What Is the Second Reading in the Catholic Mass?

This session looks at the Second Reading — the epistle read after the Responsorial Psalm on Sundays and major feasts. Dr. Pitre begins with the Roman Missal's simple rubric and then turns to Scripture's own witness that the apostolic letters were meant to be read publicly in the churches: Paul directs that Colossians be read aloud and exchanged with Laodicea, and 2 Peter already ranks Paul's letters with "the other scriptures." From there he traces the ancient practice through the Apostolic Constitutions, which describe the sequence of readings — Law, Prophets, Psalms, Acts and Paul's letters, then the Gospel. Benedict XVI explains how Paul's letters entered the liturgy so early that the prophet–apostle–Gospel structure shaped the Liturgy of the Word itself. What governs which epistles are read, and why is there semi-continuous reading of Paul and James in Ordinary Time?

Key passages & sources examined: Roman Missal, Order of Mass no. 12; Colossians 4:16–18; 2 Peter 3:15–16; Apostolic Constitutions 2.57.5 (with Deut 27:9; Deut 5:31); Ordo Lectionum Missae no. 107; Benedict XVI, General Audience (Feb 4, 2009), Saint Paul