When I arrived at the St. FX chapel in September, 1963, I received a mild shock.
They were removing their high altar in favour of a backdrop, and there stood a bare wooden table at the front of the Sanctuary, where Father would preside at Mass -- facing the Congregation.
Guess that was the rumoured 'new direction' for the Mass, so I decided to immerse myself in it!
I began by serving at morning Mass, mostly with seniors from New England who had attended Catholic schools and served for 15+ years. I picked up a lot of skills from serving with them, especially details and nuances.
That appeared to be my first introduction to serving as Lector.
Later on, as new changes were introduced by Vatican II, a group of us were asked to work at private Masses with some of the older, veteran priests, to help them prepare for the transition to celebrating to English.
It was pointed out to us, Dear Reader, that some of them had celebrated Mass in Latin every day -- for 40+ years!
On the First Sunday of Lent, 1965, when the Mass switched over to English, we felt were ready.
The transition went smoothly for the most part, except for a couple of veteran priests who insisted on adopting all the changes at once, including preparing and delivering a short 'homily,' rather than the more formal customary 'sermon.'
For one of them, who was taking this process ultra-seriously, Day One went quite smoothly, but during the Mass of Day Two, he became nervous and his hands began shaking so much that he had difficulty holding the bread wafer. He had to, reluctantly, abandon the Mass before the Consecration.
After plenty of prayer and a strong will to succeed, Day Three went very smoothly for him, and everything was fine from then on.
For the record, Lectors are not "readers;" we are trained to proclaim the Word to our brothers and sisters in the congregation.
We have to prepare to state complex biblical terms and names, which are often something to behold!
We have to adjust to each Bible writer's style, specifically Saint Paul, who wrote incredibly long sentences in hgis letters, with few natural pauses, to take a breath!
For me, even after 53 years, there are still butterflies before an assignment, because I must NEVER afford to take the reading for granted at any time.
The key is preparation, preparation, preparation.
My most challenging experiences have included:
– Delivering the reading at a memorial service for one of our medically fragile young pupils who had died on a cold and stormy night at the hospital emergency department across the street from our school.
-- Reciting the Passion of the Lord, especially on Good Friday, the reading from John, the passage where Jesus locks eyes with Peter, who has just denied Him three times!
-- Reciting the story in Exodus of the Jews crossing to freedom across the dry bed of the Red Sea (at the Easter Vigil ... in a darkened church ... using only a tiny reading lamp).
Perhaps Father has called for the playing of the 1960s movie theme during the story.
Technical / logistical nightmare: the music has to end a few seconds before the story, which contains a cue for the Choir to begin the thanksgiving song of Miriam.
(I can proudly report that we've tried it twice, and -- with a lot of rehearsal by all parties -- have 'aced it' on both occasions!)
As you have noted, I find proclaiming the word rich and rewarding.
Let me mention a happy, bonus event from several years ago:
I was chosen to represent our parish at an ecumenical service in a neighbouring church, which would include music -- and readings of the Word by some excellent lectors.
They were great; I'm glad I worked hard to prepare, and then bring my a-game! On our way to the Reception following, my wife and I were stopped by an elderly lady (perhaps in her 90s) walking slowly, using a cane. She greeted me as a parishioner, and stated how much she enjoyed my proclaiming the word at various liturgies.
After thanking her and making our way to the car, I stated quietly to my wife: "I believe I've just met my first 'groupie'!"
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