Actual apocrypha in liturgy

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Considering that the Church has often composed prayers, sequences, and antiphons for Mass that aren’t from any Scriptural source in particular, why would it be surprising to find material from outside the canonical Scriptures? As long as they aren’t heretical, they are just texts.

The Prayer of Manasseh is so standard. I thought they were going to get into stuff like St. Anna and St. Joachim’s names coming from the Proto-Evangelium of James.
 
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Agreed that revered prayer, non-heretical can certainly be used. Note that some apocryphal books are referred to in the New Testament.

Also note, Protestants generally refer to the Dutero-canonical books as apocrapha, so be careful to know what is being referred to.

Blessings,
Stephie
 
Not to be rude but this isn’t about books which are in Catholic Bibles. Though they were put in an appendix to the Latin Vulgate following the Council of Trent, they do not have Canonical status in the Catholic Church, though they do to some extent in Orthodox Churches. They are 1 and 2 Esdras, (however in the Latin Vulgate they are 3 and 4 Esdras as Ezra and Nehemiah are 1 and 2 Esdras), and the Prayer of Mannaseh. These are in an appendix to traditional Latin Vulgates and original DR Bibles before the Challanor revision.
All three do have a past in the Church, just so happens while Trent reaffirmed most of the Deuterocanonical Books, these three texts were actually not affirmed as Canon. Prior to that though they were present in the Old Testament, Prayer of Mannaseh right after Chronicles, and 3 and 4 Esdras after 1 and 2 (Ezra and Nehemiah).

So with that in mind it isn’t that crazy that these texts do make a liturgical mark. It just came as a surprise.
 
Also, good spiritual writings aren’t restricted to only the Bible
 
Those ancient writings do not conflict with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, there exist a spiritual reading (prayer) for meditation in the Missal, for those who voluntarily partake of the Eucharist during Mass.
 
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That’s where that story does come from! We don’t realize it but a lot of our traditions come from extra canonical texts.
 
I can agree so long as those writings do not conflict with divine revelation handed down by Jesus and His apostles.

I am grateful that the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Mother name St. Anne and her Father’s name Joachim were handed down to us. Subjects and names such as these can be mentioned in a homily at Mass, which come from non-canonical sources.

In the official prayer of the Church, in the Liturgy of hours, there are many many non-canonical writings and prayers for reflection and meditation that are not in the bible. Yet, all of these support Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture.
 
St. Paul cited a pagan source in one of his letters to the Corinthians.
 
That is true.

However the Prayer of Mannaseh is a "responsory " In the Liturgy of the Hours, which in most other cases are Psalms or a canonical text.

The author of this is using for his liturgy the Tridentine Missal of 1962.

3 Esdras is not present in the New form Missal at least I don’t think.

4 Esdras is present in the New form, an entrance antiphon confers to it on the second Sunday of Easter. It is present as an antiphon on masses for the dead and a common of matryrs.
 
Thank you for your post.

Do you know why 3,4 Corinthians kept showing up in the liturgies from the Early (East?) Church?
 
That’s surprising. I have no idea. 3 Corrintheans is generally included as part of the Acts of Paul which also includes the Acts of Paul and Thecla. The book was quoted as scripture by some early Church Fathers but generally never was a serious candidate. I know the Letter to the Laocideans has some early acceptance, I believe Jerome included it in his original Vulgate.

Ntcanon.org is a good site to check out.
 
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