LECTOR

The Lord has been merciful to me always. He has always led me in the right direction where I can glorify His name rightly. After a lot of contemplation, I have finally decided to be a lector. A lector is a person who reads aloud certain of the scriptural passages used in a church service. I have read a few times unofficially, but from now on I will be doing it officially as a lector. I attended the English lectors meeting on Sunday, 26th August, as I felt I am little prepared for it now. I felt the Lord is giving me the go ahead this year.


I very well remember that there was a phase in my life when I wanted to be a news reader. This dream couldn’t see the light of the day but God must have known my desire to be a reader and that’s why He is giving me an opportunity to fulfill my dream by becoming a lector in His presence. He wants me to be in His presence all the time. In fact, even I want to be in His presence all the time as I feel lost otherwise. So one by one God is fulfilling all my dreams and I am really very thankful to Him. Christ Jesus has always been gracious to me and He keeps pleading for me to His Father to be extra merciful to me and my family.


But as a lector, I have to be extremely careful. I have here with me some points taken from “The Effective Lector” by Edward Horodko. I will just take the excerpts from here:



• Understand the scripture passages and then successfully communicate them to the assembly.
• Practicing aloud is essential. Get used to the sound of the readings
• Start your preparation early in the week before your assigned turn.
• Prepare for both readings, even if one is assigned to another lector.
• To read a reading well, you must have deep understanding.
• Do not use someone else's ideas of where to pause, how to inflect, or which words to emphasize. These actions must come spontaneously and honestly from only one place: from what the reading means to you.
• Arrive about a half hour before mass starts.
• Consider your attitudes, your gestures, the tone of your voice, how you go about contacting your listeners with your eyes.
• Look like you belong where you are; realize that people are watching you

• The body. When it's time to address the assembly, hold your body straight but not rigid. Don't slouch. Look like you want to communicate. Have authority. Be genuine, be unpretentious.
• The feet. Keep your feet firmly planted while you speak.
• The face. Use it to convey meaning, but avoid all artificiality. Be yourself.
• The eyes. Have eye contact with people when you talk to them. But not at the expense of losing your place in the text. Have an awareness of all the people, but talk to them one-to-one.
• A good time to establish eye contact is during the opening "a reading from..." stand still before you begin reading.
• Create a significant silence before you begin speaking.
• Look across the entire room as you say the opening phrase. Then pause again and begin the reading.
• You may find it useful to run your finger along the text as you read so you can freely maintain eye contact with the assembly without the risk of loosing your place.
• Never look artificial or "theatrical."
• Walk to the ambo and take a deep breath as you arrive there. This will calm you and elp you focus your power.
• Ask other lectors to critique you. Dedicate yourself to being an effective lector.
• Always set the opening and closing forms ("a reading from..." and "the word of the lord.") apart from the body of text with both a pause and a change of attitude. Remember that they are not part of the reading; don't make it sound like they are.
• When you make a mistake, remember why you're there... To convey the word of god. You're not there to show people that you're perfect, or what a great reader you are. If you ruin a sentence or thought, simply back up and say it correctly. Whatever you do, don't apologize for your mistake; that adds to the distraction, taking people even farther from the meaning you're trying to convey. Don't be embarrassed because you're human.
• If no meaning was lost in your error, ignore the minor error.
• Remember that ministry is service.
• Perform your role in the liturgy of the word fully prepared, with a mastery of your readings, honestly communicating god's word to god's people.

Ed Horodko's ministries have included liturgist, cantor, music director, and Director of Lectors, most recently at Sacred Heart Church, Olema, California. He is also a lector workshop teacher / leader, and a professional voice actor who has announced nationally in thousands of commercials. Currently he develops and supports Catholic radio broadcasts in the Dioceses of Reno, NV and Sacramento, CA, at Immaculate Heart Radio.