Though the new Lectionary goes into use at all Masses throughout England, Wales, and Scotland from the First Sunday of Advent, the Daily Missal to be published by CTS is not yet available—and not expected earlier than April 2025.
The Catholic Truth Society, appointed by the local Bishops’ Conferences to publish the official ritual editions of the Lectionary, have brought out various beautiful altar editions (starting from £250 for the smallest “Study Edition”), and a range of other resources. However, in the category of People’s Missals, only the Missals for Sundays and Solemnities are available for purchase so far.
Many different apps and websites will be carrying the new readings, such as Universalis, Hallow, Amen, Laudate, Daily Readings, iBreviary, Catholic Calendar, and more. But Catholics wishing to have the Mass readings for weekdays and feasts for the next few months may find MAGNIFICAT is the only printed option with the full Mass texts.
The December issue of MAGNIFICAT sold out quickly as people realised the situation, and new or renewing subscribers must sign up by 10th December to receive the January and February editions of the magazine.
Though the New Lectionary was officially approved in July 2023 and scheduled for release for this Advent in April 2024, many Catholics are still catching up with the “what” and the “why” of the changes coming with the start of a new liturgical year.
Here are some answers to common questions and where you can find out more:
What is a Lectionary?
The Lectionary is the book that contains the readings to be used in the Mass and other Sacraments. It is from this book that the readings are proclaimed publicly, and it is incorporated into the daily missals alongside the Mass prayers from the Roman Missal.
As with all liturgical texts, the editio typica — the typical or normative edition of the text—is in Latin, which is then translated into the various vernacular languages such as English.
The translation of the Roman Missal from Latin to English was revised in 2011, but the Lectionary has not been updated since 1981. You can find more history on the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales website.
What is changing about the Lectionary?
The selection of readings is not changing at all: the cycle of readings was established after the Second Vatican Council in 1969.
However, the scripture readings proclaimed at Mass in England, Wales, and Scotland were formerly based on the Jerusalem Bible with the Grail Psalms, and from this Sunday will be from the English Standard Version—Catholic Edition and the Abbey Psalm and Canticles. There are some other stylistic and practical updates that you can learn about at CTS’s special webpage about the new Lectionary.
What is different about the new Lectionary’s translation?
The ESV will naturally sound a little different to British ears accustomed to the JB. The translation approach is “essentially literal”, seeking to translate the thoughts and idioms of the original authors as directly as possible.
As the ESV website explains, “it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and exact force of the original”.
Fr Richard Ounsworth, op, wrote more about the ESV for the Herald back in 2021. The Abbey Psalter is an updated version of the Grail edition, though the numbering system used is slightly different from what we used in Mass before: it will be based on the earlier Hebrew numbering system, as opposed to the numbering of the Septuagint/Greek translation used by early Christians which differs due to the way they divide up the psalms in a few places.
Why Are We Getting a New Lectionary?
The Bishops have chosen the translation for the new Lectionary with an eye to both up-to-date, reliable Biblical scholarship and the proclaimable quality. They have explained further in a series of video resources and in a booklet by Bishop Hugh Gilbert.
“We urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the risen Lord, who continues to speak his word and to break bread in the community of believers,” Pope Francis said on the 1600th anniversary of the death of the patron saint of translators, Saint Jerome. And what better time to renew ourselves in this goal than as we start a new liturgical year—a year of Jubilee—and the holy season of Advent.