Congregational Book for Pre-55 Holy Week Now Available at Discounted Prices

Three weeks ago, I announced here on NLM the publication of “A New Deluxe Congregational Booklet for Pre-55 Holy Week and Pentecost Vigil.” The news was greeted with much rejoicing. However, the price remained a sticking point.

The publisher has asked me to relay following message:

“We are very pleased to update you on a big discount we’re able to run for the book. We’re now able to sell the book ourselves through www.romanseraphicbooks.com, rather than Barnes & Noble, and offer the book at a 20% Discount across the board for all purchases. The shipping cost is also cheaper than Barnes & Noble’s, and all the bulk order discounting is still available.

International Shipping is also available through our store, for individual and bulk orders, so that the books will (hopefully) get there in time for Palm Sunday! Unfortunately B&N didn’t have this international option, but we are able to do it.

The link to the purchasing page is the same:

https://romanseraphicbooks.com/product/pre1955holyweek/.

This price change is temporary while we deplete our current stock, but we will try to replenish our stock to accommodate the demand if they go too quickly. Hopefully, demand for the book will enable us to maintain this pricing and purchasing option; otherwise we may have to go back to selling through Barnes & Noble, which would unfortunately drive the price up again.

We pray you are having a blessed and fruitful Lent so far.”

A New Deluxe Congregational Booklet for Pre-55 Holy Week and Pentecost Vigil

As the pre-55 Holy Week continues to be rediscovered and brought to more churches, and as the pre-55 Pentecost Vigil is likewise reclaimed, clergy and laity have been hoping to find adequate resources to help the laity follow along with the ceremonies, particularly in light of the fact that most of the daily missals in print feature the "restored" (but in reality deformed) Holy Week of 1955/1962. It is true that a few of the daily missals in print contain all of these texts (such as the Fr. Lasance and the St. Andrew's), but not everyone has a copy of these missals, and they are bulky and pricey. Other attempts in recent years at making booklets for the Triduum have been acceptable as temporary steps but not yet at the level of readability, aesthetics, and user-friendliness we would hope for.

I am therefore extremely pleased to announce that the ultimate pre-55 congregational aid has now been released from Roman Seraphic Books: Hebdomada Sancta: The Rites and Ceremonies for Use by the Laity. Although individual copies are somewhat spendy ($28.97), bulk discounts of up to 35% are available. It would be difficult to exaggerate how beautiful these full-color books are, and once again I must apologize that my little old handheld camera will not do justice to the crispness of the print and the color plates.

Over 250 pages in length but convenient enough in size and weight (as the photo indicates), the book contains the following:

1. A Foreword by Fr. Fortescue: "The Rites of Holy Week"
2. An Introduction with further information
3. Palm Sunday
4. Holy Monday
5. Holy Tuesday
6. Holy Wednesday
7. Maundy Thursday
8. Good Friday
9. Holy Saturday
10. Easter Sunday
Appendix I: Traditional Prayers and Devotions, including: Prayers before Mass; Devout and Fruitful Method of Assisting at Holy Mass; Prayers for Holy Communion; Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows; the Stations of the Cross according to the method of St. Francis of Assisi
Appendix II: The Pre-55 Vigil of Pentecost
Appendix III: The Ordinary of the Mass

I will share some photos and make brief comments as we go along.

From the Preface

From the Introduction (for a better PDF see the publisher's page)

 

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Sophia Press Announces Benedictus, a New Monthly Guide to the Traditional Latin Mass

Sophia Institute Press has announced a major new initiative that should be of exceptional interest to Catholics in the USA: Benedictus: The Traditional Catholic Companion. Think Magnificat, except keyed to the Tridentine Mass, making use of the Roman Breviary, and quoting from classic authors.

The dedicated website (www.praybenedictus.com) tells us what subscribers will find in each monthly booklet:

DAILY MASS COMPANION

Pray the Traditional Latin Mass, with the 1962 Missale Romanum presented in a clear and simple format. Continuous Latin and English text with reduced rubrics are included for Sundays (no page-jumping required), and complete Mass propers are offered in English for weekdays and feasts of each month.

