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How did the Roman Missal originate?

In the early Christian Church, many of the prayers that were said at Eucharist were memorized and handed down by word of mouth. Eventually the prayers were collected and written down in books known as sacramentaries (book of sacraments). Scripture readings were recorded in other books and the Psalms were written in a book called the Psalter. Throughout the ages, as these manuscripts were passed down, modifications and additions were made. Eventually, all the chants, prayers, instructions and scriptures were organized into one book. It was written in Latin and as the texts contained in it continued to evolve over the next five centuries it became quite large. After the Second Vatican Council, the Mass was translated into many different languages (the vernacular).

Interesting Related Documents

These documents are from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website and have been made freely available for us to download:

Words in The Roman Missal
The Worshipping Assemby at Mass
The Recepton of Holy Communion at Mass
The Eucharistic Prayer
Ten Questions on the Roman Missal
Scripture and the Mass
Praying with body mind and voice
Postures and Gestures
Parts of the Mass
Ministries and Roles
Liturgy and life
Hearing the Word of God
Embracing the Changes in the Liturgy
Celebrating the Lords Day

Prayer over the Offerings

A Walk through the New Mass

When the gifts of bread and wine have been prayed over, the priest turns to the people and asks them to pray with him:

From the earliest days the priest has washed his hands after receiving bread and wine from the congregation. As he does so, he prays a short prayer, expressing his desire for interior purification. This prayer is based on the second verse of Psalm 51: ‘…wash me clean of my guilt, purify me from my sin’.

Former:	New:
Pray, brethren, that our sacrifice may be acceptable To God, the almighty Father.	Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.

The first change here is the addition of the more overtly inclusive ‘brothers and sisters’ as an alternative to ‘brethren’ – which is in itself an old-fashioned word.

The second change is in the priest describing the sacrifice as being both his sacrifice – as an ordained priest – and ours. The new translation keeps more truly to the Latin, where the word ‘our’ was not used; using the two words ‘my’ and ‘yours’ draws us as a congregation more fully into the prayer. We are reminded that we all have sacrifices to offer as well.