The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference considered a revision of the Lectionary for Mass during their Spring General meeting earlier this week.

The Lectionary for Mass is the liturgical volume from which God’s Word is proclaimed during the celebration of the Eucharist.  It is usually taken from an existing translation of the Bible and is edited for ease of proclamation during the liturgy.

The current Lectionary is based on the 1966 edition of the Jerusalem Bible and has served the Church in Ireland well for over fifty years.  However, in line with new understandings in relation to fidelity to the texts in their original languages and developments in the English language over the last fifty years, the bishops recognise a need for a new edition. Other English-speaking Bishops’ Conferences are making various decisions. The Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales, along with that of Scotland, have opted to use the English Standard Version Catholic edition. Some other countries are seeking to use the 2019 edition of the Revised New Jerusalem Bible.

The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference is considering using the Revised New Jerusalem Bible as the basis for a new edition of the Lectionary for Mass. The Bishops’ Conference is now seeking submissions from interested parties to its secretariat for liturgy, and these can be sent to [email protected].