The Bible is the best-selling book of all time.[1]
Between 5 to 7 billion Bibles have been published.
Between 5 to 7 billion Bibles have been published.
Liturgical readings from Scripture are part of every Mass at churches which are high churches within Christendom. The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and some expressions of Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Methodism, and Presbyterianism can be deemed high church.
Liturgical readings from the Gospel of John are less in Catholicism post Second Vatican Council
Liturgy readings deemphasized the Gospel of John in the Roman Catholic Church in the changes wrought by the liberal Second Vatican Council:
| “ | Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the same readings were used every year for the Sunday Masses. The first reading was usually from one of the epistles, and the Gospel readings were most often taken from Matthew or John, less frequently from Luke and only rarely from Mark. | ” |
Church attendance has substantially declined since then in the West.
The Second Vatican Council inserted an Old Testament emphasis
The Second Vatican Council inserted an emphasis on the Old Testament into the liturgy. From a source supportive of this switch:
| “ | Prior to Vatican II, there were only two readings for each Sunday .... In all, only 16% of the New Testament appeared in the Mass, and a mere 1% of the Old Testament. The virtual absence of the Hebrew Scriptures easily lends itself to a view of Jesus and the Church detached from their Jewish roots.[2] | ” |
See also
External links
- Daily Bible reading - Catholic church - United Sates (Includes the passages that will be read for the masses on that day in the United States at most Catholic churches)
References
- ↑ The Bible is the best selling book of all time, Guinness Book of Word Record
- ↑ https://www.hprweb.com/2020/01/the-gift-of-the-liturgical-reform/#fn-25509-5 (emphasis in original)