Readings

From 1549 until the 1960's the English service included two readings, the first almost invariably from the New Testament, usually an Epistle, and the second always from the Gospels. With the move to a Sunday morning 'Parish Communion' rather than Morning Prayer, many people only heard New Testament readings, and so Old Testament lessons were added to the eucharistic Lectionary. Since then, English revisions have made provision for three readings, one nearly always from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament other than the Gospels, and one from the Gospels, with the option of omitting either of the first two.

The versicle and response at the end of the first two readings first appear in the post-Vatican II Roman rite. The words "verbum Dei" (literally, 'the Word of God') were suggested by Pope Paul VI. The more idiomatic translation prefixed with 'This is' is the work of the Roman Catholic English translators. The response Deo gratias ('Thanks be to God') was an ancient Roman acclamation of approval, in use by the eighth century.

N.B. In the 1549 book nothing is said at the end of the reading of the Epistle, and not until 1662 was the reader directed to say 'Here endeth the Epistle'.

Gospel Reading

The Gospel reading is the climax of the Liturgy of the Word, and this is marked in various ways, including standing to hear the reading. Standing for the Gospel is at least as old as the fourth century, as is preceding it with a joyful Psalm sung responsorially, a cantor singing the verses and the congregation singing Alleluia in between. The revised Roman rite provides that during Lent the Alleluia is replaced by owrds such as 'Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory'.

The 1549 book directs that the Gospel be anounced with the words, 'The holy Gospel, written in the ... chapter of ......', to which the 'clerks and people' answer 'Glory be to thee, O Lord', a response originally made in the East and in the Gallican rite and which eventually made its way into the Roman rite. The 1552 book eliminated this response, and it was not restored until 1928 proposed revision, together with the response at the end of the reading, 'Praise be to thee, O Christ', which appeared in the low Mass of the Roman rite.

CW restores in a modern form the traditional wording, a direct acclamation of Christ present in his Gospel: 'Glory to you, O Lord' and 'This is the gospel of the Lord / Praise to you, O Christ', the vocative 'O' being judged sufficient to soften the perceived inelegance of the current Roman Catholic form.

see "A Companion to Common Worship" edited by Paul Bradshaw.