Joint Lectionary Project

PrayTell Readers might be interested to know that the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference have announced that they have begun work on a shared edition of the Lectionary for Mass based on the Revised New Jerusalem Bible.  Details below:

For over 50 years parishes and communities in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand have listened to the scripture readings proclaimed in church from the same translations which are given in the Lectionary for Mass. Many of these books are now in a poor state and need replacing. The bishops have recognised that this is an opportunity for a new edition of the Lectionary taking advantage of a revised translation of the readings which is both accessible and faithful to the evolving nuances of the English language and contemporary biblical scholarship. 

After consultation among both experts in scripture and liturgy, and also among the faithful the Revised New Jerusalem Bible was chosen as the text for the Lectionary. This translation recognises the need for the text to be proclaimed in the liturgy, to be faithful to the original biblical texts and it is sensitive to inclusivity. For the psalms in the Lectionary the Abbey Psalms and Canticles will be used. This is a sympathetic  revision of the familiar Grail Psalter and the revised text has already adopted in several English-speaking countries.

The three Bishops’ Conferences will pool their expertise and resources in the Joint Lectionary Project. The editorial leadership for the project will be provided by Martin Foster, an experienced editor who previously oversaw the preparation of the Lectionary for England and Wales. He will work with experts from all three conferences to ensure the quality and liturgical appropriateness of the final text.

The first draft texts, the Sundays of Advent and Christmas, will be sent to the bishops for review early in 2025 with the rest of the Lectionary following over the next couple of years. The Joint Lectionary Project is a major collaboration and it is hoped that it will enrich the celebration of the Eucharist in parishes and communities in the years to come across Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.

Fr. Neil Xavier O'Donoghue

Neil Xavier O’Donoghue is originally from Cork, Ireland. He is a presbyter of the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ who has ministered in parishes on both sides of the Atlantic. He has spent many years as an academic mentor to seminarians. Neil currently serves as Programme Director for Liturgical Programmes at the Pontifical University and as Acting Director of the National Centre for Liturgy. Since 2020 he has also served as the Executive Secretary for Liturgy to the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference. He has studied at Seton Hall University (BA, MDiv), the University of Notre Dame (MA), and St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (MTh). He holds a Doctorate in Theology (Ph.D.) from St Patrick’s College, Maynooth and is in the process of completing a second doctorate (D.D) in the Pontifical Facultad de Teología Redemptoris Mater in Callao, Peru. Neil has published a translation of the Confessio of St. Patrick: St. Patrick: His Confession and Other Works (Totowa, NJ, 2009), as well editing the third edition of Fredrick Edward Warren’s The Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic Church (Piscataway, NJ, 2010). In 2011 the University of Notre Dame Press published The Eucharist in Pre-Norman Ireland an adaptation of his doctoral thesis and in 2017 the Alcuin Club published his Liturgical Orientation: The Position of the President at the Eucharist. His articles have appeared in The Irish Theological Quarterly, New Blackfriars, The Furrow and Antiphon. He writes a monthly article on some aspect of the theology of Pope Francis in the Messenger of St. Anthony and blogs regularly at PrayTell.

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Comments

2 responses to “Joint Lectionary Project”

  1. Devin Rice

    Will there be any changes or emendations made to the Biblical text by the bishops, or will this be simply a matter of editing?

    Reply
  2. Anthony Hawkins

    In Great Britain two other English speaking conferences have just a few days ago implemented a different switch, from JB(1966) to ESV. It seems odd that there was not at least a quick evaluation of the change before starting the new process.
    I have had time to get one reaction from a frequent lector, an artisan without a literary education. He finds the ESV easier to proclaim, but the JB quicker to grasp the reading during his preparation.

    Reply

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