Welcome to our Holy Family Lector's page!
If you are a lector or want to become a lector, here are some useful things for you to prepare for reading the Word of God for our Masses:
1. You will want to prepare before it is your turn to read the Word of God at Mass. Try to do this at home, or at the latest, you can also come early to Mass to spend some time in silence to read and pray over the words you are about to read.
2. You will be able to find your scheduled time on our Calendar by clicking here, or you can find the monthly schedule printed on the bell-tower-cabinet door in the Sacristy.
3. You can find the readings of the Mass either through our weekly bulletin (where you will find the references to then find them in your Bible), in the Missalette, or here on this image of the Bible, you will be directed to the Daily Readings through the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) website:
4. As you walk up to the Altar, pray - asking the Holy Spririt to help you proclaim the Word of God in a way that reaches the hearts of those who will listen to you.
5. Bow at the center of the isle before the Altar, then approach the ambo.
6. Breathe in before you introduce the Word, look up at the people to see that they are attentive, then say: "A reading from the book of....". DO NOT RUSH INTO THE READING. Often people are distracted. With a pause, you lead people into an attentive state of listening.
7. Try to read clearly, expressively, and with authority, pausing between sentences. There are some words that need more emphisis than others, you will know best when to pause if you have read and prayed to the Holy Spirit prior to the Mass.
8. Pause after you finish the last word before saying "The Word of the Lord" and look up at the people when saying it.
TIP: it is important that you understand that you are PROCLAIMING the Word. Your voice needs to be seen as a message that God has entrusted to you, that then needs to be delivered to the hearts of those before you. If you feel nervous, try looking into a friend or faimly's eyes to help you focus on the importance of speaking to someone's heart. You are NOT simply reading, remember you are PROCLAIMING THE WORD OF GOD!
So... if you want to become a Lector, please speak to Fr. Antonio, or any of our other Friars, Nuns or lectors and we will see when we can have a moment to prepare you for such a beautiful and important task.