Readings for the Easter Triduum and the Season of Easter

NOTES:

• The Ascension of the Lord: In some parts of the United States (the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston; Hartford; New York; Newark; Philadelphia; Washington, DC; Atlanta; and the state of Nebraska), the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord is still celebrated on the traditional date, the 40th day of the Easter Season, which is Thursday in the 6th week of Easter. Elsewhere in the USA, the Feast of the Ascension is now transferred to the 7th Sunday of Easter, in which case the readings normally prescribed for this Sunday are replaced by the readings prescribed for the Ascension of the Lord.
• Dates in the first column are linked to the full text of the readings provided on the website of the USCCB, if available.
• Numbers in the second column are the official reading numbers from the Ordo Lectionum Missae, second typical edition, 1981. Each of these is one less than the number for the corresponding readings in the first typical edition of the Lectionary, from 1969, since the Chrism Mass (during Holy Week) was moved from #39 in the 1969 edition to #260 in the 1981 edition.
• Readings that are new or different from the 1970 Lectionary are marked in the table above; click on the underlined links (new) or (diff) for detailed explanations.
• The Extended form of the Pentecost Vigil is published in Lectionary for Mass, for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, Second Typical Edition: Supplement. Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 2017.
• A "Sequence" is a special text sung (or recited) used just before the Gospel Acclamation on four feasts during the liturgical year, two of which are in the Easter Season:
  Easter Sunday (Victimae paschali laudes), Pentecost Sunday (Veni, Sancte Spiritus).
• Printing Suggestion: To print these tables more clearly, try using "LANDSCAPE" rather than "Portrait" as the paper orientation.

Notes in the Lectionary:

• #41: “Nine readings are assigned to the Easter Vigil: seven from the Old Testament, and two from the New. If circumstances demand in individual cases, the number of prescribed readings may be reduced. Three selections from the Old Testament, however, should be read before the epistle and Gospel, although when necessary, two may be read. In any case, the reading from Exodus about the escape through the Red Sea (reading 3) should never be omitted.”

Octave of Easter:

Continue to the Weekdays of the Easter Season

Rationale:

The official "Introduction" to the Lectionary (Second Edition, 1981) briefly explains the rationale for the reading choices for the Sacred Triduum and the Easter Season:

The Sacred Easter Triduum:
On Holy Thursday at the evening Mass the remembrance of the meal preceding the Exodus casts its own special light because of the Christ's example in washing the feet of his disciples and Paul's account of the institution of the Christian Passover in the Eucharist.
On Good Friday the liturgical service has as its center John's narrative of the Passion of him who was proclaimed in Isaiah as the Servant of the Lord and who became the one High Priest by offering himself to the Father.
At the Vigil on the holy night of Easter there are seven Old Testament readings which recall the wonderful works of God in the history of salvation. There are two New Testament readings, the announcement of the Resurrection according to one of the Synoptic Gospels and a reading from St. Paul on Christian baptism as the sacrament of Christ's Resurrection.
The Gospel reading for the Mass on Easter day is from John on the finding of the empty tomb. There is also, however, the option to use the Gospel texts from the Easter Vigil or, when there is an evening Mass on Easter Sunday, to use the account in Luke of the Lord's appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. The first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles, which throughout the Easter season replaces the Old Testament reading. The reading from the Apostle Paul concerns the living out of the paschal mystery in the Church.
(Lectionary for Mass, "Introduction," chap. 5, par. 99. – emphasis added)

The Sundays:
The Gospel readings for the first three Sundays recount the appearances of the risen Christ. The readings about the Good Shepherd are assigned to the Fourth Sunday. On the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Sundays, there are excerpts from the Lord's discourse and prayer at the end of the Last Supper.
The first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles, in a three-year cycle of parallel and progressive selections: material is presented on the life of the early Church, its witness, and its growth.
For the reading from the Apostles, the First Letter of Peter is in Year A, the First Letter of John in Year B, the Book of Revelation in Year C. These are the texts that seem to fit in especially well with the spirit of joyous faith and sure hope proper to this season.
(Lectionary for Mass, "Introduction," chap. 5, par. 100. – emphasis added)

The Weekdays:
As on the Sundays, the first reading is a semicontinuous reading from the Acts of the Apostles. The Gospel readings during the Easter octave are accounts of the Lord's appearances. After that there is a semicontinuous reading of the Gospel of John, but with texts that have a paschal character, in order to complete the reading from John during Lent. This paschal reading is made up in large part of the Lord's discourse and prayer at the end of the Last Supper.
(Lectionary for Mass, "Introduction," chap. 5, par. 101.)

The Solemnities of the Ascension and of Pentecost:
For the first reading the Solemnity of the Ascension retains the account of the Ascension according to the Acts of the Apostles. This text is complemented by the second reading from the Apostle on Christ in exaltation at the right hand of the Father. For the Gospel reading, each of the three Years has its own text in accord with the differences in the Synoptic Gospels.
In the evening Mass celebrated on the Vigil of Pentecost four Old Testament texts are provided; any one of them may be used, in order to bring out the many aspects of Pentecost. The reading from the Apostles shows the actual working of the Holy Spirit in the Church. The Gospel reading recalls the promise of the Spirit made by Christ before his own glorification.
For the Mass on Pentecost day itself, in accord with received usage, the account in the Acts of the Apostles of the great occurrence on Pentecost day is taken as the first reading. The texts from the Apostle Paul bring out the effect of the action of the Spirit in the life of the Church. The Gospel reading is a remembrance of Jesus bestowing his Spirit on the disciples on the evening of Easter day; other optional texts describe the action of the Spirit on the disciples and on the Church.
(Lectionary for Mass, "Introduction," chap. 5, par. 102. – emphasis added)

Related Resources:

• Via Lucis / The Way of Light: Stations of the Resurrection
   
• Readings for the Weekdays of the Easter Season
   
• Use of the Acts of the Apostles in the Lectionary
   
• The Acts of the Apostles: Study Materials
   
• Lecture Materials: Intro | John | Acts | Revelation
   

1998 USA Lectionary (Main Page)