied literary and editorial talents to the cause. We are proud to carry articles by Gil Troy, Sam Menefee, Barbara Kay, Graham Stewart, Greg Melleuish, Conrad Black, Adam Chapnick, Mathieu Bock-Coté, and many others. We welcome submissions as well as letters and comments, encourage readers to take out a subscription, and, when necessary, disagree with us enthusiastically and intelligently!

Journals as these need support and encouragement. So might I encourage those of you interested to subscribe. It is rather reasonably priced.

Four Missals Reviewed (Part 2 of 3)

In part one of this review of four editions of the new English Roman Missal, we focused on the outer binding; I now wish to turn our attention to the inner aspects of these four missals, but before we do, let us review once more the four missals in question that we are looking at:

1. The Magnificat "Altar Edition", priced at $199.00 USD.
2. The World Library Publications (WLP) "Deluxe Edition", priced at $395.00 USD.
3. The Midwest Theological Forum (MTF) "Regal Edition", priced at $500.00 USD.
4. The Catholic Truth Society (CTS) "Altar Edition", priced at £230.00 GBP


Endpapers

Working our way inward from the binding itself, we come to the endpapers. In two of our missals, the CTS edition and the WLP edition, these are simply plain red coloured papers of sturdy weight:

WLP edition

CTS edition

These are fine as far as they go. That said, I do appreciate that the MTF and Magnificat editions added some traditional ornamentation here as well. Magnificat went with a marbled endpaper:

Magnificat marbled endpapers

MTF adopted a very striking gold design that employs stylized crosses; this one really jumped at out me when I saw it and it works particularly well with the gilding on the interior leather:

MTF endpapers

Make no mistake, details like this do indeed matter in relation to the overall beauty of the final product and they are more visible than one might think. I'd give the edge here to the MTF edition.


Typography

Under typography I primarily want to consider elements such as drop capitals and at the end of that detailed consideration, I will give a general summation of my thoughts on the typography generally. Of the drop capitals I will say in general that three of the four missals under review could have benefited by a more liberal use of them, including major and minor capitals. Aside from adding to the beauty of the text, these are very useful in helping to visually identify particular points within the text.

Now I said three of the four because the Magnificat edition did an excellent job in crafting major drop capitals, complete with art, and they will certainly get high praise from me for that; this particular aspect certainly sets them apart from the other missals at least in this particular regard:

Large capitals within the Magnificat Missal

The Magnificat edition also had three other styles for minor drop capitals, two of which I found a little less than desireable stylistically. Here is one such:

One style of drop capital in the Magnificat Missal

However, the drop capital style Magnificat adopted for the propers was far more classic and very well done; they generally did a good job in their edition of the missal insofar as they used these for each Mass of the liturgical year, and for all the proper prayers themselves.

Another style of drop capital in the Magnificat Missal

The MTF missal also uses some drop capitals within it, and they appear as follows:

The typography of the MTF Missal

Speaking personally, I prefer something a bit simpler for drop capitals of this size, but that is merely personal preference. My primary critique here is that these drop capitals are basically limited to the prefaces and the Ordo Missae. It would have been nice to see more drop capitals used for the proper as well.

The WLP edition, like the MTF and CTS editions, also has a limited use of drop capitals. They chose to use a black colour:

WLP edition

Here too, my personal preference is for a more classic style. My other critique is that, again the use of these drop capitals is extremely limited within the text, being mainly reserved to the Ordo Missae.

Turning finally to the CTS edition, they employ very classic drop capitals, my primary critique here is that I think they, like MTF and WLP, likewise could have used them far more liberally. As it stands, they are included for the Eucharistic Prayers, as well as for the Sundays of the liturgical year and a few other major places. They sit a bit high, but are otherwise very nice.

