Ascension Press has been selected by the USCCB to be a new publisher of the forthcoming revision of the Liturgy of the Hours. More info click here.
Update: Marc spotted that Word On Fire will be publishing their own editions as well. More info click here.
This is so exciting!!! I imagine, based upon their Catechism prices, that they’re going to be expensive. Time to start saving up now, as I know I’ll want to buy the goatskin leather edition. It’s a pity Ascension Press isn’t selling a Diurnal, as I usually only pray Lauds, Vespers, and Compline.
I’m so excited I can hardly keep it in. It’s seriously the best ecclesiastical news I’ve read in maybe months
**dances off gleefully**
You already caught it, Marc, but to add to my initial post (since I jumped the gun): Ascension will be *a* publisher of the new LOTH, alongside Word on Fire (whose email I got a few minutes after I posted) and more to be announced. Ascension’s premium edition of the LOTH is said to be the same sort of construction as the recent premium edition of the Great Adventure Bible. I’m assuming the Word on Fire editions will be similar to the Word on Fire Bible in construction. Also to those attentive to where your Christian books are printed, Word on Fire is probably a safe bet, reliably printing their books in the US and Italy.
Also, shout-out to Word on Fire for nabbing the liturgyofthehours.com domain. They’re always on top of things like that.
Word on Fire also
https://www.liturgyofthehours.com/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=I%20m%20thrilled%20to%20share%20some%20very%20exciting%20news%21&utm_campaign=AM%3A%20Advent%20Books%20%2810%2F06%2F2025%29%20%20%20%28Copy%29
Word on Fire also
https://www.liturgyofthehours.com/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=I%20m%20thrilled%20to%20share%20some%20very%20exciting%20news%21&utm_campaign=AM%3A%20Advent%20Books%20%2810%2F06%2F2025%29%20%20%20%28Copy%29
Now, Lord, you may dismiss your servant in peace
Luke 2:29
🙂
I wonder if poor, faithful Catholic Book Publishing is shut out. That’s a big blow to them.
That was my first thought. I’m sorry for them because I really like the company.
I emailed Catholic Book Publishing and they told me they won’t be selling the new edition.
It makes me wonder if they’re out of favor for publishing the New Catholic Bible, a direct competitor with the New American Bible.
Alternatively and a bit more positively, consider the impulse that made them want their own Bible translation so they could do their own thing without constant approval from the USCCB. Maybe that same impulse made them not want to deal with publishing the LOTH anymore.
That’s an interesting twist. It is true that Catholic Book Publishing Corporation is of a more traditional religious character than the USCCB.
That’s just what I thought.
Knowing CBPC, their ad copy is probably stuck in the fax machine or something
Thanks I laughed out loud into my coffee this morning
That’s the same thought I had.
If you look at the Liturgy of the Hours and millions of NAB editions, that’s an enormous blow. But add to that, all the clergy liturgical books (Baptism, Funerals, Marriage, Care of the Sick, etc.) and we’re talking tons of books at stake. Nearly every liturgical volume in my parish (I’m clergy) is made by Catholic Book. And they are tough as nails. With those hard covers, thick paper and sewn bindings, they have survived sun, rain, holy water, and whatever else we throw at them!
I’m not sure how I feel about goatskin leather volumes being stored vertically in a box like that. I usually lay premium leather Bibles flat so that the edges don’t get creased or scuffed. In the end, I suppose it’s a minor point, though. These volumes are meant to be used and worn out!
I am honestly more excited about this publication than the updated, revised NAB liturgical edition, which will probably have a name that is too long.
I’ve been waiting for this. My oldest son and his family spent a weekend at Subiaco, AR where he attended high school. The gift shop had the 4 volume set of LOTH on sale so he bought them. I’ve been using a few simplified hours and have become somewhat attached to the peace of praying the psalms. Knowing the NAB next edition is coming I’ve been holding off, waiting for the update.
This news is beyond my expectations. I hope that Word on Fire uses the printer in Italy that does such an outstanding job on their bible. The paper needs to be better than Catholic Book Company currently uses.
Good news. Now, if only someone would finish the English translation of the martyrology.
Both Ascension and WOF are know for slick publishing at exorbitant cost such that most parishes I know out here in CA cannot afford their materials without some form of assistance. I am hoping Magnificat Press will be a publisher as they have already done so for our sacramental ritual books at decent cost with absolutely beautiful design and user-friendly layout.
Based on the images of the new editions, I’d say the prices will be between $200 and $230. My wife and I have two sets each – one for home and one for the car. We might have to refinance our home!
Ascension and Word on Fire are the only two publishers of the four-volume set.
At least Ascension says they will publish the volumes one at a time, which will help with the budget hit
But presumably it will also result in the loss of the box that holds the four volumes.
Is it safe to believe, then, that we are likely to get approval from the Vatican soon? I know both companies have already received mockups, so they’ve been in the works for a bit. I’ve got to imagine they wouldn’t have mockups if they weren’t expecting an imminent approval.
