The Word of the Lord at Mass: Understanding the Lectionary by Regina A. Boisclair, PhD

(Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2016), 128

The new Lectionary was one of the most important reforms initiated by the Second Vatican Council. The Lectionary, in large measure, restored the Bible itself to average Catholics. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this Lectionary for Catholic worship and Catholic biblical literacy. (60)

Notes


Contents


Chapter 1: The Lectionary: Presence and Plan

_Summary: _

  • Sacrosanctum concilium: Scripture makes Christ present (1)
  • Lectionary is an ordo, an order of readings from Sacred Scripture (3)
  • Cites Fr. Felix Just stats on lectionary coverage (3)
  • The Lectionary is different from the Bible because it (5ff):
    • Gives brief selections
    • Repositions passages, giving a new perspective
    • Places the Bible in the context of the liturgical year
  • Advantages of the Vatican II lectionary (8-9)
    • Three year cycle (replacing a 1-year cycle)
    • Three biblical selections plus a psalm
    • Regular readings from the OT
    • Weekday lectionary

Chapter 2: The Lectionary Shapes Our Experience of the Mass

  • "An essential step in preparing the homily is to return to the Bible and read each reading there in its biblical context to understand the intent of the sacred authors." (13, cf. Liturgy Bible) ^5e56ce

Chapter 3: Lectionaries Ancient and New

  • How historical lectionaries were indicated (25ff)
    • Place markings in the margins of Bible showing where to begin and end a reading
    • List with the date, liturgical day, book of the Bible, beginning words (incipit), the ending (explicit)
    • Lectionary book
  • → A neat research project would be to trace the history of the Church through the development of the Lectionary and the Office (26)

Chapter 4: Designing the Lectionary

_Summary: _

  • "Rev. Gaston Fontaine prepared tables of fifty catholic and non-Catholic lectionaries, ancient and modern, from both eastern and western churches, to identify which readings were used in the past and when." (36)
  • The Reform of the Liturgy 1948-1975

Chapter 5: The Impact of the Lectionary for the Church and Beyond—an Ecumenical Witness

  • "The new Lectionary was one of the most important reforms initiated by the Second Vatican Council. The Lectionary, in large measure, restored the Bible itself to average Catholics. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this Lectionary for Catholic worship and Catholic biblical literacy." (60)
  • Presbyterian Churches in the United States were using the new Lectionary even before most Catholics were! (61)
  • "The three-year Catholic Sunday Lectionary has been recognized as Catholicism's greatest gift to Protestant preaching." (64)
    • → ~5% to 15% of Protestants (30–100 million) in the world use the Revised Common Lectionary

Chapter 6: Versions of the Bible Used in the English Language Lectionaries

  • In 1969, the USCCB approved the New American Bible, the Revised Standard Version, and the Jerusalem Bible for the new Lectionary, and added the NRSV in 1981. (65-66)
    • Other translations were no longer permitted starting in 1998. (68)
    • → Why are multiple translations no longer allowed?
  • Article: The rocky road to a new lectionary by Clifford (68)

Chapter 7: Insights from the Introduction to the Lectionary—an Essential Document

Chapter 8: One Lectionary in Four Volumes—A Tour

Chapter 9: Problems and Omissions in the Lectionary

  • skip this chapter—overblown

Chapter 10: Experiencing the Lectionary

  • "The faithful have been finding a great feast in the Lectionary." (100)
  • Normand Bonneau: "The Lectionary presupposes and adequate acquaintance with the Bible." (100-101)
  • "The great mosaic presented by the Lectionary, piece by piece, will come to life more vividly if the faithful are reading Scripture regularly outside of Mass." (101)
  • "Just as the liturgical year furnishes the frame for the Lectionary, the Lectionary provides the lens for experiencing the mystery of the Mass." (104)
  • "The Lectionary provides selections of Scripture arranged and ordered in time, a program shaped by the faith of the Church, at the center of which is Jesus Christ and His Paschal Mystery." (105)

Topic: Liturgy, Lectionary

Source

  • Madj Birthday 2023

Created: 2023-12-14-Thu
Updated: 2025-12-29-Mon