Msgr. Beaulieu – The Lectionary and Lent

1st Week of Lent

Lectionary – Old Testament – Lent

The lectionary is a collection of Biblical readings used for worship and study. During Lent, it is organized to reflect the season’s penitential character. Usually, the first reading is chosen according to what’s called the principle of harmony. The Old Testament reading is selected because of the harmony or the relationship it shows with the New Testament reading from the Gospel. Some event or teaching in the Old Testament is a prefiguration – a typology or to point forward to – what is portrayed in the Gospel. This shows the Old Testament pointing forward to the fulfillment that is found in Christ.

During Lent, the compilers no longer use the principle of harmony when choosing the Old Testament reading. Instead of harmony with the Gospel, the Church picks Old Testament passages according to major events in salvation history. So, during the Lenten season, what you’ll find is that if you read through the Old Testament readings in order, from one week to the next to the next, they are usually going to begin either in Genesis or the book of Exodus and then take the Church through major events in salvation history such as Adam and Eve, their fall, the account of Abraham journeying to the promised land, or Abraham’s vision, or similar incidents. They will be different events in salvation history as seen from the Old Testament perspective.

The reason the Church does it this way is that, since ancient times, Lent was always a period where catechumens—those preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist—were being instructed in the basics of the faith. Thus, what was meant to be done during the Lenten season was to take the catechumens back and teach them the history of salvation through the major accounts of the Old Testament, so, when the Gospel reading was proclaimed, they would better understand its previous illustration of God’s activity. This is the principle for Old Testament readings: A focus on the history of salvation as prophesied by the key events in the Old Testament.

Old Testament Readings

During the first week of Lent, readings from the Old Testament include Leviticus, Isaiah, Jonah, Esther, Ezekiel and Deuteronomy: