Readings Once Chosen and Now Obsolete: Judaism, Historical Progressivism, and Ongoing Catholic Liturgical Reform

Abstract

The current edition of the Liturgy of the Hours used for Catholic prayer contains a variety of anti-Jewish patristic texts in the Office of Readings. Tragically, these texts were instituted by liturgical editors specifically charged with the removal of texts that accused the Jewish people of deicide. While reformers asserted they were replacing “obsolete” liturgical texts with more suitable readings, their “more suitable” readings included texts that embody supersessionism in ways remarkably discordant with recent magisterial teaching on Judaism. While identifying a need to continue the process of liturgical revision, this paper also problematizes the mentality of historical progressivism in liturgical reform. Rather than attempting to establish difference between the anti-Jewish past and the unproblematic present, we should continue to confront contemporary liturgical anti-Judaism precisely by identifying and utilizing texts from the history of the Church that reflect contemporary magisterial teaching on Judaism.