Readers

Readers at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel have the awesome privilege and responsibility of proclaiming the Word of God during the celebration of Mass. The Vatican II document Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy brings home the importance of the reader’s task by insisting that the proclamation of the word is one of the ways in which Christ is present during the liturgy: "He is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church" (CSL #7)

Readers must first and foremost have a deep love of and respect for Scripture. In a parish that has as active and vibrant a Bible study program as OLMC, we are blessed with many folks who indeed have that love of God’s word. Secondly, readers must be able to proclaim the readings audibly, clearly, and with passion to communicate God’s word.

What’s the difference between a "lector" and a "reader"?
The office of lector is an officially-instituted station on the road to priesthood, an office bestowed on seminarians at one point in their priestly formation. However, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) allows that:

"In the absence of an instituted lector, other laypersons may be commissioned to proclaim the readings from Sacred Scripture. They should be truly suited to perform this function and should receive careful preparation, so that the faithful by listening to the readings from the sacred texts may develop in their hearts a warm and living love for Sacred Scripture." (GIRM #101)

The Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass, another official Church document, goes even further in article #55, insisting that the reader must be properly trained in three ways:

1. Spiritually - biblical formation to understand the context and meaning of the readings
2. Liturgically - liturgical formation to grasp the "meaning and structure of the Liturgy of the Word and the significance of its connection with the Liturgy of the Eucharist"
3. Technically - "skilled in the art of reading publicly"

Therefore, a good reader must be imbued with a love of God and his Word; a clear, projecting proclamation voice; and then he/she must receive proper formation and training.

Scheduling

Commissioned Readers who wish to serve Lord's Day Mass can pick the Mass time which they prefer and also select second and/or third preferences, if they wish. Schedules are prepared to assure that each Mass has the required number of Readers available. Readers are usually scheduled for the Mass they most prefer to attend. If they have a second and/or third Mass preference. Readers can be scheduled accordingly.

Any planned absences can be scheduled in advance by completing the on-line form, or completing the paper form distributed with the quarterly schedule and delivering it to the ministry head. For any unforeseen absences which arise after the schedule has been prepared, the reader must arrange for a substitute by contacting another member of the ministry who would be willing to fill-in.

Training

Readers are required to attend a training session at least once a year and, after the training, they are commissioned to serve.