Lectors at Mass
Just a few thoughts.
I don’t know what the rules are for Lectors at Mass, nor what training is required, but I have noticed that those who read are not always the best suited to do so. Perhaps some of these people either haven’t prepared for the readings, or they are just not good readers. In some instances, I’ve noticed how a few Lectors read as if they are reading a novel, or a narrative of a play, which can be distracting in so far as the listeners can be more taken with the delivery as opposed to hearing the word of God.
At Mass recently, a visually impaired man has been doing the readings using braille. Obviously there is no problem with that, except in his case - he is not very good at it. He misses entire sentences and reads haltingly, so that the sense of the reading is often confused. The man is a regularly scheduled reader. In this particular church, as in many throughout the diocese, missalettes are not provided by which to follow the readings, hence a person cannot follow along with the text as it is supposed to be read. Awhile back, liturgists discouraged the use of missalettes so that the congregation could focus all of their attention on what was read and hear the Word of God as was done in earlier times.
The same sort of misreading of the Scriptures occurs once in awhile at a children’s Mass, while we are either so distracted about how cute the kid is, or the kid just can’t read very well. The upshot is, we don’t hear the reading properly. The evident ‘requirement’ that lay people do the readings at Mass sometimes occasions the average person missing what was read, for one reason or another. The Liturgy of the Word is essential to the Mass, and ought to be conducted with reverence, decorum, and prayerfulness. I don’t think it should be the occasion for sentimentality, theatrics, or politically correct show and inclusiveness.
Though it doesn’t exactly apply to contemporary Catholic discipline, there is an interesting instruction for Orthodox monks on the proper decorum for reading the Word of God, which I will reprint here:
“Those who read the Psalms and the Daily Office, that is, Vespers, Matins, and so on, should prepare in good time and find the troparians and kontakions of the day beforehand, so as not to make mistakes during the reading in church and not to have to stop to look for things and thereby spoil the spirit of prayer. The reader should stand straight, with his hands at his side; he should read without hurrying and without dragging, he should pronounce the words clearly and distinctly. He should read simply and reverently without expressing his feelings by modulations and changes to his voice. Let us leave the holy prayers (readings) to act on the listeners by their own spiritual power. The desire to convey to the bystanders one’s own feelings is a sign of vanity and pride.”- The Arena, Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov
Perhaps those who read at Mass could be held to a higher standard, considering the holiness of their ‘office’. Now let’s talk about altar servers and their training - or lack of it. I think I’ll save that for another post.