Scripture
Sacred Scripture is of the greatest important in the celebration of the liturgy. (SC a. 24)
The Church has always venerated the divine scriptures as it has venerated the Body of the Lord, in that it never ceases, above all, in the sacred liturgy, to partake of the bread of life and to offer it to the faithful from the one table of the word of God and the body of Christ. It has always regarded and continues to regard the scriptures, taken together with the sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of its faith. (Dei Verbum a. 21)
Approved Translations
The current Australian Lectionary uses the Jerusalem Bible translation of the scripture. The Australian Catholic Bishops have updated the list of Scripture translations approved for liturgical use in Australia. These are:
- Jerusalem Bible (as noted above)
- Revised New Jerusalem Bible
- New Revised Standard Version
- Contemporary English Version (only as found in the Lectionary for Masses with Children)
The Bishops also offered guidance for musical text indicating that scripture texts set to music, by long custom in Australia, may be drawn from a wider selection of available translations to enable use of the worldwide array of quality musical settings, especially of the Psalms and Canticles. This flexibility would permit, for example, use of the Abbey Psalms and Canticles and By Flowing Waters (the Graduale Simplex in English).