Fr Rick has published a new edition of his “eMissal”, in both epub and mobi formats. I used to use his old version a lot until Universalis came out with their iphone app for the daily mass. BUT: the great new addition in this new edition of Fr Rick’s eMissal is THE MUSIC of the Roman Missal! Yayyy! Three cheers for Fr Rick! I think that is very definitely a first in the electronic missal market.
Go to this page for links to download the eMissal in the mobi format for Kindle and the epub format for everything else. I found a little difficulty trying to get the mobi version to open in my Kindle app on my Android tablet (which is a problem with the app, rather than with Fr Rick’s file, I think), but the epub format works just nifty in my Mantano Reader on the tablet. (I downloaded it on my PC before transferring it to the Tablet on an SD card).
Now, if only the Herr Kapellmeister of the Cathedral would let me take my tablet into mass when I am cantoring, everything would be so easy…
Nb. Fr Rick’s eMissal comes with a few caveats: apparently you have to ask ICEL very nicely for their permission before you open it, and secondly (for the priests out there) you aren’t allowed to use an eMissal on the altar. OK? Just so we all know…
“and secondly (for the priests out there) you aren’t allowed to use an eMissal on the altar”
Why not? If the priest could remember everything (or was illiterate), could he use no missal? What about photocopies of the relevant pages, or a handwritten copy?
Fair question, Felix. Actually, as far as I know, the only bishops conference to actually forbid the use of electronic missals on the altar is New Zealand, so it would be more correct for me to say that the use of an electronic device has not been approved by the Holy See.
Saying the mass off by heart is fine, as far as I know, but even if a priest has this amazing facility (remember, he has to say all the propers as well, collects etc.) he should still have the Roman Missal open in front of him on the altar. It would make me very nervous to see a priest saying mass without the Missal in front of him – I would wonder if he were making it up as he goes along (I know that having the missal on the altar is no absolute protection that he isn’t, of course, but there you are).
No photocopies or hand written versions either. And the reason for this is that the Missal itself is (like the Gospel Book) a liturgical object. Like the candles and the altar cloth and the crucifix, it should be there.
If you go to a Jewish synagogue, you see that all their sacred texts are written on scrolls. They never made the change to the new technology of the codex. Some time in the early centuries of Christianity, the Church decided to get real hip and adopt this new fangled way of making a book, but I suspect that is the last great liturgio-technological leap we will ever make. In centuries hence, people will marvel to visit a Church in order to see a printed and bound book, in much the same way we marvel at a Torah scroll today…
Fair enough, I guess. I suppose you could still handwrite out a whole Missal, if you had the resources, and that might be a marvel people would flock to see already :) (But I doubt that printed books will become extinct anytime soon.)