We don’t know if or when it will be approved, but things need to be ready to move into production as quickly as possible upon approval as publication will take a very long time given the size, complexity, and quality of these books.
Someone elsewhere commented that the USCCB has given permission to 4 publishers to publish a one volume addition. If true, hopefully one will be a “budget addition”.
I am glad that WOF and AP are publishing these additions even if a bit more expensive. Making something that will last is very important and worth the trade off on prize. These volumes are going to receive very heavy use.
If you don’t mind me asking, where did you read this? Who are the publishers? I’m excited to hear this, though!
Just got a reply from Pauline Media and Sister states that the Bishops have only announced the 2 publishers who will print the complete 4 volume edition. As for the single volume Christian Prayer the Bishops have yet to make an announcement. Of course Sister made no mention as to whether or not Pauline Media will be selected.
It was a random reddit commentor. And I couldn’t find any corroborating information. But Mary Sperry put that rumor to rest.
No publishers have been chosen or licenses issued for single volumes of major extracts. I would not expect any announcement about that until sometime in 2026.
Thanks for the updates Mary. Will the text of the updated NABRE be the same for both Bibles and the Lectionary (besides the Psalms and Canticles), or is the Vatican requiring further changes that will only be found in the Lectionary text?
The idea is that it is the same in both the printed Bible and the Lectionary. (Though there are always small changes in the Lectionary — such as adding incipits and replacing pronouns at the beginning of pericopes with their antecedents.) Since the bishops have not approved the Lectionary text yet and it has not been submitted to the Holy See, no one has required anything yet!
Unless the new Liturgical Bible is doing things like reverting “Hail, favored one” back to “Hail, full of grace” and “young woman” back to “virgin” (the latter of which was done in just the last revision), I highly doubt the biblical and lectionary texts will be 100% identical, setting aside the incipits and pronouns as Mary mentioned. But who knows? The ESV flip-flopped on readings between 2011, 2016, and 2025.
Just got a reply from Pauline Media and Sister states that the Bishops have only announced the 2 publishers who will print the complete 4 volume edition. As for the single volume Christian Prayer the Bishops have yet to make an announcement. Of course Sister made no mention as to whether or not Pauline Media will be selected.
The USCCB really his the nail on the head picking these two publishers for the Liturgy of the Hours. I love the work that both Word on Fire and Ascension Press do. I have no doubt that these will be quality books when released. Just looking at some of the pictures, they look sleek!
The only tough decision is, which set to buy?
Very excited!
For me WOF, since, from the ad copy, they look to match the WOF Bible exactly
I’ll remain undecided until I see more pictures which I’m sure we will get closer to release.
I’m more concerned with ease of use. So whichever volume set offers less page flipping, more place markers, and is easier on the eyes; that’s what I’ll end up going with.
Pretty easy decision for me if both publishers continue to use their current printers. WOF prints in that boot shaped country that surrounds the Vatican. Every Ascension bible I’ve seen uses a printer in a giant central Asian country that persecutes Christians.
I am curious about the apps that have the LOTH, particularly Divine Office. Will they be updated? According to Ascension, any digital offerings will be at a later date than the initial four volumes.
No decisions have been made to date. That decision rests with the Committee on Divine Worship.
I have to say, I’m really disappointed in the selection of publishers.
Ascension and its materials are the kind of thing that always rubbed me the wrong way as a Protestant, and they continue to rub me the wrong way now: overly slick, branded materials, with simplistic reader aids and a celebrity commentator that treat me like I’m stupid.
https://ascensionpress.com/products/holy-bible-the-great-adventure-catholic-bible-second-edition?variant=45776039411904
“Don’t Just Read the Words of the Bible … Understand Them.”
“Understand the big picture of God’s amazing plan for humanity…”
“Read with confidence because all the content in this Catholic Bible has been granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur.”
But that’s just me. I’m just not their target audience. This is clearly what many readers feel they need. More power to them. But to me it all comes across as demeaning and infantilizing.
And Word on Fire… I consider it sort of a Catholic Franklin Mint, selling a Catholicism that’s an aesthetic, a “Bible” that’s a collector’s high-priced collector’s set that’s meant to impress people with the package rather than its content. Add to that their documented culture of workplace dysfunction…
https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/multiple-resignations-bishop-barrons-word-fire-after-allegations-staffers
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/resigning-employees-call-for-change
…and I can safely say I’ll never give them a dime.
So given a choice between an organization whose values and leadership I doubt, and one that just calls me stupid, I guess I’ll have to settle for the stupid. Hopefully they’ll publish a breviary that just tries to be a breviary, and not try to co-brand with the rest of their “Great Adventure” nonsense.
I strongly sympathize with this. I very much hope they’ll just let a breviary be a breviary, and leave any cutesy funny business for random devotional publications.
Great assessment. Your vocalization grabs my thoughts to a tee!
