Electric Prayer

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This is August, when no-one reads anything, especially newsletters. Still, do have a look at this one, even if it is only at the end of the month.

The Universalis podcast

Here is the latest episode.

Some of you have asked if you can send a podcast to a friend. Yes, of course. The more listeners, the better! The best thing is to send your friend a link to the Podcasts page.

People also sometimes ask about transcripts of an episode. We don’t do those, but both Apple and Spotify do. The Podcasts page will tell you how to connect to their apps.

Finally, to everyone who has sent emails in response to these podcasts –  thank you! It makes all the labour worth while.

The new English lectionary

In England, Wales and Scotland only, a new version of the readings at Mass comes into use on Advent Sunday, 1 December 2024. This new Lectionary will use the English Standard Version (a derivative of the RSV) rather than the Jerusalem Bible.

There is no change anywhere else. The USA continue to have their New American Bible version. The rest of the world continues to have the Jerusalem Bible version just as it does now.

All the Universalis apps and programs have now been updated (with the exception of the Kindle Fire app, which will come soon).

If your Universalis or Catholic Calendar app is set to use an English, Welsh or Scottish calendar, and you look at any date from 1 December onwards, you will see a preview of the new ESV texts: the First and Second Readings, the Responsorial Psalm, the Gospel Acclamation, and the Gospel itself. If you don’t see the preview, here are instructions for getting the latest update. Here are instructions for setting your local calendar.

This is a preview because the files we have been given still need to have some small corrections made. Everyone is very busy helping publishers prepare their Missals, but we expect to receive ‘finally final’ texts well before December.

Thank you all for using Universalis. If you have trouble or questions, or suggestions, do write to us at universalis@universalis.com or use the Contact Us button in one of the apps.

Let us all keep one another in our prayers, as always.