from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (Canada)
The 1970 Lectionary contained three different sets of readings (Years A,
B, C) for most Sundays and major feasts of the year. For certain feasts, the same first reading, responsorial psalm, and second
reading were used each year, although different Gospels were provided for the three years.
The 1998 Lectionary has added optional selections for Years B and C on the
following four feasts:
The Holy Family (#17) new optional first reading, responsorial psalm, and
second reading
The Baptism of the Lord (#21) new optional first reading, responsorial psalm,
and second reading
The Ascension of the Lord (#58) new optional second reading only; first
reading and psalm remain the same
Pentecost Sunday (#63) new optional second reading and Gospel; first reading
and psalm remain the same
Actual Changes in the Reading Selections
In several instances, one or more verses have been added to or deleted from
the readings in the 1998 USA Lectionary, as compared with the 1970 USA Lectionary. In most cases, these reflect changes made
between the 1969 Latin first edition and the 1981 Latin second edition. In some cases, these are corrections of errors in
the 1970 Lectionary (i.e. discrepancies from the 1969 Latin edition). In a few cases, however, these are the result of new
errors in the 1998 USA edition (while the 1970 USA edition had the correct reading). Finally, there are some cases in which
the readings in the 1970 and 1998 USA editions are identical to each other, but different from the prescribed readings given
in the 1969 and/or 1981 Latin editions.
Reprinted from the National Bullentin on Liturgy, copyright 1993, Concacan,
Inc. Used with permission
