Why is this not the Gospel read at my parish?

Because the 1962 Missal and the reformed lectionary of 1969 do not read the same passages. The first follows a one-year cycle, the second a three-year one. This page serves the 1962 Missal.

What is the difference between the Epistle and the Gospel?

The Epistle is the first reading, most often from the letters of the Apostles; the Gospel is the second, from the four evangelists. In the traditional rite the Mass has only these two.

Can one read the day's Gospel at home?

Yes, and it is an old practice. Reading it the evening before, or the same morning, prepares a man to hear it at Mass; nothing more than attention is required.

Why is the Latin first?

Because it is the language in which it is proclaimed at the altar. The English runs beside it line by line, and the filter at the top of the page shows either one alone.

Roman Missal of 1962

September 12, 2026

Today's Gospel

S. Nominis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis

Third Class · white

This page gives the Gospel of today's Mass, whole, from the Roman Missal of 1962 — the Latin and the English side by side. It changes every day with the calendar.

This is the Gospel of the Roman Missal of 1962. The reformed lectionary of 1969 reads a different passage on most days.

Gospel

Sequéntia ++ sancti Evangélii secúndum Lucam

Continuation + of the Holy Gospel according to Luke

Luke 1:26-38

In illo témpore: Missus est Angelus Gábriel a Deo in civitátem Galilææ, cui nomen Názareth, ad Vírginem desponsátam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph, de domo David, et nomen Vírginis María. Et ingréssus Angelus ad eam, dixit: Ave, grátia plena; Dóminus tecum: benedícta tu in muliéribus. Quæ cum audísset, turbáta est in sermóne ejus: et cogitábat, qualis esset ista salutátio. Et ait Angelus ei: Ne tímeas, María, invenísti enim grátiam apud Deum: ecce, concípies in útero et páries fílium, et vocábis nomen ejus Jesum. Hic erit magnus, et Fílius Altíssimi vocábitur, et dabit illi Dóminus Deus sedem David, patris ejus: et regnábit in domo Jacob in ætérnum, et regni ejus non erit finis. Dixit autem María ad Angelum: Quómodo fiet istud, quóniam virum non cognósco? Et respóndens Angelus, dixit ei: Spíritus Sanctus supervéniet in te, et virtus Altíssimi obumbrábit tibi. Ideóque et quod nascétur ex te Sanctum, vocábitur Fílius Dei. Et ecce, Elisabeth, cognáta tua, et ipsa concépit fílium in senectúte sua: et hic mensis sextus est illi, quæ vocátur stérilis: quia non erit impossíbile apud Deum omne verbum. Dixit autem María: Ecce ancílla Dómini, fiat mihi secúndum verbum tuum.

At that time, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And when the angel had come to her, he said, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. When she had heard him she was troubled at his word, and kept pondering what manner of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God. Behold, you shall conceive in your womb and shall bring forth a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He shall be king over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end. But Mary said to the angel, How shall this happen, since I do not know man? And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you; and therefore the Holy One to be born shall be called the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth your kinswoman also has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month; for nothing shall be impossible with God. But Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.

The Gospel of the Mass, in short

In the traditional Roman rite the Mass has two readings: the Epistle and the Gospel. They do not turn over three years as in the reformed lectionary of 1969, but over one — so the same Gospel returns on the same Sunday, year after year, and settles into memory.

The Gospel is sung or read by the priest facing north, after the Gradual. The faithful stand, and at the end each signs his forehead, his lips and his heart. It is the piece of the proper that stays with a man, and it is the one this page gives whole.

The day's proper holds nine others — Introit, Collect, Epistle, Gradual, Offertory, Secret, Communion, Postcommunion, Last Gospel — besides the unchanging ordinary. That is what one carries to Mass, and it is in the application.

Common questions

Why is this not the Gospel read at my parish?: Because the 1962 Missal and the reformed lectionary of 1969 do not read the same passages. The first follows a one-year cycle, the second a three-year one. This page serves the 1962 Missal.
What is the difference between the Epistle and the Gospel?: The Epistle is the first reading, most often from the letters of the Apostles; the Gospel is the second, from the four evangelists. In the traditional rite the Mass has only these two.
Can one read the day's Gospel at home?: Yes, and it is an old practice. Reading it the evening before, or the same morning, prepares a man to hear it at Mass; nothing more than attention is required.
Why is the Latin first?: Because it is the language in which it is proclaimed at the altar. The English runs beside it line by line, and the filter at the top of the page shows either one alone.