The Scripture passages in this section of the website are from the Lectionary for Mass (2nd Typical Ed.) Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1998 (approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops)

Two versions of each reading are available:

1. As the reading appears when the passage is prepared as a “script” for oral presentation — (Proclamation Format)
2. As the Reading appears on the Lectionary page — (Lectionary Format)

Click on the particular Sunday listed for the season.  This will take you to the readings for that Sunday. BOTH formats for each reading are available in PDF format to facilitate printing.  Click on whichever format you are interested in.

The text is identical in both presentation formats, although on occasion, a comma may be deleted from the the text of the Proclamation Format to promote oral clarity.  The Proclamation Format contains suggestions as to how the passage can be proclaimed.  In addition, the passage is laid out somewhat differently from the Lectionary Format with attention paid to breathing, pausing, phraseology, word stress, emotional content, etc.  Other suggestions appear to the right of the text.

We plan to add audio versions of the readings over the next several months and years as they become available to us.  One reason for this upgrade is our belief that listening several times to how a reading is proclaimed will cause lectors to re-think their proclamation of the same passage to be sure that they are giving it’s just due as a means of conveying God’s ideas to listeners.  These audio versions will be “live” recordings of actual lectors proclaiming the passage at a liturgy.  These will be included not as examples of “perfect proclamations“.  There is no such thing.  But listening to how someone else proclaims the passage can suggest how improvement in our own proclaiming can be achieved.  One result: the extraneous noises of people coughing, babies crying, etc. are included (we have not attempted to edit out these sounds). We are not “purists” by any stretch of the imagination!

NOTE : the format and suggestions are merely suggestions — there is no “correct” way of proclaiming a passage from Scripture.  Proclamation is a very personal undertaking reflecting how the lector understands the passage, the purpose involved in proclaiming it, and how the passage reflects one’s faith.  These all come together in the proclamation.  Our intent is to provide an idea or example which causes you to think about how helpful you are bringing to listeners understanding the implication of God’s word for their lives.

Finally, when available, we’ve included a link to America Magazine‘s “The Word” column for the particular liturgy.  The text is from the last yearly cycle for that liturgy.  It is still very helpful to understanding what is involved with the particular passage in today’s world.