CNP Feedback - Weekday Propers

The "Feedback Box" on the CanticaNOVA Publications website has proven quite effective in promoting communications on a variety of subjects, and expressing concerns of liturgists and musicians. From time to time, we'll compile a few of these questions or comments and put them in public view, with the hope that others with similar concerns may benefit from their content.

Q. Dear CNP:

I have been on this journey as a choir director for five years now, and I still have so much to learn. I truly appreciate the great resource you have given us through this website. Until now, I have mainly only had to prepare for Sunday and major feast day liturgies. I have been asked to help with school Masses and I am struggling to figure out how/where I am supposed to find what propers are sung for weekday Masses. I feel like I should already know this. Can you guide me, please? I really appreciate whatever you can offer!

Tryenne Daly

A. Dear Ms. Daly:

Thank you for your kind words about the CanticaNOVA Publications website. We're glad you've found it useful!

As you know (and use), all the Proper texts for every Sunday of the three-year cycle, plus all those Solemnities and Feasts that replace a Sunday, can be found on the CanticaNOVA Publications Liturgical Planning Pages.

Researching the Propers for weekday Masses, though, is not a huge issue.

To start, you'll need a good Catholic calendar, so you know what you're looking for. The USCCB offers the best one: Liturgical Calendar 2023

The Roman Missal is an excellent site with liturgical text information about weekend and weekday Masses. Just click on the appropriate day for all the texts.

Let's look at a week in September (September 11-16) as an example. There are two main places to get the information you need for this week. They are:

• Week 23, the index for the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time. While the Sunday Masses now are coming from Year A, the weekday Masses are coming from Year I.
• and the list of Saints and Feasts for individual days.

Using these two sources, you can get the information for the week:

• Monday, September 11 — Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
  • Click the [Monday Year I] button for the Readings.
  • For green "feria" days (Ordinary Time weekdays), the Propers are those from the preceding Sunday (23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time).
  • The Entrance Antiphon and Communion Antiphon are listed on this index page: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
  • The 9-11 Patriot Day overlay could certainly be mentioned in the Intercessions, or a special Mass "For the Nation" could be chosen by the Celebrant.
     
• Tuesday, September 12 — Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary
  Texts for Sept 12: Most Holy Name of Mary
   
• Wednesday, September 13 — Memorial of Saint John Chrysostum
  Texts for Sept 13: Saint John Chrysostum
   
• Thursday, September 14 — Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
  Texts for Sept 14: Exaltation of the Holy Cross
   
• Friday, September 15 — Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
  Texts for Sept 15: Our Lady of Sorrows
   
• Saturday, September 16 — Memorial of Saints Cornelius & Cyprian
  Texts for Sept 16: Saints Cornelius & Cyprian

I hope this is helpful.

Gary Penkala
CanticaNOVA Publications
Article written 06 August 2023