Saturday, 2nd Week of Lent
Institution of Lectors, Permanent Diaconate
St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Roland Park
March 7, 2026
Listening and Proclaiming
The Gospel tells us that sinners and tax collectors gathered to listen to Jesus, whereas the Pharisees hardened their heart against him, complaining that he associated with sinners and even ate with them. Let us focus for a moment on those who listened to Jesus.
Sinners and tax collectors came to Jesus in their need. Perhaps their hearts were troubled. Perhaps their consciences were guilty. Maybe their very lives had become empty, devoid of meaning and purpose. Perhaps they were simply attracted to the One who taught with authority, not like the scribes and Pharisees. Whatever it was, they listened to Jesus. What they heard was a message of mercy and an invitation to repent. Many did so, and to this day are part of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Dear brothers, on this day when you are instituted as lectors, taking a step closer to your diaconal ordination, I invite you to reflect on the importance of listening to the voice of the Lord. For how we listen to the Word of God will shape how we proclaim it. Will our proclamation be merely a matter of effective public speaking? Or will our proclamation come from within us, from a heart has been riven by the Word of God, sharper than any sword.
A Message of Mercy and an Invitation to Conversion
We have already seen how the Pharisees hardened their hearts against Jesus, how harshly they judged the Word made flesh. In a sense, the Pharisees were like the older brother in the Gospel who could not hear his father’s word of compassion for his younger son. The older brother, for his part, was like the Pharisees. Like them, he rejected his younger brother who had sinned and now had returned to his Father’s merciful embrace.
If you asked the Pharisees or the older brother, they would tell you that they were most attentive the Word of God. The older brother would say he obeyed his father’s every command. The Pharisees would say they were strict observers and interpreters of the Law. Along the way, however, both the older brother and the Pharisees missed what lay at the heart of the Word of God: the message of mercy and the invitation to open their hearts.
This can happen to any of us charged by the Church to proclaim the Word. We can proclaim it as if we were its masters and not its servants. We can proclaim it as if we, better than most others, understand it and live it. So, even as we strive to proclaim the Word with excellence and understanding, let us take care, lest, like the older brother or the Pharisees, we miss the point. For us too, the Word we proclaim is, at heart, a message of mercy and an invitation to conversion. And for us to proclaim the Word in such a way that it resonates from within, we, like the younger son living in destitution in a foreign country, must never forget our need for the Father’s mercy and compassion and never forget that he is wants to cloth us with a mantle of justice.
Only when the Word, in all its efficacy, first pierces our hearts, rendering them so contrite and humble that they will not be spurned – only then will our proclamation ring true – in the ears of the assembly and in the hearing of our God. Yes, how we listen shapes our proclamation.
Technical Excellence and Understanding
Let nothing I have said thus far dissuade you from striving to proclaim the Word with excellence – good diction, good posture, good projection, skillful use of the microphone…avoiding anything that calls attention to oneself rather than the Word. After all, fides ex auditu – faith comes from hearing. If no one can hear or understand or if others are distracted by our manner, our proclamation may be no avail.
Let nothing I have said thus far dissuade you from striving to understand the Word that you proclaim – to the extent possible, its literal meaning but also its meaning in the context of the Church’s liturgical life and its meaning in the context of your own life. This requires you to ponder the Word before you proclaim it and to ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart to what God’s Word is saying.
Ministry of Lector
Having absorbed the Word of God and allowed it to speak to your mind & heart, you will be will equipped to assist in the Church’s mission to preach the Gospel. By proclaiming the Word of God effectively and with conviction, whether in the liturgy or in giving instructions to children and adults, you will bring the message of salvation to those who have not received it. With your help, men and women will come to know God our Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, whom he sent, and so reach eternal life.
It is a joy to assist you in your journey towards the diaconate! Thank you for making the sacrifice to answer the call! May God bless you and keep you always in his love!