THE NEW MISSAL LATIN TRADITIO Traditional Roman Catholic Internet Site E-mail: traditio@traditio.com, Web: www.traditio.com Copyright 1996-2014 CSM. Reproduction prohibited without authorization. THE NEW MISSAL LATIN: BOOK ONE A TWO-YEAR COURSE BASED ON THE SUNDAY MISSAL By Edmund J. Baumeister, S.M., Ph.D. Copyright 1941, reprinted 1996, 408 pages, paperback St. Mary's Publishing Company, P.O. Box 134, St. Mary's, KS 66536-0134, (785) 437-0645 $15.95 + $2.50 S&H (Kansas residents add 5.9% sales tax) Quantity discounts available for schools Teacher's Manual and Answer Key ($6.50 + $0.50 P&H) Student Test Book and Answer Key ($7.50 + $2.50 P&H) Audio Pronunciation Tape Set ($9.95 + $2.50 P&H) With more and more Catholics returning to the Traditional Latin Mass, demand has been increasing for an introductory Latin text based on Ecclesiastical Latin, especially one that can be used for adult home study. Currently in print, there are only the Scanlons' First Latin, which is rather sparse for home study, and Collins' A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin, which is a university text that might be too challenging for the average adult home student. Now we have a better book than either of these to meet that need: Baumeister's The New Missal Latin. (This appellation is not to be confused with the "New Missal" of 1970; it is based upon the traditional Roman Missal.) This book was originally a high-school text used by the Marianist Fathers in their schools. In 1941, however, authors did not write down to high- schoolers, so this book is eminently suitable for adult use in our decade, either for class or home study. The vocabulary is based on the Sunday Masses in the Missale Romanum, together with some other common Masses and Benediction hymns. Although the vocabulary and examples of forms are selected from Ecclesiastical Latin rather than Classical Latin, the author assures us that that two-thirds of the vocabulary selected is shared with classical authors like Cicero and Vergil, so that those who afterwards might wish to go on to sample the great works of Classical Latin literature will not be at a disadvantage. Part One of the book consists of 51 short lessons of about four pages each. Each lesson introduces a grammatical point and explains it. About ten vocabulary words follow, together with a number of exercises. The lesson ends with a passage of continuous prose describing the various parts of the Mass. Part Two presents the entire Traditional Latin Mass with full vocabulary on the left-hand page and the Latin text on the right-hand page. No other book that I am aware of offers this feature. Any student who completes the entire course, therefore, will have not only a solid basis for understanding Latin but also a much improved knowledge of the Mass itself, augmented by a number of charts and illustrations throughout the text. Part Three presents an ample summary of grammar and syntax, together with a discussion of liturgical pronunciation according to the Roman ecclesiastical method. Part Four consists of Latin-English and Enqlish-Latin vocabularies and a list of the 300 most frequently-used Latin words. The main thing I would criticize in this Book One (the same is true of Book Two) is the omission of the quantities of syllables (the long-marks), nor are there even the ecclesiastical accent-marks. How is the student supposed to figure out the accentation? I could have hoped for more "real" Latin in Part I rather than composed Latin. However, Book Two of the series contains graded readings from ecclesiastical writers. For any Catholic who really wants to understand the Traditional Latin Mass, as well as sacramental rites, Gregorian chant, hymns, and Church documents - - who really wants to understand our Roman Catholic language -- this introductory text would be useful, although John F. Collins's A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University Press, c. 1985) would be a better choice because it has the quantities of syllables marked. THE NEW MISSAL LATIN: BOOK TWO A TWO-YEAR COURSE BASED ON THE SUNDAY MISSAL By Edmund J. Baumeister, S.M., Ph.D. Copyright 1945, reprinted 1998, 383 pages, paperback St. Mary's Publishing Company, P.O. Box 134, St. Mary's, KS 66536-0134, (785) 437-0645 $15.95 + $2.50 S&H (Kansas residents add 5.9% sales tax) Quantity discounts available for schools Teacher's Manual and Answer Key ($6.50 + $0.50 P&H) Student Test Book and Answer Key ($7.50 + $2.50 P&H) Audio Pronunciation Tape Set ($9.95 + $2.50 P&H) Complete set: $42.95 + 6.00 P&H from St. Mary's Publishing Co. This is the second and concluding book of Fr. Baumeister's New Missal Latin series from the 1940s, containing lessons 52-84. A special feature of this second book is its inclusion of a selection of Collects, Secrets, and Postcommunions from the Mass, which were written by the early Church Fathers in a more classical Latin style that is incomparably beautiful for its classical balance of phrase. These are some of the most ancient prayers in the Mass and must be read in the original. No translation can begin to replicate their beauty, some of which can begin to be inferred from the phrasing of the chant with which they are sung at High Mass. For Latin-reading practice, two prose works are provided. Both are footnoted extensively with vocabulary and grammatical help: * Meditationes ex Ioannis Cardinalis Bona opere De Sacrificio Missae desumptae et Discipulorum usui accommodatae [Meditations excerpted from the work of John Cardinal Bona On the Sacrifice of the Mass and adapted to the use of students] * Epitome Historiae Divinae Revelationis ex Catechismo Pii Papae Decimi desumpta et in latinum a Petro Cardinali Gasparri translata [Sutmnary of the History of Divine Revelation excerpted from the Catechism of Pope Pius X and translated in Latin by Peter Cardinal Gasparri] The book concludes with a selection of the most beautiful hymns of the Church, such as the Adoro Te, the Ave Maris Stella, the Pange Lingua, and the Veni Creator Spiritus. There are no English words with which I can express to those ignorant of our Catholic Latin language the sublime beauty of these hymns from the pen of St. Thomas Aquinas and others. I have seen many, many translations of these hymns, and not a single one begins to convey the beauty of expression contained in the original Latin. If angels speak, surely these are the words they use to glorify Almighty God as they surround His celestial throne. The possibility of appreciating these hymns is justification enough for anyone to purchase these books and delay not in beginning the study of our Catholic Latin language. It is indeed shameful that so many Catholics are ignorant of their sacred and ecclesiastical language. If the Jews are required to be able to chant ancient Hebrew before they are accepted as adults, why should not we Catholics be equally zealous in learning our Catholic Latin language?