Q: As I understand it, the Lectionary readings for marriage prior to the reforms of Vatican II were Ephesians 5:20-33 and John 2:1-11 (in the East), and 1 Corinthians 7:1-14 and Matthew 19:3-6 (in the West). Three of these readings have been retained in the OCM, indeed they have been designated as speaking explicitly of marriage. Why have we discarded the 1 Corinthians 7:1-14 reading?
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A: The preconciliar mass for spouses used Eph. 5:22-33 for the reading, not 1 Cor. 7:1-14. That passage is referenced twice in the introduction to the Order of Celebrating Matrimony, paragraphs 8 and 10. I guess that Paul’s passage would require so much commentary that it was never included among the options for readings.