A Short History of the Roman Mass Paperback – February 1, 1997

This book is strictly all that was before Vatican II and gives a detailed summary of the history of how the mass prior to Vatican II came to be. It gives a source that I became very interested in which gives a more detailed account which I'll look into as well as a look into how the Mass I grew up with that originated in 1970 came to be.

A relatively short book, clearly written, which traces the history of the Latin Mass from the 300’s to the 1960’s. Don’t expect a great amount of detail from the earliest days because separate books were used by Deacon, Priest and server. Overall a good overview.

Davies is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in "Traditional" Catholicism in the English-speaking world over the past several decades. This overview, if oversimplified at times, provides the reader with a brief summary of the development of the Mass according to the Roman Rite from it's roots in Apostolic times through the Early Greats (Leo and Gregory), the Renaissance standardizations (Pius V) to the implementation of the Mass of Paul VI in 1970. A great introduction for the casual reader.The Catholic Sanctuary and the Second Vatican Council would make an excellent follow up. At about $6 for both (less if purchased in bulk from the publisher directly) and about 100 pp. one cannot get a better, more affordable summary of the historic Mass of the Roman Rite or the present situation in which the Roman Rite finds itself.

Some very interesting history and well-written. I just had to ignore his deep resentment of the modern Catholic liturgy, which he never covers but skewers both indirectly and directly.

I love this guy. This will make a good addition to any catholic's bookshelf.As I have written in reviews of his other books, I offer two recommendations to those who like this:1) Be sure to read it all in a thick welsh accent and throw in a few jokes about rugby and lynching Bishops.2) Check out his talks on keep the faith (dot org, not dot com)Michael Davies was a great Catholic speaker and perhaps one of the most important figures in Catholic traditionalism over the past several decades. No traditional Catholic's library is complete without at least a couple of his works.May he rest in peace.Pope Benedict XVI on Michael Davies:"I have been profoundly touched by the news of the death of Michael Davies. I had the good fortune to meet him several times and I found him as a man of deep faith and ready to embrace suffering. Ever since the Council he put all his energy into the service of the Faith and left us important publications especially about the Sacred Liturgy. Even though he suffered from the Church in many ways in his time, he always truly remained a man of the Church. He knew that the Lord founded His Church on the rock of St Peter and that the Faith can find its fullness and maturity only in union with the successor of St Peter. Therefore we can be confident that the Lord opened wide for him the gates of heaven. We commend his soul to the Lord's mercy."- Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, 9 November 2004

If you are interested in the historical development of the Western liturgy, this is a superb place to start. Davies manages to cover a wide territory in this short, readable book. While the author does have an agenda (defense of the Traditional Latin Mass), he also fairly assesses liturgical evolution over the centuries. He might be read alongside Schmemann or other eastern scholars in order to get a panoramic view of incremental change in Christian liturgy. However you feel about the Tridentine Mass, this is a valuable exposition of how it came to be.

It was a pocket size, and much smaller than I expected. I was hoping for more details and a few answers to questions that I had, but it did not. Kudos to Amazon- it arrived 2 days post ordering it.

Great summarized and easy to grasp history of the liturgy up to Vatican II. Was looking for a book to introduce me into the history of Mass to be able to build a critical opinion of the reforms made to it in 1969-70. Better than expected in its simplicity and thoroughness, taking into account that its almost 2000 years of history. Although avoiding to convey directly his personal opinion on the changes made to the mass, he does cite several important scholars that eloquently cover this.