Faith

Bibles in vernacular languages regularly undergo revisions. This is in part because biblical scholars -- linguists, archeologists, geographers, and others -- provide us with new or refined information about a text and its background.

Father Robert M.
O'Grady

Two texts will be available in early 2027.
One is a new Bible for the United States of America, and the other for our country is the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition. Each represents an enormous amount of work by scholars, editors, translators, and publishers. And not just individual work but collaboration and cooperation. Each project can be described as huge. Not only regarding the number of men and women involved, but also the time taken -- more than a decade for each.
This column will be a kind of broad outline of the two new books. I am planning to start a new series on each of the books, beginning with the Catholic American Bible starting in early 2027 and followed by the Liturgy of the Hours. The first several columns in January and February 2027 will be about the Bible coinciding with its release, while the Liturgy of the Hours will require multiple columns timed with the release of the first volume in time for the promised delivery date of early to mid-January 2027 for preorders. Each series will include a bit of history of the respective book, a look at its contents, and more information about formats that will be available over the coming years.

Catholic American Bible

Bibles in vernacular languages regularly undergo revisions. This is in part because biblical scholars -- linguists, archeologists, geographers, and others -- provide us with new or refined information about a text and its background. This may help us more readily understand the divine message that the inspired human authors are conveying to us.
Our languages change, and especially our English language. More than most languages, ours adds words and adjusts meanings of words, often by our use of them. We import words from other languages much more easily and willingly.
Consider "goat." You might prefer not to be included in this group at the end of time, cf. Matthew 25:33. On the other hand, you might definitely want to be a GOAT, if you are especially accomplished at something in life, and on the last day. If you are a GOAT in the Lord's estimation, then according to Matthew 25:13, you'll be a sheep!
The painstaking efforts of archeologists reveal little hints from excavations indicating that biblical events, especially those in our Old Testament, have more historical basis than previously thought.
In the New Testament, archaeology unearths, for example, places where the early Church gathered for her prayer. The shape and layout of the buildings confirm that these assemblies were small, almost familial, and that the biblical authors writing about these gatherings wanted to emphasize the importance of the prayers of the assembly as a duty of the Christian.
The Catholic American Bible will be ready for preorders from various publishers on Sept. 30, 2026, with delivery expected in the first months of 2027. There will be different formats, type styles and font sizes, layouts, artwork, and eventually online and digital versions.

Liturgy of the Hours
This four-volume book contains the prayer of the Church as she prays at various hours of the day. While often associated with clergy and religious, this liturgy belongs to the whole Church.
At his weekly Audience on Aug. 5, 2026, Pope Leo XIV said this: "For this reason, St. Paul VI ardently desired that the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church's daily public prayer, inseparable from the Eucharist, might deeply permeate, enliven, guide, and express all Christian prayer, and effectively nourish the spiritual life of the People of God (cf. Apostolic Constitution "Laudis canticum").
"For this desire to be fulfilled, the Liturgy of the Hours needs to be more fully embraced and lived out in the daily lives of the baptized and of the communities. To the many people who wish to learn to pray, especially catechumens, it can offer the path and the school of Christian prayer."
This prayer can be part of the prayer of a parish, not as it is prayed in a monastery of friars or nuns but adapted for the parish.
The new volumes will have new translations of the psalms and biblical canticles and of the various other parts, e.g., antiphons, readings, and responses. It will also contain new translations of both the Old and New Testaments from the Catholic American Bible.
The volumes of the complete Liturgy of the Hours will be released over the coming years, usually about a month or six weeks prior to their permitted use. The first volume will be Volume II, for Lent and Easter, of the four-volume set. It should be available for Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2027. Others will follow in order, with Volume I for Advent and Christmas being the last released in time for the liturgical season in 2027. Mandatory use will be at Advent 2028.
Preorders may be made at the two publishers designated by our bishops for this new liturgical book. Ascension Press (ascensionpress.com/pages/content-hub/liturgy-of-the-hours) and Word on Fire (liturgyofthehours.com).

• 

  LoganArchbishop Richard G. Henning

• 

  Liturgical formation IIFather Robert M. O'Grady

• 

  An 'Influencer' for the GospelMaureen Crowley Heil

• 

  The debt we oweScott Hahn

• 

  What is the Catholic Intellectual Tradition?Dr. R. Jared Staudt