The Mass has two major parts, The
Liturgy Of The Word (ie, the readings from the Bible) and
The Liturgy Of The Eucharist (the consecration and receiving
of Holy Communion.) People coming to Mass will be nourished,
first by God's Words and then by God's Son, Jesus, given to
us in Holy Communion, and the Word which the reader
proclaims has equal importance to Holy Communion. So reading
is a great privilege and honour, and it comes with a
responsibility to understand how important it is.
Preparation
Collect a copy of the Missalette the week before you are due to read: any of the priests, or
the Sacristan, Tommy, will give you a copy from the Sacristy.
(Check the date on the front!)
If sharing the reading with
another, make contact with your partner: agree who will read
what.
The Readings in the Missalette are
extracts from longer sections; reading the entire section
will lead to a better understanding of the short piece you
will be reading.
If you have a Bible at home, use
the small numbers on the Missalette to guide you to the
longer Section: for example, 1 Cor. 15:54-58 means the
extract comes from the 1st Letter to the Corinthians; in the
Bible, the Sections and Verses are numbered, so you look for
Section 15 and the Verses used will be Verse 54 as far as
Verse 58.
Before you begin to read through
the section, take a few moments to pray to God to help you,
and, because of the mystery of the Holy Trinity, there will
be three of them to help you out!
"God the Father, thank you for
asking me to help to spread the Good News; Holy Spirit,
grant me the wisdom and understanding to proclaim these holy
Words; Jesus, I place my trust in you."
Read and understand the message of
the Gospel: although you will not be reading it for the
congregation at Mass, the Gospel is central to this part of
the Mass. It is usually the easiest of the
Readings.
If there are long words or names
which are difficult to pronounce, remember, these are
usually the names of ancient people and places, and even
history scholars can only guess how they might have been
pronounced all those years ago! Do not worry unduly about
difficult words, just pronounce them as best you can and
keep going.
Try to practise reading the passage
aloud: this helps you to find the best place to take a
breath or a pause and often helps you to a greater
understanding of the passage.
You may find it helpful to write
the Readings down, clearly marking the places where you want
to pause: writing is a great aid to memory. If you wish, you
can bring your own copy to Mass and read directly from
it.
Although you will have agreed with
your partner who is reading which piece, practise doing both
readings and the Psalm in case he or she fails to turn
up.
If you know you are going to
miss your turn at reading, contact your partner as soon as
possible and let him or her know that you will be
missing.
On The Day
Don't be late! If you arrive late
you will be flustered, nervous and will not be relaxed. Get
to the Church at least five minutes before Mass
begins.
If it is intended that you share
the Reading with another Minister, find him/her. If he or
she does not turn up do not panic. You should have practised
both readings and the Psalm just in case.
Take a few moments to kneel and
pray:
"God the Father, thank you for
asking me to help to spread the Good News; Holy Spirit,
grant me the wisdom and understanding to proclaim these holy
Words; Jesus, I place my trust in you."
If there is a Choir singing at
Mass, ask if they will be singing the Psalm.
Go to the sacristy and let the
priest know you have arrived and will be reading.
Junior Readers will participate in
the opening procession, taking your place behind the Altar
Servers and ahead of the priest. When the priest goes up on
the altar you should sit with the Altar Servers.
When the priest introduces the
first Reading, walk slowly to the Ambo and commence the
reading.
Read the words clearly and
carefully; raise the volume of your voice but do not shout;
there is a long echo in our church, so leave pauses after
every full stop, and leave a longer pause before saying,
"This is the Word of the Lord."
You will occasionally come across
difficult words: do not worry unduly about them, just
pronounce them as best you can and keep going.
If you make a mistake, try not to
let it distract you or make you nervous, just keep on
reading.
When finished your piece, bow your
head and walk slowly back to your place.
At the end of the second Reading,
as the collection begins, both readers can leave the altar
and join their families or friends.
Junior Readers will NOT be required
to pray the Alleluia or the Prayers Of the
Faithful.
And if you are having difficulty
with any aspect of your ministry, take heart from the words
St Paul wrote to the Corinthians in the passage we mentioned
above:
Never give
in then, my dear brothers and sisters, never admit defeat;
keep on working at the Lord's work always, knowing that, in
the Lord, you cannot be working in
vain.
1 Corinthians, 15:54-58