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Et Reliqua
Sermons and Reflections from the Deanery
Support our apostolate
The Traditional Roman Mass
The complete texts of the Roman Missal
arranged for daily worship for the use of the faithful
What Is the
The Holy Mass?
The Holy Mass, the texts of which are contained in the Roman Missal, is the highest form of prayer of the Roman Catholic Church, and according to Fr. Faber, “the most beautiful thing this side of heaven.” Every Mass is a re-presentation and continuation of Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross, and the altar itself is the place where heaven and earth meet. The graces that our blessed Lord merited by his death on the cross continue to flow down to us through the Most Holy and Eternal Sacrifice of the Mass. The Mass was thus accurately described by St. Peter Julian Eymard, “the holiest act of religion.”
As Catholics, we are obligated to attend Mass on Sundays and certain other holydays prescribed by the Church. Unfortunately, it is not always possible for many of the faithful to travel the distances required to find a true and valid Mass celebrated according to the traditional rites. Others find themselves homebound for a variety of reasons—sickness, obligations to loved ones, work schedules, bad weather and so on. Even those who are able to attend Mass would perhaps like to attend more often.
While nothing can substitute for being in actual attendance at the Holy Sacrifice, we are encouraged in such cases to read privately the texts of the Mass in our missal. However, even the most devout sometimes have difficulty finding the correct texts in their missals. The multi-colored ribbons help somewhat, but how many of us succeed in following every single word of the Mass? So often we open our Missal in confused bewilderment. What’s today’s feast? Is the Mass in the Proper of the Saints or the Proper of the Season? What if the priest says a votive Mass? Where do we find that? When are each of the Prefaces said? And what are those extra prayers the Priest says after the Collect? This constant questioning distract us from the most important aspect of what we’re trying to do—pray!
Difficulties like these highlight the advantage of having instant access to an easy-to-read format that provides the complete text of every daily Mass from the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar to the Leonine Prayers at the end.
Not only is the entire text of each Mass included on our website, but also each feast day and season is embellished with its own introduction, along with commentaries and rubrics, the various prayers and litanies of the missal, preparation before Holy Communion and thanksgiving prayers afterward.
Thanks to modern technology, we are able to provide hundreds of images—works of fine art, photographs of churches, pictures of the saints, all illustrating the events, people and places of every feastday and season.
Another advantage of the internet over the written word is that we’re able to include musical renditions of the propers and ordinary of the Mass sung by monastic, cathedral, and professional choirs from around the world.
Over the next few years we shall be gradually expanding our webpages until we have the complete text of the Roman Missal available to our subscribers at the highest possible aesthetic level, externally reflecting the beauty of the words and rituals contained within. The texts and chants of the Holy Apostolic Mass cannot fail to uplift the soul and raise towards heaven our daily thoughts, words, and deeds.
The Guild of St Peter ad Vincula looks forward to providing you, our subscribers, with an enriching and inspirational supplement to your prayer life. The central aim of our apostolate is the preservation and restoration of the true faith and worship of the Church, and we hope that you will join with us in praying the traditional Holy Apostolic Mass daily as the fount of all graces and the central and most treasured part of your spiritual life.