Fr. John Zuhlsdorf: 12th Sunday After Pentecost: You Are Christ’s Love Letter

In the flow of our green Vetus Ordo Sundays, this 12th Sunday after Pentecost brings the last selection from Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians.  Next week we begin with Galatians.   The order of our readings is very ancient, older in fact than the institution of the Divine Office.   Hence, for our ancient Roman forebears, these readings during the so-called Mass of the Catechumens were a major element of the Church’s meditative prayer life.

It occurs to ask: Why did our predecessors in the Faith want more Scripture read at Mass?  They had more, after all.  More is better.  Right?  Why did it take a millennium and a half for us finally to wise up?  Did our ancestors know something that we moderns don’t know?  ….

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