The Mass: A Study in the Roman Liturgy

by Adrian Fortescue

This book was a tremendous contribution to English speaking Catholics. With knowledge of the origin and development of their rite of Mass, Catholics could more confidently defend its sacrificial nature against the heretics who despised it. Too, the book was a great help in answering the questions of those curious protestants who were in various degrees jealous of the liturgical beauty of the Roman Mass.

Genres: Religion, History, Theology, Nonfiction, Catholic

428 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Adrian Henry Timothy Knottesford Fortescue was an English Catholic priest and polymath. An influential liturgist, artist, calligrapher, composer, polyglot, amateur photographer, Byzantine scholar, and adventurer, he was also the founder of the Church of St Hugh of Lincoln in Letchworth.

Reviews

[Aaron Crofut · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, detailed account of the origin and evolution of the Roman Mass. The first part examines the history of Christian liturgy from the time of the Apostles to Council of Trent, while the second part focuses more on the history of each specific prayer within the Mass. Fortescque's focus is on the history and not necessarily on the mystical or theological explanations of the Mass, but that's exactly what I wanted to read about. His argument is exceedingly detailed and well documented. It convinced me that the various liturgies began as a common form with the Apostles and then changed slowly over the centuries, largely based on which large city they happened to center around. This evolution is similar to that of languages: the Romantic languages all began as variations of Latin, which itself was a descendent of some proto Italic language. There are just too many similarities to believe they all originated independently, in particular the structure of the service (the division between the liturgy of the Catechumens and the liturgy of the Faithful) and the number of identical prayers (such as the Sursum Corda and the Sanctus). Well worth the time for anyone interested in historical Christianity, especially in the West.

[Joseph Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough, erudite, and academic examination of the history and development of the Roman liturgy, the Mass. It is often technical and detailed and assumes a thorough understanding of the Tridentine Latin Mass, so it's helpful to have the liturgy in front of you (available on various websites), with an English translation if you need it. I learned a great deal about the origins and meaning of the various prayers of the Mass, and came to a new appreciation of the liturgical reforms of Vatican II. Anybody who supposes the Tridentine Mass was something "pure" should read this book.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too dense for light reading. But worthwhile if you want the history of the Mass.

[Dino Bojadzievski]

I went into this with very limited understanding of the Roman rite. I had read a single book, Bishop Elliot's excellent Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite, which is really a stew of many ingredients the reader only gets a taste of. But most of my knowledge of the Roman rite of the Mass came from what I could patch together from my Orthodox education and practical work serving the Liturgy of St. Paul VI.

Blessed Adrian Fortescue opened to me a world of understanding that I could not draw myself out of. He took me on a tour of the development of the Roman missal, from the theoretical beginnings with the proto-Church to the version available in the 1920s. He showed me how the Mass began with the Leontine and Gregorian sacramentaries. He explained to me how it gradually took on more and more influences, many Eastern, most Gaulic. He demonstrated what changed and why, and when he wasn't sure, he set me on the path of at least making educated guesses.

I left this book not just with historical knowledge, but also a deep understanding and appreciation of the Roman rite. Too often, the East likes to turn prayer into speech, and rite into display, even when all justification for it has vanished. In contrast, Bl. Fortescue showed me the beautiful simplicity of the Roman rite.

All of this made me appreciate the essence of Roman simplicity in the Liturgy of St. Paul VI even more.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

1917 study of the Roman Catholic Mass...how it came to be and how it changed over 1,900 years. Excellent --and surprisingly readable-- study. It would be nice to see a modern continuation of the work, to bring the study up to the post-Vatican II Mass changes.

[Kevin de Ataíde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely useful history of the Roman Mass from 1950 (last revision). Particularly effective as a general guide and to demonstrate elements of the scholarly attempts to reconstruct a primitive celebration of Mass (such as the non-silent Canon and the generally-recited Pater).

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this book, especially the historical perspectives of the mass. The Latin was a challenge, but I caught enough to make sense.

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A standard scholarly overview and summary of the history and theology fo the Roman Mass. Somewhat dated, but still a valuable resource for the study of the Mass.

[Br Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great History and Read on the Roman Mass

A great history of the Latin Mass before Vatican II. Recommend for any who are curious about the development of the Roman Mass to the 20th century.