Daily Roman Missal 1962, [English and Latin Edition, Burgundy flexible cover] Bonded Leather – December 1, 2012

This is a beautiful missal. I can't seem to put it down. This is a private library quality looking book. I am so glad I ordered it. I ordered the black one for my brother and He loves it too. The text is in English with the Latin text next to it. BEAUTIFUL!!!

I had very high hopes for this missal when I ordered it. I was excited when it arrived, but that quickly gave way to disappointment.Here's my first impression upon removing it from the box:* Even though the dimensions are listed, I didn't really have an appreciation for how small and brick-like the form factor is.* The "flexible" leather binding is the hard, rigid type - not the soft flexible leather I was hoping for. It felt somewhat "cheap" in my hands.* The font size is very small, especially the Latin on most of the pages. I have several issues with this:- It's the Latin mass.- If one language has to be smaller to save space, make it the English; I can figure out hard to read words easier in my native tongue.- Making the Latin print smaller de-emphasizes it, thereby defeating one of the chief reasons for buying the missal in the first place.* For someone not familiar with the Extraordinary Form, I immediately thought that my $6.95 Latin Mass Guide was going to be more useful at mass - it gives the format of the mass and instructions on when to kneel, sit, and stand (important for a neophyte), and the font is huge.* The layout is not very user friendly. I could see "a whole lotta flippin' goin' on" come mass time.After pondering the above, I decided to send this missal back, so I printed out a return form and boxed it up. A few hours later, I eyed the boxed up missal, and a little voice inside told me I was being too hasty. So I took it out again, sat down, and started flipping through it a second time. I skimmed the table of contents and alphabetical index, flipping to different sections and prayers:The Angelus.The Way of the Cross.The Litany of the Blessed Virgin.The Eight Beatitudes.The readings at Passiontide.The Proper Prefaces.I sat for nearly three hours, turning page after page, each one bringing a new twinge of joy and a sense of tradition and grace. With all its imperfections, this missal started to grow on me in a hurry. I suppose this is one of those times where beauty is *not* skin deep. I'm keeping this by my bedside, and expect to get a lot of use out of it. Maybe I'll just affix some cut-down post it notes with the kneel/sit/stand instructions where appropriate in the Ordinary section for use at mass.Hopefully, with the new-found popularity of the Extraordinary Form, the 1962 missal will get a face lift in the near future. Some things I'd like to see:* A larger form-factor with an easy to handle soft leather cover.* Kneel/sit/stand instructions in the Ordinary of the Mass section to make it more useful.* More page jumps (like "psalm readings begin on page ##" or "first gospel readings begin on page ##" )* Larger print with no de-emphasis of the LatinBut for now, I'm more than happy with this missal. I simply forgot to not judge a book by its cover.*****Update*****I've had this missal for 3 years now and it has stood up wonderfully under daily use. The quality of the cover, which I originally thought hard and plastic feeling, has shown itself to be sturdy and quite protective of the pages inside. Within a couple of months most of my issues with the form factor disappeared, except one: the size of the Latin text. That one still bothers me, but everything else about this missal is a winner.

If you want a traditional Roman Missal, this is it. The genuine leather is superb with the stitching around the edges. I was debating on black or burgundy, but got the burgundy instead and I'm glad I did. The actual burgundy is a deeper color than what the pictures show. Get this fine missal, and you won't go wrong. This is truly an heirloom. I wish more classic books were made with this quality.

We have been attending weekly Latin Mass for some three months now and the small 'generic' missals are fine, but they don't give you the specific readings. I've gotten used to it and have an app I can use but my Bride likes paper. So I kept an eye out for a good proper Missal. Of course, I found one on Amazon at a reasonable price.The missal came quickly and arrived in perfect condition. And on our anniversary - which was something I hoped would happen.We look forward to 'breaking' it in at Latin Mass tomorrow.

It is a beautiful missal. I have always been intrigued by the Latin Mass and hope to attend some day. This missal will help me prepare for the experience so that I can fully partake of its ancient majesty.

I think it’s pricey but since it’s used daily it is worth the cost

The other reviewers say all of what I would say. I can add that this is in the best tradition that bibliophiles appreciate and why I hope traditional bound books next get completely replaced by e-readers.

I bought this when I started to attend Latin Mass. It is beautiful and is as it should be. I would definitely recommend it