62.

QUERY: Are hand missals still needed? REPLY: Since reform of the liturgy the usefulness of hand missals for the faithful is often questioned. All now understand the words spoken at Mass; what is more, as far as the biblical readings are concerned, all ought to be listening attentively to the word of God. Nevertheless hand missals, it seems, remain necessary. People do not always hear well, especially in large churches, and what they do hear physically they do not always understand right away. They, therefore, often need to go back over the texts heard during a celebration. In addition, the liturgy, and the eucharistic celebration above all, is "the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fount from which all the Church's power flows" (SC art. 10). All the concerns of the spiritual life must be brought to the liturgy and that happens if participation is truly actual and «aware». This requires frequent meditation on the liturgical texts both before and after the celebration: Not 8 (1972) 195 - 196. See also the notes from Bp. R. Coffy, President of the Liturgical Commission of France, and the survey of vernacular missals available: ibid. 196 - 198.