The Joy of Being a Lector
Mitch Finley (Mineola, NY. Resurrection Press, 2000)
In its Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy (1963), the Second Vatican Council declared that Christ “is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church” (n.7). This means that, as a lector, when you proclaim the Scriptures during the Liturgy of the Word, Christ speaks through you. By fulfilling the ministry of lector you make Christ present in a special and important way. This is a great privilege indeed.
Think about this for a moment. You, the lector, are not merely someone who stands before the Eucharistic assembly and reads aloud some sacred words from a printed page. When you proclaim the scriptural readings something happens – a great mystery – that would not happen if everyone in the congregation silently perused the readings for themselves….
The dynamic of hearing the Scriptures as they are read aloud, or proclaimed, in church in the context of the Mass, is the means by which Christ becomes present. Therefore, how you proclaim the Scriptures is vitally important to the quality of the experience for the entire congregation. pp. 35-36
…the Word of God is, first of all, a spoken word, a dynamic word, a “word” spoken to us by God. This is why the ministry of lector is so important to the liturgy. As a lector, it is your ministry to proclaim the word of God. Or rather, it is your ministry
to allow God to speak his word through you to the Eucharistic assembly. When you proclaim the word of God it comes alive, and it is your role to let the word of God come alive in you so that it may come alive for the entire congregation.
As a lector, you become the means by which God’s word touches the hearts of those gathered together for precisely this purpose. pp. 36-37
If you are interested in applying to become a Lector, please log into Liturgical Minister Application and complete the enrollment form, or download a Liturgical Minister Application Form on the Parish Forms page.