Misal Romano sa Bikol Taon C Released
In less than a year after the printing of Misal Romano sa Bikol—Taon B in November 2023, another volume containing the presidential prayers, readings, and prayers of the faithful for all Sundays of Year C, i.e., Misal Romano sa Bikol—Taon C, has been released this September 2024, to complete the series of missals for Sunday Liturgies.
This is actually the fourth official missal in Bikol (translated from the editio typica tertia emendata of the Missale Romanum) that has been published, following the publication of Misal Romano sa Bikol—Semana Santa asin Domingo kan Pascua (2018), the Misal Romano sa Bikol—Taon A (2022), and the aforementioned Taon B Misal (2023). As in the previous Taon A and Taon B missals, Taon C also features some important diocesan feasts in the Bicol Region. Particularly new, however, in this present volume are the following feasts: Jesus Nazareno (January 9); San Jose Obrero (May 1); San Isidro Labrador (May 15); Virgen Maria, Ina kan Simbahan (Monday after Pentecost); and Divino Rostro (on the day of the Traslacion of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, usually on Friday of the first or second week of September).
Likewise, as in the previous volumes, the introductions on the themes of the liturgy of the day and the short commentaries on the readings have been omitted to give the presider the liberty to choose the themes of the celebrations and of the readings. This is also to encourage the commentators to reflect on the readings and, in coordination with the presider, to compose their own commentaries should it be necessary to do so depending on the importance of the celebration. This should also discourage commentators from just relying on previously printed texts over and over again without any attempt at innovation. Hard bound, containing 582 pages of high quality printing paper, and with bicolored texts to include the rubrics, Misal Romano sa Bikol—Taon C costs PhP 800.00 per copy and should be available in the chanceries of the Bicol dioceses. Extra copies may be obtained particularly from the Diocesan Chancery of Libmanan, Libmanan (Camarines Sur).
In a meeting with the clergy of the Diocese of Libmanan in Del Gallego (Camarines Sur) on September 24, 2024, Bp. J. Rojas encouraged the priests to purchase more than one copy of the missal–three copies at least–so that each copy could be used exclusively by the mass celebrant, by the the lector and possibly by the commentator, thereby facilitating the handling of the missal during actual celebrations. He said it might also be wise to provide barangay-chapels a copy.
The bishop stressed the need to use official liturgical books on Sundays, now that they are available, as this is required for a more dignified handling of the Word of God during liturgical celebrations. When a priest uses missalettes, he usually ends up kissing just a piece of paper after the gospel reading—a gesture that is rather unfit for the immense dignity of the Word of God! Besides, he cautioned the priests from relying too much on self-made missalettes tucked into clear-books as doing so is usually vulnerable to the transmission of erroneous texts as these are not always accurately copied. He recounted how the “consecratory prayer” during an ordination (the form of ordination), read from a copied and reprinted text, suffered from such an error that could have rendered the validity of the ordination doubtful, if not for the sanation that took place immediately thereafter, consequent to the detection of the printing error.
Finally, the bishop also announced that the texts for the weekday liturgies (in four volumes) will soon also be available for use. He said that more feasts of the saints will be featured in these volumes.
