Another step... Lector installation

Good morning folks!

Here are a few pictures from the PNAC's website of our installation as lectors by the Archbishop of Newark, NJ during Mass on Sunday back in January.  (I had tried to post this much earlier, but I was having problems uploading photos over the wifi here.)  The lector ceremony was truly a blessed experience and another reminder of God's goodness and movements of grace.  Becoming a Lector is the next step on the path to the priesthood.  Typically a seminarian follows receives Candidacy, then becomes a Lector the first year of major seminary, Acolyte the second year, ordained a Deacon in the third, and a Priest at the end of his fourth year. 

The ministries of Lector and Acolyte are descendants of the ancient "Minor Orders," which involved more steps prior to priesthood and which developed within the early Christian Church:

The beauty of the ministry of Lector is that it once again reminds us all of the reverence we should all have for the power of God's presence in the Bible, His Sacred Word.

Many outsiders today may not understand the reasons behind these ancient ceremonies and traditions, but to us who believe, they are another reminder of how the Holy Spirit works throughout history and how important our relationship is with the person of Jesus Christ.

It is at times like this that I am reminded of my own human frailty and weaknesses when I look to the immensity of the task of the priesthood!  To participate in the ministry of Christ Himself, to bring light to the darkness, to bring His healing love to souls aching longing for something more than this world can provide, that is what we are called to do!

God love you!