Craig Toth & Louis Tofari
Read an introductory article: Canon: The Meaning of the Latin Term
 
The aim of this small work is to help the serious student of the traditional Roman Mass gain a richer textual knowledge of four elements from the Missal: the Roman Canon, the Church’s great Eucharistic prayer; the Prefaces, which once constituted the beginning of the Canon; the five Sequences; and a Collect.

At first glance the contents of this book may appear to be merely of academic interest. But in fact, devotion to the sacred mysteries of the Holy Sacrifice as uniquely presented by the Roman Mass can be increased through a better appreciation of the precise Latin wording employed. Thus, the information contained within this work is both significant and accessible for even the average Catholic.

The Latin texts from the Roman Missal have been uniquely arranged to correspond with an interlinear English translation, thus providing the reader with a literal word-by-word explanation, along with copious footnotes providing further observations.

Also included are some explanatory chapters on important contextual material about the Canon (e.g., Style and Idiom of the  Roman Liturgy), along with two appendixes, and a Glossary of Select Terms.
 
246 pages, illustrated, softcover.
 
REVIEWS
Michael P. Foley
Professor of Patristics and Theology; author
Latin Mass, Spring 2025
The old Italian saying “He who translates lies” may be an exaggeration, but as with all exaggerations, it comes with a grain of truth. Every language has its own distinctive ecosystem, if you will, its own dynamic way of interacting internally. As award-winning translator Edith Grossman explains:
 
"Languages trail immense, individual histories behind them, and no two languages, with all their accretions of tradition and culture, ever dovetail perfectly…. Words or syntax…are peculiar to specific languages and are not transferable."
 
We should be grateful, then, for anything that sheds light on the ecosystem of liturgical Latin, for that ecosystem is part of the treasury of the traditional Roman Rite. If, for example, the 1962 Roman Missal were to be translated, accurately and eloquently, into English, and if it were then to be celebrated exclusively in translation, something immeasurable would still be lost.
 
Two books, one recent and one not, help us fathom the potential loss. The Roman Canon: An Interlinear Translation was written by Craig Toth and edited by Romanitas Press founder Louis Tofari. Toth has had a lifelong specialist’s interest in Hebrew, New-Testament Greek, and ecclesiastical Latin, and he has translated the Latin writings of St. Laurence of Brindisi and Cornelius à Lapide.
 
As the subtitle suggests, the heart of the book is an interlinear translation of the Roman Canon, where an English translation appears directly below the Latin word that it is translating. This arrangement is particularly useful for non-Latin speakers, enabling them to follow the flow of the original. And once acquainted with this flow, they are better able to follow the Canon during Mass, whether or not they bring their copy of The Roman Canon with them. Toth also provides interlinear translations for all of the Prefaces and Sequences in the traditional Missal, as well as an analysis of the Collect. Copious footnotes accompany these sections for further illumination.
 
It was the other part of the book, however, that I found the more interesting: essays on the history, style, and character of Christian Latin as well as essays on the Roman Canon such as a “Note on the Orality behind the Canon” and “The Influence of Architectural Acoustics and the Composition of the Eucharistic Liturgy.”
 
The Roman Canon also contains a helpful glossary of terms and two intriguing appendices. The first, “Toto orbe terrarium: Is orbe actually referring to a sphere?,” provides extensive evidence that the medieval Church believed in the sphericity of the earth. I only wish that Toth had explained why this matters, namely, that it refutes the American, nineteenth-century, anti-Catholic propaganda about everyone believing in a flat earth until the scientifically progressive Christopher Columbus proved them wrong. Second, “The Lexigraphical significance of Amen” explores the nuances of the Hebrew original and why the Church Fathers deemed it wise to leave certain loanwords like it untranslated. It would be interesting to know Toth’s opinion about the French exception to this rule, the only language that I know of that uses a translated version (ainsi-soit-il) of “amen.”
 
Fr. John Perricone, PhD
Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Author and Speaker
If the Traditional Mass is the crown of Catholic existence, then its Latin language must be called the jewels in its crown. Over the centuries the Church has elevated and adorned the Latin language of the Mass into a strata of beauty which surpasses even Cicero, Virgil and Juvenal. The Propers of the Mass alone are miniature gems of brevity, depth and majesty.  Messer’s Toth and Tofari deliver that beauty into the hands of every Catholic whose facility in Latin is not perfect. This book will be catalyst for further study and appreciation of the Holy Mass.