A good friend of mine gave me a telling glimpse of a new book by Robert Cardinal Sarah titled, The Day Is Now Far Spent (Ignatius Press).

In the book, the author refers to the churches' altar as compared to the "Burning Bush" where God tells Moses in Exodus 3:2-5, Come not nigh hither. Put off the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou staidest is holy ground.

After reading the following passages from Cardinal Sarah's book, coupled with what God told Moses, my friend could only think of the lector who climbs the steps to the area of the very altar where God Himself resides, especially through the 'breaking of the bread'. Here are those passages:

"As a threshold, the altar creates first the border between the realm of the world and the realm of God."

"Do we really understand what the altar represents? Does the priest who climbs the steps to it realize that he is in the presence of the burning bush, the Divine Majesty, and Transcendence?"

"The altar is the heart of our cities. Literally, our towns are built around the altar, huddled around the church that protects them."

"The altar is a place of transcendence and a burning bush and a holy place where God's majesty and holiness are manifested," and...

"At Mass, the priest (or lector) is not a professor who gives a lecture while using the altar as a podium centered on the microphone instead of the Cross. The altar is the sacred threshold par excellence, the place of the face-to-face encounter with God."

So as lectors, let us always remind ourselves that each time we proclaim God's word from "just the ambo," typically just a few feet from "The Altar," we are literally standing on Holy Ground.