Common Questions:
Q- How do I find a specific set of readings for
a future date in the Calendar (e.g. I’d like to start preparing for the Fourth
Sunday in Advent but the readings are not posted yet.)
A – Step 1- Which Cycle or Year do I need? If
you do not have an Ordo or do not know how the Liturgical Calendar works, you
need to find the Sunday Mass Cycle or Weekday Year (in Ordinary Time). Note: the current year Liturgical Calendar has a link on the Lectionary Commentary page. If you
do not know the Cycle (A,B,C) we are in, or the Year (1,2) we have provided a
link to the calendar at Universalis showing the date upon which the celebration
falls in the current calendar year. You
should be aware that weekday celebrations follow the two year cycle only during
Ordinary Time so the weekdays of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter are always
the same regardless of the calendar year.
The easiest formula to remember for telling which Year in Ordinary time
is taking place is Year 1 falls on odd years (e.g. 2007, 2009, 2011, etc.) and
Year 2 takes place on even years (e.g. 2008, 2010, 2012 etc.). Here is a brief list of cycles for Sunday
Mass Texts:
Year Cycle Year
2014 A Year 2
2015 B Year 12016 C Year 2
2017 A Year 1
2018 B Year 2
2019 C Year 1
2020 A Year 2
2021 B Year 1
2022 C Year 2
Q- If I am putting together a special Mass (e.g. Consecration of a new altar, Installation of Lectors or Acolytes, or other special Masses with the exception of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary which has its own lectionary), how do I find the correct readings? Texts for these Masses are selected by the celebrant of the Mass (unless you are asked to pick them - frequently candidates for the diaconate and priesthood are instructed to select these texts as are those taking religious vows), you only need to know that, like the Sacramentary, the Lectionary has texts approved for special Masses. These texts are found in Volume IV of the Lectionary for Mass and are indexed for your convenience at: Volume IV Index (Texts for Commons, Ritual Masses, Masses for Various Needs, Votive Masses and Masses for the Dead). Only commentary has been provided for these readings.
Q- What about the Alleluia and it's text? I have resisted including these texts for the simple reason that this apostolate was directed at breaking open the Word as opposed to becoming an on-line Lectionary. While it does contain much of the content of the Lectionary for Mass. That work is properly copyrighted by the Catholic Book Publishing Company. What I provide is convenience under "Fair Use" provisions.
Q- Which translation of the Bible is used in the Servant of the Word II posts?
A- The translation (version) used for the readings is the New American Bible (NAB) which is copyrighted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The links to the NAB at the top of each reading will take you to the USCCB site. Note, if the reading is from the Old Testament, the translation you will be taken to will differ slightly from the readings from the Lectionary for Mass. This is because the Old Testament was recently revised (now the on-line translation is the Revised New American Bible (RNAB). The Psalm Response is provided by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL) and is copyrighted by that body.
Q- What other resources are available if I want to dig deeper?
A- At the bottom of each post you will see a footnote "S.S. Commemoratio" (or ALTRE in older posts). That link will take you to the texts for that day from three different versions of the Bible: the New American Bible, the Jerusalem Bible, and the Neo-Vulgate (as produced in the Navarre Bible series). In addition I have captured emails that contain the commentary from the Navarre. These are for reference only and should not be duplicated.
Step 2-
Which Text will be used? Servant of the Word
has provided three major indices to help find specific Mass Texts. First, for Sundays and Solemnities there is
the General
Calendar -Proper of Seasons Index corresponding
to Volume I of the Lectionary for Mass [Sundays, Solemnities and Feasts of the
Lord]). Next there is General
Calendar - Index of Texts for Weekdays this corresponds to Volumes
II & III of the Lectionary for Mass.
Finally, if you wish to find Mass Texts for a specific Memorial or
Optional Memorial there is the third index, General
Calendar – Propers of Saints Index [In the Dioceses of the United States] these
texts are also found in Volumes II & III of the Lectionary for Mass and
generally correspond to a specific date.
These indices are compiled in chronological order starting at the
beginning of the Liturgical Year and going forward in time. The indices contain links to either a page
with just the Mass texts or to the most recent post containing text, commentary
and reflections. If the link takes you
to just the page with texts (the Supplemental Bench), there will also be links
to the past posts about those readings for which a commentary and reflection
was provided.
Q- If I am putting together a special Mass (e.g. Consecration of a new altar, Installation of Lectors or Acolytes, or other special Masses with the exception of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary which has its own lectionary), how do I find the correct readings? Texts for these Masses are selected by the celebrant of the Mass (unless you are asked to pick them - frequently candidates for the diaconate and priesthood are instructed to select these texts as are those taking religious vows), you only need to know that, like the Sacramentary, the Lectionary has texts approved for special Masses. These texts are found in Volume IV of the Lectionary for Mass and are indexed for your convenience at: Volume IV Index (Texts for Commons, Ritual Masses, Masses for Various Needs, Votive Masses and Masses for the Dead). Only commentary has been provided for these readings.
Q- What about the Alleluia and it's text? I have resisted including these texts for the simple reason that this apostolate was directed at breaking open the Word as opposed to becoming an on-line Lectionary. While it does contain much of the content of the Lectionary for Mass. That work is properly copyrighted by the Catholic Book Publishing Company. What I provide is convenience under "Fair Use" provisions.
Q- How do I find a specific reading or commentary for a specific
chapter or verse of the Bible?
A- The Servant of the Word Commentary only provides commentary for
texts used as part of Liturgical Celebrations within the Roman Catholic Church.
It does not contain commentary on the entire body of sacred scripture contained
in the Holy Bible. To see if the
specific chapter and verse is used by the Church the easiest way is to go to
the Index
of Biblical Texts or the Index
of Psalms and Canticles which is a corrected index of all
scripture contained in the four volume Lectionary For Mass. Note, the texts provided are only for the
Ordinary Form (the Mass celebrated since 1969).
Again these indices are a
compilation of links to specific scripture passages with their commentary as
well as links to where they are used liturgically (Context).
Q- Which translation of the Bible is used in the Servant of the Word II posts?
A- The translation (version) used for the readings is the New American Bible (NAB) which is copyrighted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The links to the NAB at the top of each reading will take you to the USCCB site. Note, if the reading is from the Old Testament, the translation you will be taken to will differ slightly from the readings from the Lectionary for Mass. This is because the Old Testament was recently revised (now the on-line translation is the Revised New American Bible (RNAB). The Psalm Response is provided by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL) and is copyrighted by that body.
Q- How often is this work updated? The short answer is "daily." Each morning I spend about two hours going through the Mass readings for the day. This includes the Propers of Saints, Feasts, and Solemnities if they are designated on the calendar.(There are 213 of these plus two secular celebrations; Thanksgiving, and Memorial Day for which special Masses are used). I review the commentaries and reflections already written and frequently, because I am always adding new research material, update or refresh them. It is a living document. You may have noticed that the USCCB has recently providing the texts for the Propers of Saints on their site. It's hard to find because it's at the bottom, almost a footnote. In addition they are publishing suggested readings for saints on the US calendar that do not have approved Proper readings available. I am now updating my material to reflect these changes. While all of the readings being suggested are in the "Commons," I am also writing new reflections for these posts. If you ever discover errors in these works, please bring them to my attention. While I do have a dedicated subscriber who has been proofreading my posts for the past three years, mistakes can creep in. It's pretty complex.
