The Lector's Ministerial
Function
Mere reading is not
the main function of the lector. We are not baptized in order
to read or to listen tot readings but in order to celebrate
Jesus Christ who is present in his Word. In the same way as
the priest presents the consecrated bread for the adoration
of the assembly, so the lector has the tremendous responsibility
to present Jesus Christ to the congregation. The lector is really
a prophet, that is, the one who carries the Word of God. He
must fulfill the mystery of the Word which Vatican II presents
in the following way" "[Christ} is present in His
Word since it is He Himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures
are read in the church."
Who Can Read for the
Assembly!
In the time of Christ,
all without exception could be invited to read the Word of God,
including women and minors and even slaves. At the time of Vatican
II, only men could read. So said the 1969 Order of Mass,
article 66: "Woman may read only when no man is there;
but in that case, they must stay outside the sanctuary."
Let us say this again
one more time: the reading of the Word should not be a battlefield
for sexual segregation. Obviously, the rule should be the following:
let the one read who does this ministry the best, man or woman.
One notes, moreover, that the majority of communities could
not observe the discrimination which the Roman Missal
mentions. And in come countries, assigning the ministry to either
men or woman has become an official practice.
In face, communities
are tempted to practice great generosity by calling anyone and
everyone to this ministry under the pretext that everyone know
how to read, even if they are not prepared. To ask a volunteer
to read the sacred text one minute before the Entrance Song
is to take the risk of letting the Word be disfigured, of dulling
the cutting of this sword (cd. Heb.4:12) which must penetrate
our hearts to make there extraordinary wounds for life to enter.
Whoever takes this risk, priest or faithful, must answer for
it at the tribunal of God, just as the one who would treat unworthy
the body and blood of the Lord in the Eucharist.(cf. I Cor.11:29).
Number of Lectors
Let us remember that
in the Jewish tradition relative to the synogogal office, the
reading was proclaimed not by a single reader but ordinarily
by three, sometimes even seven, on the Sabbaths and on feasts.
This disposition was rich in spiritual significance: the Word
does not belong to any one person. It cannot be monopolized;
it is the property of the whole community. It is the whole assembly
which listens to it; it is also in some way the whole assembly
which proclaims it.
Without getting too
involved in paralleling out the readings, we could at least
avoid halving the same minister proclaim all the reading one
after another. Following the General Instructions of the
roman Missal, article 67, we could at least recognize the
role of the psalmist for the Responsorial Psalm. Which is an
answer to the first reading.
Also, we could select
a particular reader for each reading. This is to underline usefully
the difference and the specific feature of each biblical passage.
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