Lector Guidelines and Norms

Thirteen Points on Being a Lector at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Below is an outline of 13 points on being a lector at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Please study the entire outline carefully.

  • Point 1: Practice, reflect, and dress appropriately.
  • Point 2: Arrive early in order to be in the right state of mind.
  • Point 3: Your ministry is important and sets the tone for the worshipers. Make sure you know the procedures.
  • Point 4: Having practiced beforehand, keep calm and read clearly and slowly.
  • Point 5: Prepare the book in the ambo before the service, and wait for the congregation’s response.
  • Point 6: Wait for the congregation’s response. Be sure to remove the lectionary from the ambo after the reading.
  • Point 7: During the Creed, at the words “by the Power of the Holy Spirit,” make a profound bow from the waist.
  • Point 8: The readings will be in the ambo. Do not leave the ambo until after the concluding prayer.
  • Point 9: At the Consecration, make a profound bow (from the waist) when the priest genuflects after the Elevation of the Host and the Elevation of the Cup.
  • Point 10: Sit down after receiving communion.
  • Point 11: Leave in the same order as the entrance, but WITHOUT the Book of the Gospels (left on the ambo) or lectionary (left either on the ambo or credence table).
  • Point 12: Be mindful of your role as a liturgical minister, a proclaimer of the Word of God.
  • Point 13: If you cannot serve, contact the Coordinator as soon as possible to arrange for a replacement.

Contact: Lector Coordinator, Harv Humphrey: 234-4281, ext 1 or humphrey.17@nd.edu

13 Points

1. Preparation:

  • Readings will be emailed to you in advance. PLEASE REPLY TO THE EMAIL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
  • Practice reading the text aloud, engage a critical listener, and familiarize yourself with punctuation, diction, grammar, etc.
  • Most importantly, take time to reflect upon the reading and its meaning.
  • Please make certain your attire is in accord with the place, occasion, and role of being a lector at the Basilica. For the Saturday Vigil Mass, the 8:00 am Football Weekend Mass and the 10:00 am Sunday Solemn Mass, this means jacket and tie for men, and equally formal wear for women. Consult Lector Coordinator about attire for post–game Masses.

2. Arrival:

  • Arrive 15 to 30 minutes before Mass. This courtesy will enable us to brief you concerning any changes in protocol. In addition, it is desirable that you do not begin Mass feeling rushed but rather that you have had an opportunity to prepare prayerfully for proclaiming the Word of God.
  • In the sacristy, before Mass, the first reader should ensure that the ribbon is set to the correct reading in the Book of the Gospels.

3. Processional:

  • Sing out with full heart and voice! The assembly follows the example of you, the liturgical ministers.
  • In the sacristy, before Mass, the first reader should ensure that the ribbon is set to the correct reading in the Book of the Gospels.
  • If there are 3 readers, the first processes carrying the Book of the Gospels just below eye-level directly behind the cross and candles. The front of the book should face the assembly with the binding in the right hand. The second and third readers follow behind side by side.
  • If there is a responsorial psalmist in the procession, he or she would follow the readers. When there are only two readers, they should process one in front of the other behind the cross and candles, the first carrying the Book of the Gospels.
  • If there is no Book of the Gospels and only two readers, they process side by side.
  • All readers pause at the sanctuary steps. The reader carrying the Gospels bows only with the head; the other readers bow at the waist.
  • Readers follow the procession around the right side of the altar. The reader with the Book of the Gospels places it on the altar, standing it upright and centered with the front facing the assembly. This reader then joins the other readers in the sanctuary, standing in front of their chairs.
  • At the 11:45 AM Sunday Folk Choir Mass: the procession is the same but without the use of the Book of the Gospels.

4. Delivery:

  • Before beginning, take a deep breath lest in your haste you jump in forgetting all of your preparation.
  • Do not adjust the microphone. Do not lean into the microphone while reading.
  • If you are tall you may lift the book.
  • Read the text, including introduction and conclusion, exactly as written. For example, do not announce, “Our first reading is a reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians.” Simply announce the reading as it appears in the lectionary, “A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians.”
  • Project your voice. Read at a mindful pace clearly enunciating each word and allowing echoes to die out so as to prevent words from becoming tangled with each other.
  • BEFORE YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT, schedule a practice time with the Lector Coordinator to familiarize yourself with the sound system and acoustics of the Basilica.

5. First Reading:

  • Following the opening prayer, the first reader ascends the ambo while the other readers and congregation are being seated.
  • When the assembly is settled and quiet in the pews (about 5 seconds), the first reader begins the proclamation.
  • At the end of the reading, wait for the congregation to respond with, “Thanks be to God” before turning the page to the Second Reading (if applicable) and then descending the ambo.
  • (Before Mass go to the ambo to ensure that the book is turned to the correct reading.)

6. Second Reading:

  • When the Responsorial Psalm is over, stand (even though the cantor is still in the ambo) and ascend the ambo when the way is clear.
  • At the end of the reading, wait for the congregation to respond, “Thanks be to God”, before descending the ambo.
  • Note: At the Saturday Vigil Mass, the 8AM Football Weekend Mass and 10 AM Sunday Solemn Mass, the second reader is responsible for removing the lectionary from the ambo following the reading and placing it on the credence table (behind the ambo).
  • Exit the ambo the same way you entered (the sanctuary side), go around the credence table and from the small flight of stairs, and place the book on the lower shelf.
  • At the 11:45 AM Sunday Folk Choir Mass, the lectionary remains on the ambo for reading of the Gospel.

7. During the Creed:

  • At the phrase, “by the Power of the Holy Spirit…” make a profound bow from the waist.

8. Intercessions:

  • Following the recitation of the Creed, before the priest's introduction to the prayers, ascend the ambo.
  • The intercessions will have been placed in a binder on the small shelf in the ambo before Mass and available at this point. (It is a good practice to confirm, before Mass, that the binder is on the shelf.)
  • After the cantor sings the response for the first time, the reader offers the first intention. The Intercessions are distinct from the Word of God. The former are the prayers of the people being offered to God; the latter is God's Word being delivered to us. Be mindful of the fact that the Prayers of the Faithful are giving voice to the collected intentions, desires, and needs of the entire assembled community.
  • After the final intention do not close the book or return it to the shelf, and do not exit the ambo. Wait until the presider has offered the concluding prayer, then close the binder, return it to the shelf, and descend the ambo.

9. Words of Institution (Consecration):

  • At the Consecration, make a profound bow (from the waist) when the priest genuflects (and concelebrants bow) after the Elevation of the Host and the Elevation of the Cup.

10. Communion:

  • Readers will receive communion in the sanctuary along with the servers. After you receive communion, sit down. Do not remain standing.

11. Recessional:

  • Process in the same order as the entrance, but WITHOUT the Book of the Gospels or lectionary.
  • The Book of the Gospels remains on the ambo; the lectionary either on the ambo or credence table.

12. Decorum:

  • A final word about decorum in the sanctuary. Be mindful of your role as a liturgical minister, a proclaimer of the Word of God. In the sanctuary keep your feet flat on the floor, it's fine to cross your ankles, but do not cross your legs (you're not home watching a football game!).
  • Hand your program to the person next to you when you leave your seat to proclaim. This will avoid an awkward recovery of your program when you return to your seat.

13. Replacement:

  • If you will be unable to read on your scheduled date, please notify the Lector Coordinator well in advance. If you have a substitute in mind, advise the Coordinator. The Lector Coordinator, Harv Humphrey (234-4281, ext 1), will make the final assignment.