Please Help: I'm Confused About Liturgical Year and Missal

[Dempsey1919]

I started practicing my Faith in 2007. I aways attend the Extraordinary Form on Sunday and the Ordinary Form occasionally on a week day. I bought an OF Missal today so that I can follow the liturgical year and use the readings for my daily meditation. But I’m confused by the cycle. It mentions years A, B, C and apparently the weekday readings follow a two year cycle. Can someone please explain how it works?

 

[Wendy1989]

I started practicing my Faith in 2007. I aways attend the Extraordinary Form on Sunday and the Ordinary Form occasionally on a week day. I bought an OF Missal today so that I can follow the liturgical year and use the readings for my daily meditation. But I’m confused by the cycle. It mentions years A, B, C and apparently the weekday readings follow a two year cycle. Can someone please explain how it works?

The liturgical year begins each 1st Sunday of Advent - Christ the King (last Sunday). Currently, we are in Cycle A / 1. On the first Sunday in Advent 2017, we will be in Cycle B / 2, Advent 2018 will be Cycle C / 1.

The Sunday and Holy Days of obligation (Assumption, Christmas, Solemnity of Mary, etc…) readings in the OF mass follow a 3 year cycle: A, B & C. Currently, we are in cycle A. This past Sunday, we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration in cycle A. If August 6 fell on a weekday (M-Sat), we would use the current years cycle. The daily readings follow a 2 year cycle with the Gospel being the same for both cycles.

There are several apps that you can use to check the date but you can also go to the USCCB website and view the calendar at this link:

usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month

Also, this is a link that summarizes the liturgical year in the OF:

usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/index.cfm

If you really want to get your liturgical nerdiness on, this link will take you to the page with the liturgical calendars the celebrants/liturgy committees use: usccb.org/about/divine-worship/liturgical-calendar/index.cfm

I hope this helps!

 

[Dempsey1919]

Thanks Wendy,

I think I’ve understood. Is this right:

For Sunday Masses, 2017 is year A. 2018 will be year B. And 2019 will be year C. The year starts with the first Sunday of Advent and lasts until Christ the King which is the Sunday before the first Sunday of Advent. That seems simple enough.

But what about the weekday Masses? You said the Gospel stays the same for both years. What about the other weekday readings? Are they called A and B?

 

[Joe_5859]

Thanks Wendy,

I think I’ve understood. Is this right:

For Sunday Masses, 2017 is year A. 2018 will be year B. And 2019 will be year C. The year starts with the first Sunday of Advent and lasts until Christ the King which is the Sunday before the first Sunday of Advent. That seems simple enough.

But what about the weekday Masses? You said the Gospel stays the same for both years. What about the other weekday readings? Are they called A and B?

No, they call the weekday cycle year 1 and year 2. The Gospel readings are the same, but the other readings change.

Fr. Just has a handy website with charts on the Lectionary:

catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/

Don’t let the 1990’s interface fool you. He does keep it updated. For comparison sake, here is the Ordinary Time Lectionary readings for Year 1 and Year 2:

Year 1: catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/2002USL-Weekdays-OT-I.htm
Year 2: catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/2002USL-Weekdays-OT-II.htm

 

[Don_Ruggero]

No, they call the weekday cycle year 1 and year 2. The Gospel readings are the same, but the other readings change.

Fr. Just has a handy website with charts on the Lectionary:

catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/

Don’t let the 1990’s interface fool you. He does keep it updated. For comparison sake, here is the Ordinary Time Lectionary readings for Year 1 and Year 2:

Year 1: catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/2002USL-Weekdays-OT-I.htm
Year 2: catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/2002USL-Weekdays-OT-II.htm

It is very easy.

Readings from Year 1 are read in years which end with an odd number [1,3,5,7,9]…just as one is itself an odd number.

Readings from Year 2 are read in years that end with an even number [0,2,4,6,8]…just as two is an even number.

 

[Joe_5859]

It is very easy.

Readings from Year 1 are read in years which end with an odd number [1,3,5,7,9]…just as one is itself an odd number.

Readings from Year 2 are read in years that end with an even number [0,2,4,6,8]…just as two is an even number.

That is an easy way to remember it, but I still find myself constantly forgetting.

 

[Dempsey1919]

Thanks Joe and Don Ruggero for helping me understand the liturgical year and missal. I’m using the OF Mass lectionary for my daily meditation because it has more OT readings - and I like the responsorial psalm. I’m also pleased to finally understand the meaning of Ordinary Time! I still prefer the EF Mass, but I’ve got to admit that the OF calendar and lectionary has some very strong points.