The typography of the CTS Missal

Now, all of that said, with regard to the basic typography and layout of each Missal, I don't wish to dwell on this a very great deal, but I can say that I find each missal perfectly legible. That said, of the four missals in question, I do generally find the CTS type the most pleasing generally. That said, the MTF and Magnificat editions also have their respective strengths in this same regard.


Missal Tabs

With regard the tabs of these various missals, some of this is really going to hit into a matter of priestly preference. The tab sizes vary from Magnificat which has the fewest and largest tabs, followed next by CTS, WLP and finally, MTF. Here they are in the same order:

Magnificat edition

CTS edition

WLP edition

MTF edition

Speaking of the construction of the tabs, I find the tabs used on the CTS edition to be, overall, the nicest. They are of a decent size and also made of a very nice material.

Regarding Magnificat's use of fewer tabs, while they do include additional tabs you can affix, I do think it would have been better if they had done as the other missals did and include the page tabs for each of the pages of the four Eucharistic prayers.

This now brings us to another matter surrounding the tabs. A curious feature of three of these four missals is that the first tab for the respective Eucharistic Prayers is, I will be so bold to say, incorrectly placed. (I should note that in the case of the WLP edition, they do get it right on Eucharistic prayers III and IV, which happen to begin on the left hand page, but wrong on Eucharistic Prayers I and II, which begin on the right) What do I mean by this?

What I mean is that if you look through traditional missals, the tab to turn to the Canon Missae page is placed upon the left hand page which typically bears the crucifixion artwork. That way, when you use this tab, you turn exactly to the page to which you intend to begin simply by pulling the pages leftward. However, in the case of the Magnificat and CTS Missals (and also the WLP missal for EP I and II), the tab is instead on the right hand page, and therefore when you use these markers, rather than being put directly to the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer with a simple leftward turn of the pages with the tab, you must first do that and then flip the tabbed page back rightward in order to get to the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer. These images might better give you a sense of what I mean. I am holding the tab marked for EP 1 (and you will note that the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer is on the opposite side of the tabbed page being held):

CTS edition

WLP edition

Magnificat edition

The MTF edition was the only edition of these four missals that got these tabs correctly placed for each and every Eucharistic Prayer. Here is how this should work in my estimation:

This is one of those elements that could be easily corrected by the other publishers in future printings. I hope they will take note of it for little things like this do make a big difference.


Missal Ribbons

My final consideration for this second part of our review is with regard to the ribbon markers of the respective missals.

I am least impressed with the ribbons of the Magnificat edition which I think both too long and also too narrow for a book of this size. I also wonder if they might not be the sort whose ends will easily fray. These sort of ribbons strike me as better used for smaller liturgical books, but not full sized altar missals. Personally, I find thinner ribbons in larger, heavier books make it hard to use them to their purpose -- and also more likely to slip out of the pages.

Magnificat edition

The WLP edition's ribbons are better than those Magnificat, being both a bit wider, not so long, and feeling less likely to wear. I would call them acceptable.

However, 'top of the class' for the ribbons are the CTS and MTF editions. Not only do they include one extra ribbon (which is always useful), these ribbons are very nicely done, of good material, they are about one inch wide, and they also happen to be quite beautiful; they are thus both useful and ornamental (and the little flourish at the end will not only be more resistant to wear, it also makes them easier to grasp):

MTF edition

CTS edition

In terms of the colour of the ribbons, I was pleased that each of the four publishers used ribbons coloured, for the most part, in the liturgical colours as was often traditionally the case. This not only gives the ribbon markers a liturgical aspect, it also makes it easier to remember which ribbon to turn to for the proper -- provided you set the missal up that way. (e.g. using the violet ribbon to mark one the propers of the day in Lent and Advent, green during "Ordinary Time" and so on.)

I was a bit disappointed that none of these editions chose to include a black ribbon however, for this very reason (being useable on All Souls Day or in Masses for the Dead generally). Perhaps our publishers might consider that for a future printing.

In the third part of our review, we will turn our attention exclusively to the art of these four missals.