MORNING AND EVENING DEVOTIONS

Enter the broader stream of Catholic liturgy with daily excerpts included from both Lauds and Vespers of the 1960 Breviarum Romanum, the official morning and evening hours of prayer used by traditional clergy and religious throughout the world. Excellent for family devotions, which, as a result, will synchronize better with the prayers and atmosphere of the traditional Latin Mass.

DAILY MEDITATIONS

Learn at the feet of Catholic spiritual masters each day, with devout meditations curated exclusively from saints and scholars who prayed and loved the traditional Mass, from the early Church to the early 1900s. Guaranteed to be free of soft modernism or fluffy pablum.

INFORMATIVE COMMENTARY

Dive deeper into our heritage of Faith through insightful mini-essays on the feasts and saints of the traditional calendar, as well as brief catecheses and ideas for extending a liturgical life into the home. Unlock the riches of Tradition like never before.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

The Art of Typesetting and Layout: A Gallery of Pages

As one who has made hundreds of booklets, pamphlets, "worship aids," prayer cards, signs, and posters over the years, I have invested a lot of time learning how to make these simple items look beautiful. Fonts, styles, images, colors, borders, ornaments are all taken into account, the moreso as the occasion is more solemn. My attitude is that of Eric Gill and others who considered nothing so pedestrian or trivial that it should not be dignified by attention to detail, care in presentation, creativity in approach, and permanence of quality. I would imagine that similar thoughts prevail among the readership of NLM.

It is therefore a special delight to be able to share with you some examples of the extremely fine typesetting work of Dom Benedict Andersen, O.S.B., of Silverstream Priory, whose "Litany for the Holy Father" I was able to present two weeks ago. Those who attended Sacra Liturgia in 2013 in Rome would have seen the remarkable black hardcover that contained the texts for all the liturgies (solemn Masses and Vespers) of the conference -- in parallel Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, German, and English translations! (A couple of pages from this book are below.) Dom Benedict's work is characterized by elegant lines, balanced elements, a judicious use of typographical variations, and, most of all, an eye for tiny details of punctuation and spacing. He truly offers us a model that can inspire our own efforts in this area.

When Dom Benedict and I were corresponding about the art of printing, he did specifically ask me to say that he is not available for commissions, as the routine work of producing materials for the monastery and for special occasions as requested by prelates is already keeping his hands quite full, and maybe overfull.

from the Sacra Liturgia 2013 book

also from Sacra Liturgia 2013

Sacra Liturgia 2013

The Liturgy of the Hours and the New Missal Translation

The closing prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours for Lauds and Vespers is generally the same as the collect of the Mass.  With the implementation of the new English translation of the Roman Missal, those who wish to pray the hours in English are left with two alternative versions of the same prayer: the new and improved translation as found in the missal, and the obsolete translation as appears in the breviary.  Eventually, a new English translation of an updated Liturgy of the Hours will be published and indeed is already in the works.  Until then, it is permissible to continue using the obsolete collects when concluding the hours.  It seems advantageous, however, to use the new translation, not only for the sake of fidelity to the official Latin prayers but also to reinforce the connection between the Liturgy of the Hours and the Liturgy of the Mass, which together form the basis of the Church's public worship.  Toward that end, Newman House Press (publisher of Bishop Athanasius Schneider's Dominus Est—It is the Lord!) has produced a 400-page volume containing the collects of the Roman Missal, in Latin and English on facing pages: Oremus—Let Us Pray sells for $25 (US) + $5 shipping and is available directly from the publisher.

Dominican Rite Pew Booklet Bulk Discounts

The sales of Dominican Rite Mass, a pew booklet for congregational use at Dominican Rite Masses, presenting the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin and English in parallel columns, has been so successful that Dominican Liturgy Publications has decided to offer discounts on bulk orders thanks to terms offered by the books-on-demand printing service.

If your congregation or group is interested in ordering more than 50 copies of the Dominican Rite Mass booklets, instructions for placing bulk orders may be found at this link.

(Dominican Liturgy Publications is a not for profit project.)

Dominican Rite Pew Booklet

I would like to thank all the readers who forwarded or posted suggestions for the final version of the pew booklet "The Dominican Rite Mass," which is now available in final format for ordering at Dominican Liturgy Publications.

This booklet presents the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin and English on facing pages and is suitable for use by people attending Dominican Rite Mass. It also includes music for High Mass and devotional prayers.