A Commentary on the Order of Mass of The Roman Missal gathers the insights of some of today's foremost English-speaking liturgical scholars to aid in understanding this most recent edition of the Order of Mass and its new English translation. Developed under the auspices of the Catholic Academy of Liturgy this commentary was guided by three primary concerns; to situate the promulgation of a new English translation of the Roman Missal historically and theologically to aid in the pastoral implementation of these texts and rites to contribute to the ongoing development of vernacular worship for English-speaking Roman Catholics. The volume begins with overview essays on the history of the Roman Rite, the place of the vernacular in Christian worship, and the nature of mystagogy. Following these come fascinating explorations of the historical, theological, linguistic and mystagogical implications of the texts of the Order of Mass. At the heart of the volume are the Latin and English texts of the Order of Mass, reproduced in full.