What is the role of the Lector at Mass?
The Lector may carry in the Book of the Gospels in the entrance procession (in the absence of a deacon); a Lector proclaims the assigned readings(s) and, in the absence of a deacon, the General Intercessions. If the responsorial psalm is not sung, the reader may also be asked to lead it. “[The Lector] exercise[s] a genuine liturgical function. They ought, therefore, to discharge their office with the sincere piety and decorum demanded by so exalted a ministry and rightly expected of them by God’s people. Consequently they must all be imbued with the spirit of the liturgy … and must be trained to perform their function in a correct and orderly manner” (CSL, 29).” The Lector combines faith with skill when reading the Scriptures. The Lector is a minister, rather than just a reader. The ministry of Lector, like that of the priest, is responsible for affecting the presence of God among the Christians gathered in worship. Just as the priest affects the special presence of God in the celebr
