Change in Mass Reeadings

[CatholicQ85]

I’m visiting my in laws this weekend and ended up going to the local Catholic Church. I was confused throughout the mass because the readings were different than what the missal said they would be. Afterwords I asked one of the lectors and she said they didn’t match because the priest had changed them. I’ve never experienced this before, is this allowed? If not should I report it? I’m not big on tattling figured I’d ask before doing anything.

Thanks

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

Our ambo Lectionary showed three complete sets of readings for today, only two of which were shown in the Missalette. The priest might have chosen from among the many choices available for today, it being somewhat unusual for All Souls to be on a Sunday. And when visiting a parish other than your own, I don’t think one’s first reaction should be to “report” something.

 

[Corki]

I’m visiting my in laws this weekend and ended up going to the local Catholic Church. I was confused throughout the mass because the readings were different than what the missal said they would be. Afterwords I asked one of the lectors and she said they didn’t match because the priest had changed them. I’ve never experienced this before, is this allowed? If not should I report it? I’m not big on tattling figured I’d ask before doing anything.

Thanks

Our Missalette had a note that reading from other memorials for the dead could be used instead of the ones in the misallete. That is likely what happened.

 

[FrDavid96]

The readings for All Souls Day come from the Masses for the Dead.

As long as the proper sequence is followed (Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament, Gospel), they are all options. There are literally hundreds of possible combinations (I think 14 first readings, at least 4 psalms, and maybe 15 Gospels?)

The companies that print the hand missals simply choose for reasons known only to them. As long as all of the readings came from those prescribed for Masses for the Dead the different choices are all legitimate options.

When the reader said that “the priest changed them” perhaps that just meant that the priest made choices other than what was pre-selected in the hand missals.

 

[FrDavid96]

Just for fun…

8 first readings
10 responsorial psalms
20 second readings
23 Gospels

That comes to 38,600 possible combinations for the All Souls Day readings!
Yep, thirty-eight thousand six-hundred. :bigyikes:

Some readings have 2 options, short or long, so they count twice.

That’s from an older printing of the Lectionary, from the 1980’s. The number might not be exactly the same today, but it makes the point.

 

[marytk]

Just for fun…

8 first readings
10 responsorial psalms
20 second readings
23 Gospels

That comes to 38,600 possible combinations for the All Souls Day readings!
Yep, thirty-eight thousand six-hundred. :bigyikes:

Some readings have 2 options, short or long, so they count twice.

That’s from an older printing of the Lectionary, from the 1980’s. The number might not be exactly the same today, but it makes the point.

So that is why the missalettes don’t have every single one.

 

[FrDavid96]

Again, just for fun…

There are 18,061 parishes in the United States
(usccb.org/about/media-relations/statistics/laity-parishes.cfm)

That means that if…
every single parish in the U.S. used two different sets of readings on All Souls Day (say one set at 9 AM and another at 11 AM)–and different from every other parish in the U.S.

There would still be more possible combinations for the readings on All Souls Day than would actually be used.

Just for fun.

:juggle: