First Sunday of Lent: Psalm 32 and Matthew 4:1-11
Blessings, Duffy.
Today and during this first week of Lent, I will try to get a little better synchronized with you, the Vermont Latin Mass Society and Saint Anthony's moving forward.
I started this morning by reading Psalm 32 and N.T. Wright's commentary.
Then I turned to the USCCB daily readings. These are from Year A (Sundays) and Year II (Weekdays) of the 1969 Novus Ordo.
After this, I found a website that features the daily Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) readings.
There are clear differences between the Novus Ordo and the TLM readings, but the Gospel passage (Matthew 4:1-11) is the same today. This got me thinking about when the Sunday readings in the TLM were first selected.
How old are the TLM readings? This is what I discovered on Gemini:
"The lectionary used in the Traditional Latin Mass is one of the oldest continuous liturgical structures in Western Christianity. Its origins date back to the first millennium, representing a tradition that has remained largely stable for over 1,200 years."
"While the TLM is often associated with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and Pope St. Pius V, the council did not 'invent' the readings. Instead, it codified a Roman tradition that was already ancient. The vast majority of the TLM Sunday lectionary (the Epistles and Gospels) was firmly established by the 7th or 8th century. The Würzburg Lectionary is the oldest known list of Roman Mass readings, dating to the mid-700s. It contains a Sunday cycle that is almost identical to the one found in a 1962 Missal today. During the reign of Charlemagne (late 8th century), the scholar Alcuin of York helped standardize the Roman lectionary across Europe. Since that time, the Sunday readings for the TLM have remained virtually unchanged."
"The practice of reading the Temptation of Christ at the start of Lent is incredibly old, likely dating back to the 4th or 5th century. By the late 300s, the 'Forty Days' of Lent were becoming standardized throughout Christendom. Since the fast was modeled after Christ’s own 40 days in the desert, it became the natural 'opening' for the season. We have records of sermons from Pope St. Leo the Great for the first Sunday of Lent that clearly reference the Temptation. This confirms that the association was already established in Rome by the mid-5th century. Unlike other parts of the liturgical year which saw minor shifts as new feasts were added, the 'Great Sundays' of Lent (the First Sunday through Palm Sunday) are among the most ancient and untouched parts of the Roman Rite."
"When you attend a TLM on the First Sunday of Lent, you are hearing the exact same Gospel (Matthew 4) and Epistle (2 Corinthians 6) that a Catholic in Rome would have heard in the year 750 AD. In contrast, the Novus Ordo lectionary was developed by a commission (Consilium) following the Second Vatican Council and was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969. While it includes these ancient readings, it rearranges them into the modern multi-year cycle."
On the basis of this information, I looked into three versions of the TLM Hand Missal available on Amazon: the Angelus Press, the Baronius Press, and the Father Lasance. I decided to order a large-print version from Angelus Press (with a synthetic cover).
Then I realized that for the sake of comparison - and out of respect for my English roots - I should also order the 1662 Book of Common Prayer: International Edition, which I did.
Both books should be arriving by Friday, and then I will be able to keep up with you better. Reading N.T. Wright and the Gospel of Matthew chapters alone isn't quite enough to get me anchored in the liturgical calendar. I will see what happens when I start with the daily readings in the 1962 Hand Missal and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and then proceed to the Gospel portion that accompanies the N.T. Wright commentary.
Here is a record of the Gemini inquiry that helped me make these decisions:
And here is the music I am listening to today:
Peace and Grace.
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