Why Different Readings?

There are a few reasons this could happen:

• There could be a special group present at the Mass that day. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) notes: “In Masses for special groups, the priest shall be allowed to choose texts more particularly suited to the particular celebration, provided they are taken from the texts of an approved Lectionary” (358).

• Some days have optional feasts with optional readings. One parish may be celebrating the feast with the optional readings and another parish may not.

• The GIRM also permits on weekdays of ordinary time that the priest may celebrate a votive Mass, and this could result in different readings from the normal Mass of the day celebrated at another parish (355, 359).

• If an obligatory feast interrupts the continuous readings of the week, the priest can also choose to substitute those readings on the following day(s) (GIRM 358), while another priest/parish may not.