The Book of the Gospels: The Roman Missal Restored by Decree of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican and Promulgated by Authority of Pope Paul VI and Revised by Order

Rating:
Summary: Not the best edition on the market
Review: In Catholic tradition, the Book of the Gospels is a symbol of Christ as Teacher, instructing his Church by his word and example, especially within the liturgical context. As such, the Book of the Gospels was very early seperated from the other books in the Church, and designed and crafted with great care. The designs, artwork and craftsmenship of the book witness to the Church's devotion to Christ's teachings and her veneration of the Word of the Father himself.
This edition uses the revised American Lectionary of 1998. It contains the gospel passages for all Sundays of the year in their three-year cycles, as well as gospels read during solemnities and some special feasts. It also contains the gospel readings for the celebration of various other rites, such as ordination, confirmation, marriage and Christian initiation etc. This makes the Gospel Book useful for all major and solemn celebrations in a community, except Ash Wednesday since it does not contain the gospel passage for that day. This edition is approved by the US Bishops for use in the USA.
This edition of the Gospel Book however stands in stark contrast to the venerable tradition of the Church. The cover design, though potentially excellent, is now stark, being decorated only by a fanciful cross. [According to the publisher, the size of the book fits most ceremonial covers. Maybe that will mask the starkness of this book.] The print is easy-to-read, but there are no pieces of liturgical/religious art in the book. This runs counter to our tradition where words and art both help communicate the Gospel of Christ to all people. The Lectionary published by the same company is better than this Gospel Book and this makes the latter a very disappointing book.
This book is the cheapest of four editions to choose from, from different publishers. But it is so different from the Church's heritage that it would be more worthwhile to save some more money and obtain a better edition of the Book of the Gospels. If one can afford it, the Deluxe edition published by Midwest Theological Forum is the most exquisite and beautiful. This edition features many full-color art pieces, and a cover with Christ the Pantokrator(Teacher). The same publisher also produces a similar Standard edition that is much cheaper [...]; its cover has the four evangelists from the Book of Kells. If not, the edition produced by Liturgy Training Publications works too. This edition features contemporary full-color artwork based on Ethopian Christian styles. All these editions makes use of the revised American Lectionary of 1998, and are all approved by the US bishops. I would obtain this plain edition only as a last resort.