Weekday Eucharistic Propers

1. Introduction:

Weekday Eucharists and the Calendar

In the section entitled Concerning the Service of the Church, the Book of Common Prayer identifies the normative services of the Episcopal Church:

The Holy Eucharist, the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord’s Day and other major Feasts, and Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, as set forth in this book, are the regular services appointed for public worship in the Church. (BCP, 13)

Eucharistic propers (collects, Scripture readings, and proper prefaces) are provided in the Book of Common Prayer for the days when the Eucharist is the principal service. The Calendar section at the front of the Prayer Book identifies these eucharistic feasts by placing them into three categories, ranked by priority: Principal Feasts, Sundays, and Holy Days. Normatively, on all other days, Morning and Evening Prayer are the Church’s official public services. However, as celebration of the Eucharist has become more frequent, many congregations and other communities of faith now celebrate weekday Eucharists on days for which the Prayer Book does not assign propers.

The Prayer Book provides a range of possible options for the celebration of the Eucharist on these ferial or non-feast days. These options include the celebration of:

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a Major Feast that has fallen elsewhere in the week (BCP, 17);

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a commemoration listed in the Calendar (BCP, 18);

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a commemoration not appointed in the Church’s Calendar by using the Common of Saints (BCP, 18);

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an Ember Day or Rogation Day (BCP, 18);

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the season, by using the propers of the preceding Sunday (BCP, 158);

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the weekdays of Holy Week and Easter, by using the propers appointed in the Book of Common Prayer;

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an occasion provided for in the propers for Various Occasions (BCP, 18).

In addition, since 1979 Lesser Feasts and Fasts has appointed weekday propers for seasons of the church year.

To facilitate the use of these authorized options, this resource contains weekday propers for the seasons of the church year (the temporal cycle), the Common of Saints (the sanctoral cycle), and Various Occasions from the Prayer Book and from resources authorized since the adoption of the Prayer Book. The propers in this resource are grouped into three sections by type for the temporal cycle, the sanctoral cycle, and various occasions.

Directions for the appropriate use of the various kinds of propers are provided at the head of each section. Here are some general guides for use:

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These propers are not intended for use on Principal Feasts, Sundays, and Holy Days (BCP, 15–17).

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If a Major Feast that falls in the week will not be celebrated with a Eucharist on its indicated day, it is most appropriate that a midweek service observe the Major Feast in order to retain the Prayer Book’s emphasis on the significance of these occasions.

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Feasts appointed on fixed days in the Calendar are not observed on the days of Holy Week or of Easter Week, nor are propers for Various Occasions used within this period (BCP, 18).

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In keeping with ancient tradition, the observance of Lenten weekdays ordinarily takes precedence over Lesser Feasts occurring during this season.

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Since the triumphs of the saints are a continuation and manifestation of the Paschal victory of Christ, the celebration of saints’ days is particularly appropriate during the Easter season.

The 2015 General Convention authorized this liturgical resource to make readily available a variety of options for weekday celebrations of the Eucharist.

2. The Temporal Cycle: Seasons of the church year

Introduction

The mid-twentieth-century liturgical renewal movement made a great impact on the liturgical reforms of the Roman Catholic Second Vatican Council and on the subsequent revisions of many Western families of Christianity, including the Episcopal Church and our Book of Common Prayer. In reaching back to the ancient foundations of Christian liturgy, the liturgical renewal movement reminded the Church universal of the vital importance of Sundays as the primordial feast day and the weekly feast of Christ’s resurrection.

As Sundays have become more central, the seasons of the church year—the temporal cycle—have become correspondingly more important. The celebration of seasonal ferial days with weekday celebrations of the Eucharist is a way to reinforce the importance of Sundays and seasons within the local congregation.

It is appropriate to use the propers appointed for Sunday or a Principal Feast through the rest of the following week. However, in places where weekday eucharistic services are frequent, this practice can become repetitive. In order to retain the emphasis on the temporal cycle yet still provide rich fodder for spiritual reflection and growth, a weekday eucharistic lectionary with seasonally appropriate scriptural texts is provided here. The seasons of Lent and Easter are provided with a number of collects for the weekdays; in other seasons, the collect remains as appointed on the preceding Sunday or Principal Feast, as the Prayer Book directs.

The weekday eucharistic lectionary offered here is adapted from the weekday eucharistic lectionary used in the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. This scheme provides one set of readings for the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. Two sets of readings are provided for the seasons after Epiphany and after Pentecost (sometimes referred to as Ordinary Time), to be used in alternating years: Year 1 is used in odd-numbered years, and Year 2 in even-numbered years.

Additionally, a set of alternate six-week thematic readings suitable for use in Ordinary Time (first authorized by the 1994 General Convention) is located after the presentation of the sequential scheme.

The Daily Office and the Temporal Cycle

The Daily Office is rooted in the movement of the temporal cycle; this cycle is its natural habitat. In particular, the principle of the continuous reading of Scripture is only enacted when the temporal cycle is followed. Too many interruptions lose the thread of the sacred narratives and prevent the formative encounter with Scripture that has been an historic gift of this discipline.

Only Major Feasts are intended to alter the Daily Office lectionary cycle. The readings found in the Common of Saints and the Propers for Various Occasions are for use at the Eucharist or for devotional reading, and are not intended to displace the appointed daily reading.

Some worshiping communities regularly use the Sunday collect as the Collect of the Day in the Office through the subsequent week. The repetition helps secure the seasonal themes and perspectives in the mind of the Church. When a sanctoral collect is used in the Office as the Collect of the Day, the temporal collect of the preceding Sunday or Principal Feast may be used after the Collect of the Day in order to maintain a connection with the Church’s seasons.

Weekdays of Advent and Christmas until the Baptism of Christ

Concerning the Proper

Proper Lessons and Psalms are provided for the Eucharist for the weekdays of Advent and Christmas to the First Sunday after Epiphany. These Propers are also suitable for use at Liturgies of the Word held on those days.

During the weeks of Advent 1 through 3, the first Readings from Isaiah point to the coming of God’s reign. In the fourth week of Advent, the first Readings are in thematic harmony with the Gospel lections and reflect on the sacred history of God’s people in light of God’s coming reign.

The Gospel Readings for the first three weeks of Advent point to Jesus’ words and acts as fulfilling the expectations of God’s coming reign. Lections for the fourth week are taken from the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke and prepare the Church for the Christmas celebration. The first Readings for the weekdays following Christmas Day provide a sequential reading of the First Letter of John, which reflects on the significance of Jesus’ life for the Church. The Gospel lections recall the early events of Jesus’ life and the beginning of his ministry that revealed his authority and power.

Any of the Readings may be lengthened at discretion, and the selections from the Psalter may be lengthened or shortened.

Where there is not a daily celebration of the Eucharist, the Proper appointed for any weekday may be used on any other weekday in the same week.

On days of optional observance on the Calendar, the Collect, Lessons, Psalm and Preface are ordinarily those of the saint. Where there is a daily celebration, however, the weekday Lessons and Psalm may be substituted.