Once at a lector coordinators' meeting, the priest leading it began by saying, "The Ministry of Lector is the most exalted lay ministry in the church... I mean, you could train a monkey to be a Eucharistic minister." With a little deference to the priest’s remarks, it's without question a privileged role to proclaim God's word to worshipers, but certainly not a superior one.

What gives the lector a well-trained tongue goes far beyond speaking skills and knowledge of Scripture. We proclaim God’s word as an invitation to our listeners, not as a monologue or a soliloquy. We speak with them, not to them or at them.