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.
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 will be expected to arrive at least 15 minutes before your assigned Mass. Check-in with the serving Sacristan.
LECTORS - Proclaimers of the WORD
Thank you all so much for volunteering to serve. Please encourage others to serve as Lectors.
Lector Coordinator (English): Carmen Marcelo 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. When you bring the Lectionary and binder with the Prayers of the Faithful up to the ambo, please check that the microphone is turned on.
For all readings, please approach the Altar steps from the center front.
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”.
SECOND READING: When finished with the second reading, please close the Lectionary and put it on a shelf under the ambo top.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL: During the Profession of Faith, at the words “who proceeds from the Father and the Son”, approach the ambo. Read the prayers, being sure to pause between each petition for one beat after the people’s 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 from 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 careful 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