The priest was mad. I didn't hear expletives but that, certainly, was the first time I saw a priest angry that way. He asked the lady commentator what happened. I suppose he was referring to the lack of "manpower" to serve during the mass. In other words, he was at the sacristy and scolding the lady commentator for the same issue I was there (but to help).
I remember telling the good priest of my intentions to help, but I suppose my voice was too soft or drowned out by his tirade, because he hardly heard it to notice me there.
Asked to Submit my Name to Become a Lector
The lady commentator didn't offer any reason or excuse but just accepted what was told her. I sort of sympathized with her. Maybe if I wasn't there, the priest would've rambled even further.
Finally, after the priest left, the lady commentator asked for my name and address so I could apply to become a lector. I clarified that I simply wanted to volunteer as a mass reader. She kept repeating though there was presently no such practice.
I supposed that to get me off her back, she simply asked for my name and address. It was after all getting late. I wasn't exactly sure why I was asked for my name and address.
A Lay Minister Came by the House
A couple of days later, an elderly gentleman came by the house. He looked familiar and he introduced himself as a lay minister. He asked if I wanted to apply to become a lector. Ah, so that's what the name and address was for! It is for someone to visit me and provide more information.
This time though, the discussion was lengthier and it became quite clear to me of how things work in the parish. The requirements included yearly seminars (basic formation and renewal seminars) and plenty of commitment.
Sadly, I wasn't ready for it. I just wanted to read and, obviously, that wasn't enough. So I told the good minister that I will have to think about it first - the seminar, commitment and all.
I suppose the lay minister didn't expect my declining. I think he was expecting an eager-beaver of some sort. It would be another year before I considered being a lector.
Starting as Lector at the Chapel
Since I was just tagging along anyway (our house was Station 6), I didn't think much about it. I simply read out loud where I was requested.
To my surprise, my lector-friend liked my reading. She tried to convince me right there and then to apply as a lector. Well, again, I was still hesitant to join because of the commitment involved.
But then she suggested being a mass reader at the chapel. I then learned that mass readers don't need to be commissioned lectors of the parish. That means no strict dress code, no fixed schedules and it's all voluntary.
They just needed to be decent folks of the community, able to dress well and read well. And so I accepted. Thus started my endeavor of being a church lector.
