Using a Lectionary with the Daily Office

The Daily Offices give us opportunities to read the Scriptures on a daily and regular basis. Those of us in the Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian traditions now use (almost always) the same lectionary for our readings from the Bible. Generally speaking, a lectionary is a list of scriptural texts (called "lections") recommended for use in worship or study on a particular day. Christian lectionaries are usually built around the Church Year, but they are sometimes centered on the secular calendar (as with programs that guide a person through reading the Bible in a year). Christian lectionaries generally include a reading from the Hebrew Bible, a Psalm, a reading from the Epistles, and a Gospel reading. Locating a lectionary--a list of readings you can use when praying the Daily Office, one suitable for you needs--is quite easy. Here are some places to visit:

• A Month-by-Month Lectionary Listing. Published by the Presbyterian Church (USA), these downloadable lists are based on the Revised Common Lectionary. If you wish you can subscribe to the daily lections and receive each day a printable copy of the day's lessons. This is a good place to get the full text of each day's readings and/or a list of readings for each month.
  
• The Lectionary: A Collection of Lectionary resources for the Episcopal Church. This is an excellent site that provides readings for every day of the year, in either the New Revised Standard (NRSV) or Revised Standard (RSV) Versions of the Bible.
  
• The Daily Office from the Mission of St. Clare. This wonderful online Daily Office provides the full text, including the lessons. When you arrive, go to the button that says "Click for Today's Prayer Service," and you can pray the Office. You can also listen to and pray with Choral Evensong broadcast daily by the BBC.
  

Many multi-volume and "thick" prayerbooks for the Daily Office include the lectionary readings. If you wish to look over more possibilities, share your own use of a lectionary, or ask a question, post in the comment area below.