I got an e-mail today with an earnest request:
Can you kind people help this person?
Dear Fr. Zuhlsdorf,
I know that you must receive many emails every day, so I shall try to keep mine brief and to the point.
I am writing to you to ask for your help, perhaps through your blog.
In about a month’s time, I will be singing at a Mass that will introduce a group of young people to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. These are young folks who have never experienced anything like this before. I’d like to have some missalettes for them to follow the Mass in, yet nothing that I’ve seen really meets the needs of the unitiated "ordinary form" Catholic. I’m concerned that if their introduction to the Extraordinary form is not pleasant, then it will affect their future attitudes towards it (first impressions count!). I’m a young person who has grown to love the Extraordinary Form, and I’d like to share it with people in my own age group in a meaningful and positive way.
In short, they need:
– A missalette that allows two forms of participation – broad form (ie. what does this prayer getting at?) or particular form (ie. what is the text of the prayer)
– A missalette in modern, sacral English.
– Uncluttered format – information overload is a bad thing.
– A few notes on WHY some things happen when they do.
– A few pictures to guide them along the way.
– A way of distinguishing (quickly and easily) between prayers that are said aloud and those said in the secret voice.
– A missalette that can be photocopied for low cost, mass-distribution – All these new edition people’s missals are great, but right now, we also need something that can be distributed widely at low cost.
I’d be delighted if either you or one of your readers could help.
