The challenge to bring God’s Word alive through proclamation faces lectors each time they come before the church community. The ministry of lector requires more than practiced reading. Study and prayer allow the meaning of God’s Word to permeate the mind and heart of the lector. This unit is a resource for the spiritual development of lectors, and it is intended to support the spiritual life of lectors who serve during the Eucharistic liturgy and other liturgical services during which Scripture is proclaimed. Each session is drawn from one or more scriptural passages reflective of the specific word in the session title; for example, “The Word Is Challenge” and “The Word Is Faithful.” The purpose of each session is to assist the lector to experience the Word of God so that he or she may become a living proclamation of that word.

Titles for the scripturally-based sessions are as follows: The Word Is Good News—1 Peter 1:22-25; The Word Is Challenge—Joshua 24:14-15; The Word Is Faithful—John 4:46-53; The Word Is Light and Darkness—Isaiah 9:2; John 1:1-9; The Word Is Life-Giving—John 5:24; 8:51; 14:23; The Word Is Confession—Romans 10:8-17; The Word Is Abundance—Isaiah 55:8-13; and The Word Is Proclamation—Jeremiah 20:7-12.