PROCLAIMING THE WORD OF GOD - #3

Recently a lector from another parish penned reflections on her role as a minister of the Word. In the first part she talks about her liturgical role as a lector. In the second part she connects the ministry of lector with her Christian life. This week Kathleen tells of her development in the ministry of lector.

CONFESSIONS OF A LECTOR #1

Two years ago, when the parish office issued a call for more lectors, I considered the possibility of serving. Relatively new to the parish, I had been searching for an appropriate parish ministry in which to take part. I decided to give this one a try, even though I had no understanding of its responsibilities other than to read the scripture lessons during liturgy. (I did not yet know the meaning of Proclaiming the Word of God). Through my profession, I had acquired experience in speaking before groups; I figured that serving as a lector would require just that. This assumption proved to be incredibly naïve! At least I was open to learning, and in early conversations with staff and other lectors, I realized that the experience for me would be as much about learning as service.

My first big confession: I did not know scripture. Sure, I had read sections of the Bible and had a basic knowledge of its structure. But I knew that I would encounter many unfamiliar passages and I looked forward to the assignments.

Professional experience had taught me when speaking always to know my subject. So when my husband would ask, "What are this Sunday's readings about?" I figured that if I could respond correctly, I was beginning to know my subject. (At the 7:00am liturgy, there is one lector responsible for both readings and the responsorial psalm).

Second, I was unprepared for the strict adherence to the printed word. In my professional speaking, I was accustomed to using lecture notes, but ad-libbing for the sake of creating interest and personal relevance. I controlled the text. Now, in liturgy, I had to speak the text word for word - no adlibbing, no substitutions. I did not control the text, yet I had to make it personally relevant. This requires preparation: reading the lessons many times over on several days, contemplating their meaning, visualizing the authors and their contexts, praying for assistance, then allowing God to lead me through the text. However strange this may seem, I was ready to give the reading when it felt as though the Word, the author, and I had finally merged into one. This can only be one of God's mysteries as revealed through the ministry of the lector.

I must admit that some of the lessons are easier to proclaim than others. When first I would read through a lesson, I would often wonder, "How am I going to make this sound real? The congregation will not know anything of its context, the sentence construction is awkward, and merely by listening they will not be able to distinguish among the speakers in this text! That would become one of my challenges: how to proclaim the Word so that, when heard rather than read, its meaning could be understood. This caused me to realize the importance of diction; consequently, I slowed down, savored each word, and began to use inflection to impart clues to meanings." (Part 2 will appear next week).