“Faith comes through hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
- Romans 10:17
The first lector was Christ himself. When he began his earthly ministry, he was invited to proclaim the word of God in the assembly. He took the scroll and read, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord.” (Luke 4: 16-30) Jesus was reading about himself. The Word of God, the scripture, was proclaimed by the Word of God himself: Christ Jesus!
A lector is someone who has a love for Christ and desires that all come to know him through faith by the proclamation of the Good News of scripture. They seek to nurture their relationship with the Lord through their own devotion of prayer and meditation on the Word. They use their God-given gift of speech to break open the Word and to make the Word come alive for the assembly, who hears the voice of God through their proclamation.
If you are interested in becoming a lector, all you need is a desire to grow in your relationship with the Lord of the scriptures, a clear dictation, and a commitment to the Weekend Eucharist when you are scheduled to serve.
