Over the years, I have observed a fair number of auctions for liturgical books. Because most of these books are being sold by non-experts, they frequently are misidentified or misunderstood. This guide will offer a basic guideline to Roman Rite Catholic liturgical books, particularly in the last 200 years. For vernacular versions, we will limit ourselves to English language versions.

The Basics: Types of Books.

Liturgical books can be broken down into three broad categories: Mass, Sacraments/sacramentals and Liturgy of the Hours (Office or Breviary). One could write volumes on each of these categories. This, however, is the basic “gist” of each.

Mass related books.

Missal.

A Missal contains ALL prayers, scripture readings, rites, and other instructions on the celebration of the Mass (the central act of Christian Worship). Missals are the standard book for Mass prior to roughly the mid-1960’s. The official book for celebration of the Mass published by the Apostolic See (Rome) is still called a Missal, but in English speaking countries, the Missal is divided into two books: Sacramentary and Lectionary.

Sacramentary.

This book contains ONLY the prayers, rites, calendar and other instructions for the Mass. This is most common since 1970 (although the Sacramentary originates in the early Middle Ages). Sacramentaries are virtually unknown from the High Middle Ages until roughly 1972.

Lectionary.

This book contains ONLY the scripture readings proclaimed at Mass. Since the liturgical reforms of 1965-1972 the Lectionary is divided into three annual cycles (A,B, and C) with a two year cycle for weekdays. It is not uncommon to find all these combined into one volume, but in recent years (since the 1990s) it is more common to find them in several volumes.

Evangelistary or Book of the Gospels.

This ancient book has enjoyed a revival in the last 20 years. It contains ONLY the Gospel readings for Sunday Masses throughout the year. Liturgical norms require that the Book of the Gospels be carried in procession during the Entrance Procession, enthroned on the altar, and read from the ambo. Books of the Gospels are often highly decorated with elaborate covers.

Advice on bidding/collecting:

If a liturgical book for the Mass is printed in English, it dates from after 1968. If it is printed in Latin, one must consult the title page to determine its vintage. There are other hints as to age as well, but these are beyond the scope of this guide. Between 1964 and 1968 it was common to have English/Latin Missals and some Sacramentaries. These are transitional texts, very unique, of significant historical value, and rather rare.

NOTE: Older Missals had exquisite images, often of great artistic value, particularly on certian pages. Watch for these. Quality of books published between 1970 and the late 1980s are of questionable quality, but retain value as historical curiosities (subsequent modifications of liturgical norms render these essentially unusable for the Roman Rite).

Sacrament/sacramental related books.

These books cover rites for the celebration of various sacraments, blessings, and other rites (which may or may not include Mass). These rites include (but are not limited to) Baptism, Confirmation/Chrismation, Reconciliation, Matrimony, Annoiting of the Sick, Viaticum, Rites of Christian Burial, blessings for objects and persons, Rites for Religious profession and others.

Advice on Bidding:

Ask for photos or information from the title page and examine it carefully. I have seen books for funerals advertised as Missals because they contained prayers for the Mass. Rules mentioned above for use of vernacular language applies here as well.

Of these books, the most ornate are those used for funerals. Most of the other books are fairly routine and have little artistic value (with rare exceptions). This is largely due to their being secondary texts.

Liturgy of the Hours (Breviary or Office).

These books contain the psalms, prayers, antiphons, readings and other matters related to the Liturgy of hours. The Hours are a cycle of daily prayer which sanctifies time. It is rooted in the ancient practice of praying at certian times of the day (reflected in both Old Testament writings as well as the New Testament).

Books for the Hours are a subject in themselves. This is a (very) brief overview.

Multi-volume sets.

These are the most complete and contain all the prayers, saint’s days, psalms, etc. for the entire year. Multi-volume sets are available in 4 volumes (U.S. and Canada) and 3 volumes (Great Britian). 4 volume sets divided according to the seasons were standard prior to the reforms after Vatican II (1963-1965). These, of course, were all in Latin.

Single volume versions.

Single volume or abbreviated breviaries are rare prior to Vatican II although they can be found (they were ironically more common during the Middle Ages when wealthy laity collected or commissioned them). From the 1960s there is an increase in the number of single volume “Books of Christian Prayer” as Vatican II’s encouragement to laity to pray the hours took hold.

Short Christian Prayer

These highly abbreviated one volume breviaries generally lack most of the prayers for the calendar, etc. focusing rather on Morning and Evening prayer (sometimes Night Prayer). They are relatively recent developments, but similar books of a devotional nature go back some time.

Advice on Bidding:

Be aware that there are a large number of cheaply done breviaries particularly from the 1970s and early 1980’s. Examine carefully in light of what you intend to do with these books. If you are collecting for historical value, or desire to use an older Latin version, look for the nice, leather-bound versions particularly from the 1940’s and early 1950s. If you wish to participate in the currently approved Liturgy of Hours, check with a nearby Catholic bookstore for advice on publishers. The current “standard” set is published by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. New York. The rites/instuctions currently normative were decreed by the Vatican in 1975.

GENERAL WARNING CONCERNING DATES OF ALL LITURGICAL BOOKS!

It is not uncommon for a seller to mistake the promulgation date of a text with the date of publication of a specific book. Most currently standard rites were promulgated (declared standard for use) between 1970 and 1975. However, one can get a book with those dates which was not printed until 2006. ASK FOR THE PUBLISH DATE and make sure you know that the seller is giving you the correct one.

This guide is nowhere near exhaustive. Nothing can adequately replace personal research and experience. Hopefully, it provides a basic overview of useful information that will help you make a more informed decision when bidding on liturgical books for the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.

Pax

G. Benedict, Obl.S.B.