WAC Submission re Lectionary

Secretariat for Liturgy

Columba Centre

Maynooth

Co. Kildare         

20 May 2021

1. Slow down on the process - there is no rush. 

It would be good to have time for all to examine what they expect from the lections, and so from the lectionary, and so from the printed book.

2. An appreciation of the deeper problems which are far wider than the very obvious problem of inclusive language. A period of study, reflection, and experimentation before coming to expensive and incomplete decisions would be a good idea.

The current selections for the lections omit many of the very few accounts which feature women, some examples being: 

• In Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans, verses one and two of chapter 16 are omitted: "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon.”

• The Magnificat, the beautiful and revolutionary song of Mary in Luke 1:46 - 56, is never proclaimed on a Sunday

• The appearance of the risen Jesus to Mary Magdalene does not rate any Sunday of the Easter season. Yet Peter and John's race to the tomb in John 20:1-9, is retold every Easter Sunday,

Could writings of Sister Stan, Joan Chittister, Ilia Delio and Pope Francis be part of a rich and varied diet of religious sustenance in a modern Lectionary ?

Is there an ecumenical dimension to this issue that needs to be addressed in an Irish context? The core of the Sunday lectionary is now a common possession of the western churches.

Should this time of reflection be seen as a spur to an endeavour to raise biblical and liturgical literacy?

3. A carefully posed solution that is the best we can do

Ireland is both a compact country for planning purposes – as distinct from the US or Australia – and pro rata well equipped with the expertise needed for this reflection: could this be a service of the church in Ireland to the discussions in the larger English-language world and the liturgical world, for example in Africa, which depends on English-language books as the basis for their own books?

Blessings and best wishes,

Colm Holmes

Spokesperson 

We Are Church Ireland

Website: http://wearechurchireland.ie/

Email: colmholmes2020@gmail.com

Registered Charity Number 20203544