New Hymnals at St. Louis

As you may have heard by now through print and online means - and through my presentation at all of the Masses on September 15-16 - we are all very excited about new hymnals at St. Louis. Now that the new English translation of the Roman Missal has begun, we are able to address our books by replacing our current annual Missalettes and Music Issues with permanent hymnals. The new hymnals will include a set of two books – Worship, Fourth Edition from GIA Publications and the Saint Augustine Hymnal from International Liturgy Publications. The two books combine to provide hundreds of hymns – well-known hymns from our current Music Issue, well-known hymns currently unavailable to us, a whole variety of new music for use in the future, and all of the revised texts for Mass. In addition, Worship 4 includes all of the readings for each Sunday as well as an easy to follow Order of Mass.

Purchasing the hymnals is a significant capital expense, so in addition to sending publicity as a means of introducing the new books, we have also started a sponsorship program. We are asking you to consider sponsoring a set of the two hymnals for $50.00. The sponsored hymnals will have a bookplate on the inside cover that will provide an opportunity for the sponsor’s name, family name, or the name of a loved one to be inscribed. The form is available on the St. Louis website: here. By making this purchase now through the support of this special sponsorship, we will be able to save substantially in the long term by not having to purchase the Missalettes and Music Issues each year.

The plan is to begin using these hymnals on the Feast of Christ the King – this year it falls on Thanksgiving weekend – which is just as the subscription to our current books expires. Please keep an eye out for an upcoming event on Sunday afternoon, November 18; a Hymn Festival, in which all are welcomed and encouraged to come and sing or come and listen to a variety of hymns – both familiar and new – from the new books.

Thank you for your consideration.