Book of the Gospels
Date: March 29, 2025
Author: Fr. Edward McNamara, LC
Question: The Book of the Gospels is compulsory for a Stational Mass of the Diocesan Bishop (Ceremonial of Bishops, Nos. 125 and 140). At a minimum, using a Book of the Gospels is praiseworthy for a Mass with the people (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Nos. 117, 119, 122, 173, 175). Yet using it is made impossible for most days of the year by the publication of Books of the Gospels that do not include all the Gospel readings. A solution is to follow the recommendation in the 1981 Introduction to the Lectionary: “113. The size of the Lectionary will necessitate editions in more than one volume; … The ancient custom is recommended of having separate books, one for the Gospels and the other for the readings for the Old and the New Testament.” But as far as I can tell, no conference of bishops has followed it. Do you think they should? — J.L., Melbourne, Australia
Answer: The Evangeliary, or Book of the Gospels, is a liturgical book containing only those selections of the four Gospels to be proclaimed during the celebration of the Eucharist.
They do not simply contain the texts of the four Gospels in an approved liturgical translation. The passages are arranged in accordance with the liturgical year rather than in their order within the Gospels themselves. They also omit passages not used in the liturgy because the Church, in proclaiming the Gospels, usually seeks to underline a specific message and so will occasionally omit some intermediate verses that touch on other themes.
Historically, the use of special Books of the Gospels for liturgical use goes back to at least the fifth century, and there are extant Latin manuscripts from the sixth century onward and possible earlier fragments in Greek.
Many of these books were richly illuminated and the covers highly ornamented, an expensive and time-consuming effort often requiring years to complete. It is therefore highly unlikely that they were for daily use.
Also, the solemn rites that accompany the use of the Evangeliary suggest that its place is usually in more solemn celebrations, and they were never intended for daily use.
The General Introduction to the Book of the Gospels describes the book as follows:
“THE BOOK OF THE GOSPELS
“5. Formal liturgical books containing readings from Sacred Scripture have been common in the Church from the time of Saint Gregory the Great. In our own day every effort is made to assure that the Scriptures are bound in books which are ‘worthy, dignified, and beautiful.’
“6. This is particularly true of the Book of the Gospels which is venerated above all the books of readings by Churches of both East and West. So clearly is the Book of the Gospels a sign of Christ present in the liturgy, that it is revered with the same holy kiss given to the altar. For this reason, it is desirable that ‘cathedrals and at least the larger, more populous parishes and the churches with a larger attendance possess a beautifully designed Book of the Gospels, separate from any other book of readings.’
“7. Thus, the Book of the Gospels as a sign of the presence of Christ in his word proclaimed is always accorded a place of honor in the Church's liturgy. It is borne by the deacon in solemn procession for the veneration of the entire congregation and accompanied by candles and incense at Mass. The imposition and presentation of the Book of the Gospels to a newly ordained Bishop illustrate that the faithful preaching of the word of God is among his principal duties. The presentation of the Book of the Gospels to the newly ordained deacon ‘symbolizes the office of the deacon to proclaim the Gospel in liturgical celebrations and to preach the faith of the Church in word and deed.’ Finally, the enshrinement of the Book of the Gospels whenever the Church gathers in a council or synod is a sign of the presence of Christ himself as teacher and guide.”
It may also be useful to present the full text of No. 113 of the Introduction to the Lectionary:
“113. The size of the Lectionary will necessitate editions in more than one volume; no particular division of the volumes is prescribed. But each volume is to contain the explanatory texts on the structure and purpose of the section it contains. The ancient custom is recommended of having separate books, one for the gospels and the other for the readings for the Old and the New Testament. It may also be useful to publish separately a Sunday lectionary, which could also contain selected excerpts from the sanctoral cycle, and a weekday lectionary. A practical basis for dividing the Sunday lectionary is the three-year cycle, so that all the readings for each year are presented in sequence. But there is freedom to adopt other arrangements that may be devised and seem to have pastoral advantages.”
Although many bishops’ conferences have adopted the possibility of using multiple lectionaries, I am unaware of any that has produced a separate Book of the Gospels for the whole year. The division usually reflects the different liturgical seasons and cycles as well as the different kinds of celebration such as separate lectionaries for saints and ritual masses.
The idea that the Book of the Gospels is reserved for more solemn celebrations would explain why most editions have limited the selection of texts to Sundays and other solemn celebrations and do not include the weekly cycle nor, for that matter, the readings for funeral Masses.
Since most editions are also published by private Catholic publishers and are expensive books, usually hovering around 200 dollars or Euros, market considerations will also come into play. While there is no reason why a Book of the Gospels could not be published with the entire weekly and Sunday cycle, and I think it would be a good thing if it did exist, it would probably be a very expensive book.
If publishers believed that there was a market for such a book, they would already have published it. However, I think its use would probably be restricted mostly to certain monastic communities and a small number of parishes.
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