Lectionary Resources

A few people have recently asked me where I get the material for my “Lectionary Notes” posts. Here’s the process I go through each week:

1. After we conclude our Bible Study in the JP2 Group, we all go to the church next door for adoration. In the presence of the Blessed Sacrament I read the Lectionary Scriptures for the following week and spend a little bit of time praying through them.

2. When I next have some time, I read through the texts again using my NIV Study Bible.

Regarding Bible translations, translators have to make a choice between translating from the original language word-for-word (“formal equivalence”) or providing a looser translation but which attempts to better convey the thought expressed by the original writer (“dynamic equivalence”). This essentially results in a trade-off between readability and fidelity to the original words of the text. I quite like the NIV in that it falls somewhere between formal and dynamic equivalence, but with a leaning more towards dynamic equivalence.

The NIV is not a Catholic Bible and unfortunately therefore is missing the books of Wisdom, Sirach etc. Some of the study notes also have a non-Catholic skew, but on the whole it has excellent cross-references and always at least offers an interesting point of view.

3. The next book I reach for is my Ignatius New Testament Study Bible. I can’t say how much I love this book. It’s the RSV translation, which follows the “formal equivalence” approach. I would not-so-humbly suggest that it is a far superior translation to the NAB which is used in the Lectionary. Ignatius Press have produced a superb resource here, with excellent notes, maps and word studies. Every Christian should own a copy – it’s a bargain at $16. I will wait here while you click on the link and go and order a copy from Amazon. Seriously, I’ll wait…Done? Okay, let’s continue!

4. My NIV and RSV commentaries will often mention the Greek or Hebrew words involved in the text. When I need to check these out in a little more detail I consult the site Search God’s Word, using their lexicon and pronunciation MP3s.

5. Next I checkout Sunday Scripture Study. It’s a website specifically geared towards helping people study the Sunday Scriptures. They provide some brief commentary, some sample questions and a reflection. They are also kind enough to post their notes several weeks in advance. They focus on the Gospel reading so sometimes it is a bit light on the Old Testament readings, but it still rocks.

6. On Mondays I receive via email Sunday Bible Reflections from Scott Hahn. These are available in text and MP3 format. The reflections are not very long, but he always does a good job of linking all the readings together. I usually publish my notes after I’ve read Dr. Hahn’s reflection.

7. My notes need to be completed by Wednesday, so unfortunately I don’t get to hear Fr. Barron’s weekly homily until after I’ve published. I still listen to his talks though, as Fr. Barron always has unique insights and, on the occasions when I have the time, I do revise my notes.

So…there you have it. I hope these resources will be useful to you.

(In a later post I corrected my omission of the Catena Aurea)