By Dominic Lawes
I have always had a passion for reading at mass. Answering the call to the vocation of instituted Lectorship is a reflection of that. And I understand that the role of liturgical reading is no small responsibility. One needs to consider tone of voice, emphasis on certain words etc., which influence how the people of God receive the Word of God and reflect upon it. And the way that someone reads always flows from who they are, including where they are in the moral and spiritual life, and their relationship with God.
Answering the call to instituted Lectorship involves a commitment to always deepen one’s understanding and relationship with the Word of God. I now have a greater responsibility bestowed upon me to pray with the sacred texts and also to invest time into understanding their depths methodically and academically. However, where responsibility is bestowed, the grace of the Holy Spirit abounds even more. Grace is ordinarily granted by having a good disposition and intention to cooperate with the will of God. To do this one must be humble, placing ourselves under God’s will and giving Him due priority in our everyday lives.
Hence, my love for Christ and His Church drive me to love the Word of God and read it out to the People of God that I love, in our sacred liturgies. If I participate authentically in the discipleship of Christ in my everyday life, I will be able to bring it to my reading at mass and the fruits of the Holy Spirit will abound, and the People of God will benefit all the more. But this is not my doing, but God through me, as a docile tool of the Holy Spirit.
