What Is A Lector, Part Two (GIL Section 55)

To continue our discussion and analysis of the General Introduction to the Lectionary (2nd Edition), let's look at a second section that speaks specifically to and of lectors:

55. "It is necessary that those who exercise the ministry of reader, even if they have not received institution, be truly suited and carefully prepared, so that the faithful may develop a warm and living love for Sacred Scripture from listening to the sacred readings." Their preparation must above all be spiritual, but what may be called a technical preparation is also needed. The spiritual preparation presupposes at least a biblical and liturgical formation. The purpose of their biblical formation is to give readers the ability to understand the readings in context and to perceive by the light of faith the central point of the revealed message. The liturgical formation ought to equip the readers to have some grasp of the meaning and structure of the liturgy of the word and of the significance of its connection with the liturgy of the Eucharist. The technical preparation should make the readers more skilled in the art of reading publicly, either with the power of their own voice or with the help of sound equipment.

Let's first make a distinction so we can move on.  Men preparing for the permanent diaconate or priesthood are instituted a reader two years before ordination to the diaconate. We are specifically speaking here of lay lectors, but instituted readers are also a part of our ministry.

This section tells us that we need to have spiritual, liturgical, and technical preparation for our ministry.

Spiritual Preparation
In years past (the past 25 years!) I thought I could get away with the spiritual preparation by practicing my readings and reading the Scripture immediately before and after what I was supposed to read at Mass.

Then, in the past month, I have joined a Bible study specifically geared to studying the readings for the coming Sunday.  What I have discovered has been a revelation of high proportions.  I have found that when I read and study and discuss the readings for EVERY week, when it is my time to read, I know the Scripture well enough to understand not just what it says, but what it means. Now that our Sunday Gospels are all from John chapter 6, this becomes even more important.  And I am seeing connections between all three readings and the psalm that I have never seen before.

I have previously given a small prayer I use before reading to those lectors I coordinate.  I'm not sure how many of them do something similar.  But prayer is a big part of this. A lector gets an ego boost, an emotional "high" from reading at Mass.  After all, for a few minutes, every person in the congregation is paying attention to the lector.  What a rush!  But prayer before reading, as well as throughout the week before, can make the lector want to concentrate more on the reading that is done and less on being noticed.  In fact, my prayer is that I won't be noticed, that after I am finished the congregation will remember what I read but won't remember who read it. I think that is important to keeping my ego in check and, I assume, other readers might be in the same boat.

Liturgical Preparation
How do we get a liturgical formation?  This comes, I'm afraid, from training.  Lectors need periodic training in order to better understand the liturgy.  How many lectors have I talked to over the years who think that the Liturgy of the Word is the boring part that leads up to the good part (the Liturgy of the Eucharist)?  A lot, actually.  The Liturgy of the Word, however, is a near mirror image to the synagogue service of the ancient Jews, and Jesus himself got up and read to the synagogue, so it must be important. Right?

Liturgical formation comes through explanation about the Liturgy of the Word.  When a lector realizes its importance, then the Liturgy of the Word comes alive and the movements of the liturgy are made clear.

Technical Preparation
Sometimes, this flow of the liturgy is interrupted when a lector does something that is "not normal." In previous parishes I have been a member of, the lectors sat right in front of the ambo.  But in some parishes, the lectors sit all over the congregation.  Sometimes, they sit as far from the ambo as is possible, meaning that when they come forward to read, the lector takes almost three minutes to get to the ambo.  During this time, the congregation pays attention only to the lector, but loses its focus from the penitential rite and opening prayer to become lost in their kids' behavior, the hairpiece of the man in front of them, or the sounds in the church.  Instead, a lector should sit as close to the ambo as possible and NOT interrupt the flow of the liturgical movement.

Likewise, if a lector wants to be a lector, they need to be able to be loud enough when reading to be heard.  So many lectors, especially the unprepared, don't read loud enough.  This is due to a lack of confidence in their abilities and a lack of experience in reading. If you've never read before, then when you are the lector, you never know if you are loud enough. You need someone to tell you.  That comes from practice in front of a trainer.

Ongoing formation (we discussed this in another post) is important to the lector. We find that in section 55 of the General Introduction to the Lectionary (2nd Edition) that preparation takes three forms.  Each lector is responsible for making sure they receive all three types of preparation.  It will be a little bit of work, some time taken away from the television or the family, but the lector's service to the parish will be heightened by this preparation.