Notes/Reminders for ALL Liturgical Ministers
If for some reason you cannot serve at the Mass you are scheduled for, please arrange ahead of time for a substitute. If you are unable to find a replacement, please let the Sacristan for your assigned mass know you are unable to be there.
Please be aware of the dress code as you participate in this ministry - no jeans, shorts or clothing that would distract from the sacred Mass.
You are expected to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your assigned Mass. Check in with the serving Sacristan.
Thank you for your interest and participation in the Liturgical Ministries of the Eucharist, and for the time you give to our Parish Community.
The email address for any communicaton regarding the scheduling of lectors is: ministersscheduling@sjvparish.com
LECTORS - Proclaimers of the WORD
Thank you all so much for volunteering to serve at the Holy Mass of the Eucharist.
Please email me at: ministersscheduling@sjvparish.com to add your name to a date/time on the schedule.
Also, please encourage those you know to check into becoming a Lector. You know how rewarding and what a blessing it is! Thank you. Please send any suggestions, etc. to: ministersscheduling@sjvparish.com
LECTOR GUIDELINES
Please PRAY before, during and after your turn to lector:
That you may prepare and proclaim the Word fittingly and that all who hear God’s Word will be inspired.
Please PRACTICE the readings OUT LOUD several times at home. Check any pronunciations you are unsure of in the lector workbook. If you have never recorded yourself before, try it as you are practicing to see how you sound to others.
Please arrive at your scheduled Mass at least 15 minutes prior to the beginning time. Usually one of the choir members will be reading the introductory remarks. The Lector reads both of the readings and the Prayers of the Faithful. When you bring the Lectionary and binder with the Introduction and Prayers of the Faithful up to the ambo, please check that the microphone is turned on. This microphone is multi-directional and you don’t need to have it pointed at your mouth, so please don’t touch it.
Please join the priest at the front entrance for the procession. Return to your seat after he reverences the altar. Please join the priest after the concluding rites at the front of the altar in order to process out.
Please wear your mask, covering your mouth and nose, as you ascend to the ambo and as you leave.
For all readings, please approach the Altar steps from the center front. Genuflect, ascend the steps, and come to the ambo.
FIRST READING: After the Collect, go to the ambo and announce the first reading - “A reading from the Book of….” Pause, then proclaim the selection, pause again before saying “The Word of the Lord”.
PSALM: WHEN THERE IS NO MUSICIAN: Please PAUSE at least two beats before beginning the Psalm. Recite the Psalm response, raise your hand for the people to repeat, then recite each verse followed by a raised hand for the response.
WHEN THERE IS A MUSICIAN: After the first reading, step down the two steps to the right of ambo, and stand quietly until the Psalm is concluded. Then ascend to the ambo for the second reading.
SECOND READING: Please PAUSE two beats before announcing the second reading, and proclaim it as you did the first reading. When finished with the second reading, please close the Lectionary and put it on a shelf under the ambo top.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: WHEN THERE IS NO MUSICIAN: Pause SEVERAL beats before the Gospel acclimation. Return to your seat immediately after the final Allelujah.
WHEN THERE IS A MUSICIAN: Simply descend from the ambo, genuflect at the base of the stairs, and return to your seat.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL: During the Profession of Faith, at the words “who proceeds from the Father and the Son”, approach the ambo in the same manner as before for the Prayers of the Faithful. Read the prayers, being sure to pause between each petition for one beat after the peoples’ response. After the Priest’s prayer, return to your seat as before.
When reading the Prayers of the Faithful, PLEASE practice before Mass all the names of the sick and deceased. This is one reason to arrive early. Do not “wing it” as the relatives and friends of those mentioned want to hear their names clearly! Ask for help of the Sacristan; if the name is unknown to either of you, decide together on what the pronunciation is and then practice it repeatedly until you can recite the prayer confidently, without stumbling or saying names unclearly. Please pause between each name read.
NOTES ON READING:
Lectors are charged with communicating the readings of the Liturgy of the Word to the people. Please take your time when proclaiming the Word. Enunciate clearly and confidently; be sure your volume is such that all can hear you. Be carelul not to fall into a sing song rhythm, but instead pace your words so that the meaning is made more evident. Do not rush or give the appearance of haste. Please be sure to pause as noted above before and after each reading. It is also important not to be overly dramatic, or to add anything or change anything in the Word to be read.
“The Liturgy of the Word is to be celebrated in such a way as to favor meditation, and so any kind of haste such as hinders recollection is clearly to be avoided. In the course of it, brief periods of silence are also appropriate…” GIRM no. 56