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SERVER’S
MASS RESPONSE CARD
In
a project that spanned nearly four years, this
card was the first completed project of ROMANITAS
PRESS.
You might perhaps be already familiar with a
similar response card that Benziger Brothers
produced over fifty years ago and which has been often
reproduced. The ROMANITAS PRESS’ version was
developed similarly on this former model and
includes improvements, corrections and some
valuable additions which are outlined below.
The primary intent of this card was for training
purposes (i.e., off the altar, as the server is
presumed to have his responses memorized), so its
size was substantially expanded to accommodate the
additional explanatory texts that do not exist on
the Benziger edition. Nevertheless, recognizing
that often such a card is needed at the altar, the
layout was carefully arranged to provide it with a
compact size when folded, while a lightweight, but
thick paper stock was utilized to keep it stiff
when being held.
The
card consists of four, double-sided partitions
(though the images make it appear that there are
only three) which fold down to a single partition.
The front partitions of the card contain the Latin responses
with their corresponding English phonetic
renderings. An improvement made in this area was
in conforming all of these phonetic renderings
according to the Roman Church’s method of
pronouncing liturgical Latin more romano, thereby
correcting various Anglocizations that frequently
existed in previous versions of response cards.
The phonetic renderings were also aligned under
each word, rather than strung out from column end
to column end, which helps the reader to better
visualize how each syllable is to be pronounced.
Also the various rubrical instructions for the
liturgical gestures and reverences made in
connection with the various responses were
expanded and the responses made when serving for a
bishop were added. To utilize the front side,
simply start at side 1, then flip the card over to
side 2, open the card once to read side 3,
then
side 4.
The back
partitions of the card (accessed by opening the card
completely) are found some helpful explanations
and basic rules on more romano pronunciation and
responding, a list of common pronunciation
mistakes made by English-speakers, and even
footnotes providing pertinent authoritative
citations.
Another
improvement of this card is the newly-typeset text printed in red and black and in easy-to-read
fonts.
Finally,
a clear matte varnish was
applied after the printing to increase the
anti-glare property of the matte paper stock and
to protect the card from moisture and frequent
use.
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click
an image to enlarge |
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Exterior
of card unfolded
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Front
of card (side 1)
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Interior
of card unfolded
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TESTIMONIES
These
[cards] are very well done. The formatting is clear
and easy to follow. The "The Liturgical
Pronunciation of Latin" section is very well
laid out and easy to read and understand as well.
You have done a very good thing by producing these
cards. I hope this valuable resource
eventually gets into the hands of every server of
the Traditional Latin Mass. Derek Bonnell (www.churchlatin.com)
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