Preparing Lectors to Proclaim

“When the Sacred Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself speaks to his people, and Christ, present in his own word, proclaims the Gospel.”

That is a quote from the General Instruction of the Roman Missile, which lays out the norms and the directives for the celebration of the Mass. Todd Williamson highlighted the quote in his presentation Techniques for Effective Proclaiming: Speaking Skills to Bring God’s Word to Life, an online seminar, presented in collaboration with Liturgy Training Publications, that was offered by the Boston Area in October. “We say as Catholics that it is God who is speaking here, now, at this moment in our midst,” Todd said.

Todd Williamson is Director of the Office for Divine Worship of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He is also an author, teacher, and national speaker in the areas of liturgy and the sacraments and co-hosts the monthly radio program Focus on the Liturgy. In the Boston Area seminar, he gave an abbreviated version of the training program he provides for lectors. While the training covers public-speaking skills, including breathing, pacing, enunciation, and pronunciation, it stresses the theology and spirituality of being a lector. Highlights of the presentation included:

• The proclamation of the Scriptures is the living, active Word of God. That means, that the power of God over sickness, over the forgiveness of sins, is there at that moment in the parish where the Word is being proclaimed;
• The proclamation reminds us of God’s plan for salvation and extends that salvation;
• The purpose of the Liturgy of the Word is to inspire us to do something. We hear the Word and then are called to actively respond, with faith, hope, charity, and self-giving;
• Given the importance of the Liturgy of the Word, what does that mean for the responsibility of lectors? It means that the role is serious, that it deserves and demands preparation and an understanding of the scripture the lector is proclaiming.
• The Liturgy of the Word is intimately connected to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. “It’s not just stories we tell before we get to the really important part,” Todd said. “It’s that the Liturgy of the Word is meant to stir in us the faith, and the trust, the thanks, and the praise with which we raise our hearts to the Lord in the Liturgy of the Eucharist that follows.”