Here at CTS Catholic Compass we are proud for the first time to be able to show an illustration from the new English translation of the Roman Missal.

Today being the feast of the Annunciation, we have chosen to show you the relevant page, so you can see the beautiful illustrations that will appear in the Missal.

The CTS Roman Missal will be the first edition in many years that will have full-colour illustrations.

The following page spread from the Solemnity of the Annunciation gives a good idea of how they will be used.

Where they come from

These illustrations have been carefully chosen in line with the thinking behind the new translation, to add to the beauty and prayerfulness of the book, and therefore to the Liturgy that will be celebrated from it.

While other publishers of the Missal for use in Ireland or the USA have chosen doubtless beautiful art and paintings from various sources and in a mix of styles, we have aimed at a uniformity of style throughout, choosing all 15 illustrations from a single manuscript, the late 12^th-Century masterpiece called the Ingeborg Psalter, currently in the Musée Condé in Chantilly, France.

Taken from a book, for a book

The illustrations were originally produced for a book of similar proportions to the Missal so have not required any change in size or cropping.

The fact that they were produced for a book makes them immediately at home in the Missal, as opposed to altar pieces or frescoes which require cropping and scaling down in order to fit in.

Please give us your thoughts by leaving a comment!

The new translation of the Mass will begin to be used in Catholic parishes in Britain from the beginning of September; the Altar Missal itself will be available from October/November and arrive in parishes ready for the start of Advent. For more information, click here.

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Of related interest:

	Pastores Dabo Vobis – This extremely comprehensive document investigates the challenges facing the priesthood in the third millennium. From his own vast pastoral experience John Paul II gives guidance on the nature and the mission of the priesthood.
	Priest’s Guide to Hearing Confessions – This new Guide is a very helpful attempt to create a modern equivalent of the classic manuals for confessors popular among priests in the past. It provides a valuable guide to best pastoral practice and Cannon Law.
	Verbum Domini – Verbum Domini has already been acclaimed as the most important document on the word of God since the Second Vatican Council. In it, Pope Benedict XVI, whose writings on Sacred Scripture are widely admired, summarises the reflections of the Synod Fathers who met in 2008 to discuss the ‘word of God in the life and mission of the Church’.

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