I’m absolutely thrilled that my new Roman Missal has arrived. For my own personal use, I chose the one from WLP and I’m very happy with it. It is an excellent product.
As has been said many times in the lead-up to this, it is absolutely packed with music from front to back. This sends a very clear signal to the celebrant and to everyone that the Mass is to be sung. This is the way forward. And the music itself is excellent. In many places, both Latin and English are provided so that one can easily see the parallels.
The front matter contains all the apparatus that I’ve seen quoted and otherwise discussed but this is the first time I’ve actually read it all from the Missal itself. It has the new translation of the General Instruction and all the original documentation that came with its initial promulgation.
I hope others read it. Paul VI himself clears up many confusions in his introduction. In this passage shown below, he states very clearly that there is no change in the music from the older Missal to the new one, that the Graduale Romanum is still the go-to book. In addition, he explains why this Missal contains entrance and communion antiphons that can be different from the ones in the Graduale. These were included for spoken Masses, that is Masses without singing. For this reason, the Graduale remains the primary source for the propers in the new rite.
