The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described; Revised Throughout and Augmented by J. O'Connell
London: Burns Oates and Washbourne Ltd., 1951. Ninth edition. Octavo, original navy cloth with beveled edges, gilt spine, black endpapers, ribbon marker, original dust jacket. A nearly-fine book, front jacket flap clipped but price intact, tape repairs to verso, closed tears, minor wear to corners and spine ends. An excellent copy. Item #1818
"IN PRACTICE, THE FIRST THING A PRIEST MUST LEARN IS HOW TO SAY LOW MASS. HE DOES SO CONSTANTLY, GENERALLY EVERY MORNING"
Mid-century edition of The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described—Revised and Augmented by J.B. O'Connell. Complete with the original dust jacket—with Eric Gill's old colophon printed in red—and with a 1977 obituary (from The Catholic Herald) for Canon O'Connell tipped in at the title page.
First prepared and published in 1917, the book grew out of Adrian Fortescue's attempts to revise the 1839 Dale translation of Baldeschi's ceremonial. After growing frustrated at adapting Dale-Baldeschi for use in England, Fortescue decided to start anew, with the hope that "this book aims at providing what a priest in England may want. That is its ideal—a church in England served by secular priests." After Fortescue died in 1923 (at age 49), Canon J.B. O`Connell oversaw the preparation of the third edition of 1930. "Beginning as a rubricist," O'Connell "edited Fortescue's 'Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described' which virtually became his own in the successive editions that appeared" (The Catholic Herald). Most of the preliminary elements from earlier editions were omitted, save for a Bibliography and O'Connell's brief Foreword to the Ninth Edition (March 1951). The text consists of five sections, Part I. General Principles Concerning Ceremonies, Part II. The Holy Sacrifice, Part III. Evening Services, Part IV. The Liturgical Year, and Part V. Occasional Functions. Generously illustrated throughout with 48 diagrams and a Chart for Symbols Used in the Plans. With an Appendix: The Installation of a Parish Priest, and an Index. Approbations.
Price: $150.00