Tridentine Community News - Missals for children; Torches and the Sanctus Candle; Send your Angel to Holy Mass; TLM Mass schedule

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (February 5, 2017):

February 5, 2017 – Fifth Sunday After Epiphany

Missals for Children

A reader inquired about the availability of children’s hand missals for the Traditional Latin Mass. Fortunately, one no longer has to go searching for used books to meet this need.


The Marian Children’s Missal [picture above], originally published in 1958, has been reprinted by Angelus Press (www.angeluspress.org) and sells for $13.95. It contains the Ordinary of the Mass, the Propers for Sundays and Holy Days, and numerous color photos to help young Catholics learn the Mass. The adult Marian Missals are arguably the highest quality hand missals available, and the children’s edition is a similarly comprehensive resource.


The [St. Joseph] Children’s Missal, 1959 edition [pictured above], has been reprinted by the Neumann Press division of TAN Books (www.tanbooks.com) and is available for $18.95. It, too, has the Ordinary and Propers for Sundays and Holy Days, but accompanied by drawings rather than photos. Note that the most recent printing has deleted the “St. Joseph” from the title, perhaps because that brand is still used for Ordinary Form missals.


My See and Pray Missal [pictured above] for only $3.00 from www.tanbooks.com is a thinner, softcover book, more of a guide to the Mass than a missal.

Jesus, Make Me Worthy ($15.95 from www.angeluspress.org) is a prayer book for children which includes the Ordinary of the Mass. Whereas the above missals are primarily geared to those under the age of ten, the Young Catholic’s Daily Missal ($39.95 from www.angeluspress.org) is intended for those from First Communion age through early teens. The wording is more sophisticated and the prayers more detailed.

Torches and the Sanctus Candle

Have you ever thought about the purpose of the torches that altar servers hold at High Masses? The most common form of torches are candles in a glass enclosure, mounted on a wooden or metal pole. If those sort of candles are not available, processional candles may be used instead. A minimum of two and a maximum of six torches may be used. Their purpose is to symbolize the Light of Christ made present upon the altar. The torchbearers are a sort of honor guard for the Real Presence on the altar. That is why the rubrics specify that the torchbearers are to process into the sanctuary during the Sanctus and be settled down by the Consecration. They remain in the sanctuary until the Blessed Sacrament is put into the tabernacle after Holy Communion.

At Low Masses, and at High Masses at which there are insufficient servers to provide for the minimum two torches, the Sanctus Candle takes the place of the torches. The Sanctus Candle is a small candle in a short base, placed upon the right (Epistle) side of the altar by one of the servers during the Sanctus (hence its name), and left there until the Blessed Sacrament is reposed in the tabernacle after Holy Communion – exactly the same rubrics as for the torches. Note that the use of the Sanctus Candle is optional; it is not found at every Tridentine Mass site.

Send Your Angel to Holy Mass

A beautiful historic holy card entitled “Send Your Angel to Holy Mass”, containing the below prayer was recently posted on the Prayer for Priests Twitter feed. It is an appropriate reflection upon the great privilege that we Catholics have to attend the Holy Sacrifice.

O holy Angel, at my side,
Go to the church for me,
Kneel in my place, at holy Mass,
Where I desire to be.

At Offertory, in my stead,
Take all I am and own,
And place it as a sacrifice
Upon the Altar Throne.

At holy Consecration’s bell,
Adore with Seraph’s love,
My Jesus, hidden in the Host,
Come down from heaven above.

And when the priest Communion takes,
Oh, bring my Lord to me,
That His sweet Heart may rest on mine,
And I His temple be.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 02/06 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Titus, Bishop & Confessor)
• Tue. 02/07 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (St. Romuald, Abbot)
• Sat. 02/11 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (Our Lady of Lourdes)

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for February 5, 2017. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]