Recently when visiting Milwaukee, I met a friend for coffee, who after we sat down pulled out from a box three marvelous treasures: a 1558 missal for the Use of Braga ; a 1616
Missale Romanum printed in Antwerp; and a liturgical Ordo from 1681, owned by a cardinal. Not usually a shutterbug, I could not resist taking some photos of these lovely liturgical books to share with NLM readers (in three separate posts).
I will offer simple commentary here. Those who wish to read more about the Use of Braga should visit
this dedicated website and search on NLM for “Braga.” Enjoy the show-and-tell! (As always, click the photos to enlarge them.)
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| The frontispiece |
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The liturgical calendar for January
 | The liturgical calendar for September
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| A diagram for calculating the liturgical cycle |
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| Introit for the First Sunday of Advent |
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| From the Vigil of the Nativity |
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| “Gloria, laus” from Palm Sunday - note the differences in the melody |
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| The beginning of the Ordo Missae, with part of Psalm 42, moving right into the Confiteor - note the differences in the text. |
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| From the section of Prefaces set to chant |
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| A handwritten note about the missal being for the sacristy of a certain place; the date of the note appears to be 1778. |
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| The beginning of the Roman Canon (I do not include the crucifix scene because it was not the original, but a later printing pasted in; the original had likely been removed and framed at some point.) |
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| The settings of “Ite, missa est” |
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| Easter Sunday |
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| Another handwritten note, on the last page of the missal, this time dated 1560 |
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| As is often the case with older missals, a supplement has been sown in, with feasts from the Roman Missal that could be utilized by a priest celebrating the Braga use. |
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| And of course, we should take a look at the binding. Here is the front cover. |
