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Nine Steps to Becoming a Better Lector

By Nick Wagner

READ SCRIPTURE

Read the entire gospel for the given year every Advent
Read all of John's gospel in the summer of year B
Read the gospel for your assigned Sunday
Read all the other readings, including the psalm, for your assigned Sunday
Read the readings for the week before and the week after your assigned Sunday
Read in the Bible what comes before and after your assigned reading
Read the entire letter your reading comes from if you are the second reader

PRACTICE

​Practice out loud at least six times
Always practice out loud
Always practice while standing up
Practice on at least two different days other than the Sunday you read. Practice in front of a mirror
Practice with a tape recorder
Practice with a video camera
Practice in front of your children or grandchildren


Picture

​PRAY


Read the Gospel as your Sunday night prayer the week before you read
Read your reading as your morning prayer at least twice before you read
Pray for the Spirit to open the ears of those who will hear your reading
Pray for the strength to put aside your own ego and for the Spirit to speak through you


FIND THE EMOTION

Discover the primary emotion in the reading
Recall times when you have felt that emotion
Try to recall that emotion in yourself as you practice the reading
​
Picture

FIND THE MOST IMPORTANT PHRASE

Underline the most powerful, most interesting, or most disturbing ideas in the reading
Read the gospel again, and discern its main idea
Read your reading again, focusing on the underlined parts
Choose the most important phrase in the reading and emphasise it in such a way that it is clear to everyone in the assembly. Use rhythm and silence to do this

​
USE EYE CONTACT

Always look at the assembly for a long time before you begin to read
Use your finger or an index card to keep your place
Always use eye contact on the opening and closing sentences
Make eye contact on words and phrases that reveal the key emotion.
Make eye contact on the most important phrase


Picture
PROJECT

Fill your lower air cavity first, then your upper air cavity. Use the air from the lower cavity first

Use your diaphragm instead of your throat
Do not rely on the microphone
Control your breathing
Make sure you feel your stomach muscles moving


VARY YOUR PACE


Almost every reading has fast parts and slow parts

Most readings have loud parts and quiet parts
Some readings call for clipped, staccato rhythm; others call for smooth, melodic rhythm

​
VARY YOUR STYLE

Some readings read like stories
Some readings are prophesies
Some readings are read like a news report
Some readings are poetry
The season of the church year will also require a shift in style
Different assemblies require different styles
​
​
Picture

Nick Wagner is the codirector and cofounder of TeamRCIA.com, a free online resource for catechumenate ministry, and is a leading voice and trainer in Catholic liturgical and catechetical ministries.
​​Images from Unsplash and Pixabay. Used under license/with permission.


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  • In Search of Peace
  • Archive
    • Word of God Sunday
    • Living Lent >
      • Forty Lenten Ideas
      • Lent is a time to grow in the faith
      • Walking the Stations of the Cross this Lent
    • Saints and Souls >
      • Saintly Endeavours
      • Let the Dead Have November
      • Why We Pray for the Faithful Departed
    • Lay Liturgical Ministry >
      • Talents for Ministry
      • Nine Steps to Becoming a Better Lector
      • Ministers of Communion​
    • Music Matters >
      • Repertoire and Renewal
      • Liturgical Song and Evangelisation ​
      • 5 tips for effective music ministry
    • 50 Days of Easter >
      • Celebrating Easter's 50 Days
      • Aspects of the Ascension
      • Reflections for Pentecost Sunday
    • Saint Joseph >
      • Patris corde (With a Father's Heart)
      • Celebrating St Joseph in the Liturgy
      • St Joseph in Scripture
    • Christmas 2020 >
      • On the Meaning and Importance of the Nativity Scene
      • Botticelli - The Mystical Nativity
      • The Season of Christmas
    • Planning for Christmas 2020 >
      • Planning Christmas Masses 2020
      • Re-emerging With Purpose
      • Beyond Welcome: Show, Don't Tell
    • Signs and Symbols >
      • Sacramental Signs and Symbols
      • The cross reminds us of the sacrifices of the Christian life
      • Signs & Symbols: A Reflection
    • Looking Forward >
      • Solemnities on Saturdays
      • Our Family at Mass in the Age of Technology
      • Is your RCIA open all year-round? - Embracing 'Pyjama Catechesis'
    • Eucharist as Living Memory >
      • Memory is not Something Private
      • So what's wrong with a Virtual Mass?
      • The Middle of Nowhere
    • What have we learned from lockdown? >
      • Church After Coronavirus - New Understandings of Social MIssion
      • Virus and Vocation
      • Real Presence and Virtual Liturgies
    • Celebrating Holy Week in COVID times​ >
      • Coronavirus and the Eucharist
      • How to celebrate the liturgy when there is no Mass
      • Holy Week At Home
    • Solidarity and Unity >
      • Taking Communion to those who Self-Isolate
      • Peace and Solidarity
      • United to Christ We Are Never Alone
    • Preparing for Lent >
      • The Weeks of Lent in the Australian Imagination
      • How to Prepare for Lent
      • It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Lent
    • Liturgy with Children >
      • Using the Lectionary for Masses with Children
      • Praying Morning Prayer with Primary School Children
      • Directory for Masses with Children
    • Praying For Rain >
      • National Drought Prayer Campaign
      • Praying for Rain - Prayer Resources
      • A Ritual of Lament
    • Christian Initiation >
      • CATECHUMENATE - Rolling Year Round
      • Inculturating Christian Life in the Digital World
      • Tweens and Teens in the RCIA
    • Season of Creation >
      • Season of Creation September 1 - October 4
      • The Cosmic Song of 'Laudato Si'
    • Ordinary Time >
      • The Season of Ordinary Time
      • Sunday - The Original Feast
      • Luke's Gospel
    • Saints and Feasts >
      • Mary and the Saints
      • Saints and Martyrs
      • Who Are the Saints?
    • Eucharist >
      • The Centrality of the Eucharist
      • Space Matters
      • Can you drink the cup?
    • Altar Servers
    • Ministers of the Word
    • Children's Liturgy of the Word on Sundays
    • Advent Issues >
      • Advent Resources >
        • Advent
        • Music in Advent
        • Advent BOB
      • The Season of Advent
    • Liturgy Preparation
    • Communion
    • A pastoral map to baptism
    • The Role of the Deacon
    • Music Ministry
    • Reconciliation
    • Women Deacons, Music Choices and Lent
    • Data Projectors
    • The Christmas Season >
      • The Book of Blessings
      • Formation in Liturgy
    • The Year of Youth
    • Should we celebrate Australia Day?
    • Marriage
    • Easter Triduum
    • ANZAC Day
    • Funerals
    • The problem of translation
    • Advent resources for families
  • Subscribe