You should try Bible Studies based on Ascension Press’s study books & videos, earlier and later.
I find Ascension quite serious and thoughtful with their work. Psalms, Luke, Romans, are all enjoyable and instructive.
Eh, I might have agreed with the first part of your comment, but the second part is just plain axe-grinding.
Why mention a failed cancel campaign against “Word on Fire”? Last I checked, that drama died out 3 years ago because the allegations couldn’t be substantiated.
If it’s just hating on Bishop Barron, probably just easier your politics and his don’t align.
If they can restrain themselves from stamping a gigantic, childish compass on the front, that might be a good start.
Can I pay extra to not have the garish logo of either press on the spine?
I like a lot of Bishop Barron’s material, but tire quickly from the apologetics industrial complex.
Apologist/apologetics and activist/activism are among the most over used and tiresome words in the modern English lexicon.
Literally !
Don’t take it out on the field of apologetics itself. It has been essential to the life of the Church from the beginning, especially during the first difficult centuries. But I would agree that “popular” apologetics, the new form it has taken since its revival in the 1980’s, is a redundant and wearisome thing. But the science itself – more properly called Fundamental Theology – is simply religion from a more philosophical approach.
Apologetics since the 1980s is a redundant and wearisome thing?
I’ve taught Catholic apologetics for twenty-five years, so please don’t misunderstand my comments. I LOVE apologetics!
During the sixties, seventies, and eighties, the science of Catholic apologetics became quite unpopular, due to the rise of hyper-ecumenism. It became acceptable only to get along with people of differing religious beliefs and never to allow truth to become overly important. By the late eighties, Catholic apologetics was being revived through Christendom College and Catholic Answers. EWTN soon played a part as well. But with the nineties, a type of apologetics appeared that was – in my opinion – superficial in that it focused almost exclusively on the challenges posed by Biblical Fundamentalism.
Meanwhile, the rise of modern agnosticism, with its denial of objective reality and doctrinal and moral absolutes, was overlooked. Apologetics at the time should have exposed the lies and absurdities of this neo-agnosticism, but it remained laser-focused on the age-old Protestant objections to Catholicism.
Instead of “apologetics,” the more classic name for the science is “fundamental theology.” It explains and defends with a philosophical depth the rudiments of the faith, such as the existence and nature of God, the soul, the natural law, divine revelation, and so on. Eventually, it, too, addresses the classic Protestant objections to Catholicism, but only after laying a firm groundwork in the more general and essential concepts of religion.
What I meant by saying “apologetics since the 1980s is a redundant and wearisome thing” is that the “new revised” apologetics was narrowly focused and lacked philosophical and theological depth. I remember it well because, after returning to the Church in 1990, I gobbled up every book on apologetics I could find. But what appeared was one paperback book after another on the same ten topics – papal infallibility, purgatory, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the veneration of images, tradition, sola scriptura, good works, and so on. Over and over again, these roughly 220-page paperbacks appeared, penned by the latest super-apologists who addressed the same ten issues using the same responses and biblical passages. The books lacked both theological and catechetical depth, so that those of us who were raised on them found that, although we could defend the faith against an opponent, we couldn’t explain the faith to those who were seeking the truth.
THAT’s what I was referring to as “redundant and wearisome.” This popular and almost trendy version of an otherwise profound discipline gave Catholic apologetics a bad name.
The better approach is to return to a pre-sixties study of fundamental theology, to understand the rudiments and concept of religion itself, and then to narrow the focus to include those ten or more standard anti-Catholic objections.
I think the single most over-used expression in the contemporary Catholic vocabulary is “new evangelization.” No matter what you do, even if you empty the garbage in a rectory, you’re taking part in the omnipresent new evangelization, you’re evangelizing. Activities that have always been carried out in the Church, whether by clergy or laity, and that went by other names, are now categorized as the new evangelization. As you were sleeping last night, you were resting up for the new evangelization. If you’re reading this comment, you’re taking part in the new evangelization.
I’d like to add my voice to the collective crowd hoping for a one-volume edition. A single volume allows more laypeople to get into praying the Divine Office (most laypeople aren’t going to shell out $200 for the complete set so that they can have extra hours that they’ll never pray). A single volume also facilitates public recitation of the Office in a parish setting (few parishes can afford to buy a bunch of complete sets, and even fewer would want to bother switching out the volumes multiple times a year).
My vote would be for something like what they have now with the 1-volume Christian Prayer, preferably the Pauline (or was it Paulist?) Press edition that omitted the Office of Readings but included all of the daytime prayer hours. Something like Shorter Christian Prayer would also be a good edition to put out (only Lauds, Vespers, Compline, and a small selection of seasonal propers). These cheaper, simpler, paired-down editions allow people to get into the Divine Office without shelling out a ton of money or getting overwhelmed by the full office.
Then again, since I’m Byzantine Catholic, I won’t be buying the new Roman Rite office, so who cares what I think? 😀