Fr Matthew Venuti weighs in on lectionary debate at his new blog

Here’s an excerpt of a much longer post and I urge you to go over and read the whole thing.

What is an Ordinariate member to pray?  The 1961 Breviary would seem to be the most “un-Anglican” choice simply due to its exclusive use of Latin.  Of course the English translations of the this breviary and/or the Anglican Breviary being used for private prayer could be argued to connect one to the Sarum Use Church of England more than any of the other options.  The LoTH will satisfy the impulse many us of have to pray a late night office outside of Compline.  The LoTH lectionary also seems to have more in common with the old Anglican lectionary than any of the other options.  The BDW is comfortable for many of us who are former Episcopal Church members, as the BDW is the same lectionary from the 1979 BCP with a few minor changes.  That being said, it seems to have almost no relation to any other lectionary out there.  If one is drawn towards the practice of a common office were most of the Latin Church is praying the same lections as you, the BDW will not work.

What I find the most promising is the lectionary attached to the Customary for the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.  Like the BDW, the Customary is built around the traditional Anglican versions of Morning and Evening Prayer.  What the Customary does differently than the BDW is that it has been adapted to the LoTH lectionary.  Both the 1 year and 2 year LoTH lectionaries are included, with the Lauds and Vespers little chapters from the  4 week psalter included.  The real gem of this, however, is the included alternate and supplementary readings from the Fathers, Saints and Anglican Divines.  On Solemnities, Feasts and memorials proper to the Ordinariate, a reading from the Customary is used, on all other days, the readings from LoTH post-Biblical lectionary is used. Put in practice, your day can looks like this:

MP: 1st reading from LoTH Matins
2nd reading from LoTH Lauds little chapter

EP:  1st reading from LoTH Vespers little chapter
2nd reading from LoTH post-Biblical lectionary or a reading proper to the Customary

The psalter is the 30 day psalter from the 1662 BCP except on Solemnities and Feasts when the proper Psalms from the LoTH are used except that the naughty bits of the psalms are not omitted.   Evening Prayer also has the option to use the LoTH Vespers canticle in place on the Nunc if it is to be said later at Compline.

I find this approach to be the most helpful.  It allows the Ordinariate to to pray largely the same lections as the rest of the Latin Church, but to do it with translations from the Anglican Patrimony (RSV and Coverdale) and all prayed in the traditional Anglican format of Morning and Evening Prayer.  This allows us to be really what we are: a derivation of the Roman Rite, a Roman Rite Daily Office with an accent, if you will.  I’d also put my money on this being the lectionary and psalter format of the forthcoming Ordinariate Divine Office.

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