MISSAL, the book containing the liturgy, or office of the mass (missa), of the Roman Catholic Church. The earlier Sacramen tary, the book used by the celebrant at the altar, contained merely the fixed canon of the mass or consecration prayer and the variable collects, secretae or orationes super oblata, prefaces, and post-communions for each fast, vigil, festival or feria of the ec clesiastical year; for a due celebration of the Eucharist other books were required for use by the choir, deacon and subdeacon, viz., the Antiphonarium Missae, afterwards called the Graduale, containing the proper antiphons (introits), responsories (graduals), tracts, sequences, offertories, communions and other portions of the communion service designed to be sung by the schola or choir, and the Lectionarium (or Evangeliarium and Epistolarium) with the proper lessons. But as the custom grew, from the 8th century onwards, of private celebrations in which the priest had to say the whole service the contents of these separate books came by degrees to be combined in a single volume, the Missale plenum. All modern missals are of this last description. The Missale romanum ex decreto ss. concilii tridentini restitutum, now in almost exclusive use throughout the Latin obedience, owes its present form to the council of Trent, which undertook the preparation of a correct and uniform liturgy, and entrusted the work to a committee of its members. This committee had not completed its labours when the council rose, but the pope was instructed to receive its report when ready and to act upon it. The "reformed missal" was pro mulgated by Pius V. on the 14th of July 157o, and its universal use enjoined, the only exceptions being churches having local liturgies which had been in unbroken use for at least two cen turies. It has subsequently undergone slight revisions under Clement VIII. (16o4), Urban VIII. (1634) and Leo XIII.(1884), and various new masses, both obligatory and permissive, universal and local, have been added. The Roman, like all the Western liturgies, is distinguished from those of the Eastern Church by its flexibility. A distinctive character has been given to the office for each ecclesiastical season, for each fast or festival of the year, almost for each day of the week; and provision has also been made of a suitable communion service for many of the special occasions both of public and of private life.
The meagre liturgical details furnished by the Sacramentarium gregorianum are supplemented by the texts of the Ordo romanus, the first of which dates from about the year 770. The ritual they enjoin is that for a pontifical high mass in Rome itself ; but the differences to be observed by a priest quando in statione facit mis sas are comparatively slight. The Gregorian Antiphonarius sive
gradualis liber ordinatus per circulum anni, as its name implies, contains those variable portions of the mass which were intended to be sung by the schola or choir. It gives for each day for which a proper mass is provided: (I) the Antiphona (Antiphona ad Introitum) and Psalmus; (2) the Responsorium and Versus, with its Alleluia and Versus; (3) the 0 ffertorium and Versus; (4) the Communio and Psalmus.
The first pages of the modern Roman missal are occupied with the Calendar and a variety of explanations relating to the year and its parts, and the manner of determining the movable feasts. The general rubrics (Rubricae generales missalis) follow, explaining what are the various kinds of mass which may be celebrated, pre scribing the hours of celebration, the kind and colour of vestments to be used, and the ritual to be followed (ritus celebrandi mis sam), and giving directions as to what is to be done in case of various defects or imperfections which may arise. The Praeparatio ad missam and Gratiarum actio post missam which comes next, are in a short manual of devotion to be used as opportunity may occu.: before and after celebration. Next comes the proper of the season (Proprium missarum de tempore), occupying more than half of the entire volume. It contains the proper introit, collect (one or more), epistle, gradual (tract or sequence), gospel, offer tory, secreta (one or more), communion and post-communion for every Sunday of the year, and also for the festivals and ferias connected with the ecclesiastical seasons, as well as the offices peculiar to the ember days, Holy Week, Easter and Whitsuntide. Between the office for Holy Saturday and that for Easter Sunday the ordinary of mass (Ordo missae), with the solemn and proper prefaces for the year, and the canon of the mass are in serted. The proper of the season is followed by the proper of the saints (Proprium sanctorum), containing what is special to each saint's day in the order of the calendar, and by the Commune sanctorum, containing such offices as the common of one martyr and bishop, the common of one martyr not a bishop, the common of many martyrs in paschal time, the common of many martyrs out of paschal time, and the like. A variety of masses to be used at the feast of the dedication of a church, of masses for the dead, and of votive masses (as for the sick, for persons journeying, for bridegroom and bride) follow, and also certain benedictions. Most missals have an appendix also containing certain local masses of saints to be celebrated ex indulto apostolico. See MASS : VEST MENTS.