When the Sacred Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself speaks to his people, and Christ, present in his word, proclaims the Gospel.  Therefore, the readings from the Word of God are to be listened to reverently by everyone, for they are an element of the greatest importance in the Liturgy. Although in the readings from Sacred Scripture the Word of God is addressed to all people of whatever era and is understandable to them, a fuller understanding and a greater efficaciousness of the word is nevertheless fostered by a living commentary on the word, that is, by the Homily, as part of the liturgical action. (General Instruction of the Roman Missal [GIRM], no. 29)
 
Liturgical Movement
Readings

• Before mass take Lectionary, petitions and announcements to ambo
• When processing in, do not stop at the altar but continue up into the sanctuary, place the Gospel in the holder and come back down to the bottom of the steps
  • If Father and the altar servers are still at the bottom of the steps, come down and genuflect with them
  • If Father and the altar servers have started moving up into the sanctuary after you place the book, come down, bow to the altar and take your seat
• Liturgy of the Word: Come to the bottom of the steps and bow to the altar. Go to the ambo and head bow to the lectionary before you begin to read
  • If there is a choir, you do not say the Responsorial Psalm. Go back to the bottom of the steps after the first reading, bow to the altar and return to your seat. Return to the ambo after the choir is done singing
  • If there is no choir, stay and read the Responsorial Psalm, followed by the second reading
• Gospel Acclamation or Alleluia: must be sung.
  • If there is a choir, sit after the second reading
  • If there is no choir and you want to, please sing the Alleluia. If you do not want to sing then sit after the second reading.
• After second reading place Lectionary on shelf to make room for the Gospel

• Proceed to the bottom of the steps either during the last paragraph of the Creed or after the Creed (do not wait for Father to start the prayer intentions), bow and go up to the ambo for the Petitions
  • After reading the intentions, stay at the ambo until the priest finishes with the final prayer: “We ask this through Christ our Lord”.  Go to the bottom of the steps, bow to the altar and take your seat

• After the Liturgy of the Eucharist, wait until Father sits down before coming up and reading the announcements

• Do not process out with the priest
• After 10:45 mass, take offertory basket to the sacristy and place money in green bag and lock it.
• Return books, petitions and announcements to the altar servers room

• When we get nervous we tend to speak faster
• Practice!  Practice!  Practice!  Use the lector’s handbook
• Use emphasis as you speak

 
 
Remember: a sense of REVERANCE is important

In every celebration of the Eucharist, there should be a sufficient number of ministers of Holy Communion so that it may be distributed in a reverent and orderly manner. The ordinary ministers of Holy Communion are the Bishop, Priest, and Deacon.  If such ordinary ministers of Holy Communion are not present, "the priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, i.e., duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose. (GIRM 162)."
All ministers of Holy Communion should show the greatest reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist by their demeanor, their attire, and the manner in which they handle the consecrated bread or wine.
 
Liturgical Movement

• At the start of the Lamb of God – go to the bottom of steps and wait until all are gathered; the Extraordinary Minister designated for the Eucharist stands in the middle. Do not shake hands with each other 
• After the Lamb of God, bow together and enter the sanctuary and line up on the right side of the altar using the floor register as a guide to how close to be to the altar
• When the priest goes to the tabernacle, turn slightly to the tabernacle and bow when the priest genuflects
  • Be prepared with visiting priests, an EME may need to go to the Tabernacle to retrieve the Ciborium and return afterwards. Also be prepared to offer an arm to assist older priests with stairs
• Bow before you receive the Body and Blood from the priest
• When you receive the cup extend your hand so that the cup may be placed on your hand; use your other hand to hold the cup.  Do not reach for the purificator, let the priest hand it to you
• The Extraordinary Minister who receives the precious Blood first will offer the cup to the Extraordinary Minister designated for the precious Body
• When the priest moves to leave the sanctuary:
  • the Extraordinary Minister closest to the tabernacle will move forward and offer the altar servers the precious Blood, then leave the sanctuary – if there are elderly in the front pew whom the priest is offering the precious Body to, the Extraordinary Minister will follow with the precious Blood and then move to the far short wall by the baptistery
  • The other two Extraordinary Ministers will move out of the sanctuary and the Extraordinary Minister with the precious Body will stay at the bottom of the stairs and face the choir to offer them first and the Extraordinary Minister with the precious Blood will move directly to the far wall in front of the music board (this will stop congestion from the choir)
  • Bless children and those adults not receiving by holding out your hand over their head and say “Bless you” or “God bless you” or something short and appropriate
• Precious Blood:
  • If the cup is empty before the end of the Liturgy, place the purificator over the top and quietly move back into the sanctuary and place the cup and purificator on the altar. Do not put the purificator in the cup.
  • After everyone has received and there is only a small amount of the precious Blood left, place the cup on the altar.  Father will consume the remainder
  • If there is a lot of precious Blood left, consume some, not all.  You may do this before leaving your place at the walls and then enter the sanctuary. If you do not want to empty the chalice set it on the altar and let the priest offer it to one of the other extraordinary ministers
• Precious Body: There may be times when you run low on hosts, watch the line and if necessary break hosts in half; consult with the presiding priests before breaking
• Wait in the sanctuary until the priest has reposed the ciborium in the tabernacle
• Bow to the tabernacle as priest is genuflecting
• When the priest turns from the tabernacle leave the sanctuary, meet at the foot of the steps; bow to the altar all together, then return to your pews

• The Eucharistic Ministers will clean the altar, side table and sacred vessels after mass.
• Lock door and return key to storage room; key has a green fob

• Be flexible especially when we have visiting priests
• The ushers will indicate to the priest or the Eucharistic Minister that there are people at the back of the church who are not able to come up for Communion. Only the precious Body Eucharist Minister goes back
• If the host is accidentally dropped, pick it up and hold it. Once back in the sanctuary you may consume the host or give it to Father to consume
• If the wine is spilled, step in front of the spot so no one walks on it. Before returning to the sanctuary place the purificator over the spot. After mass go up and using purificator blot the spot dry. You may need to go to the sacristy and get another cloth

The ministry of usher comes from the Jewish tradition of the “gatekeeper” in the Old Testament. Their duties included watching over the doors of the temple and collecting money offerings from the people (see 2 Kings 22:4, Chronicles 9:19 and Chapter 26, Jeremiah 35:4). Today, the ministry of usher involves much more than collecting money and serving as doorkeeper. The ministry of usher is perhaps the most important for setting the tone for worship. The usher, who should be comfortable meeting and greeting others, extends a sense of welcome to others prior to prayer. Such qualities are a blessing, especially to the stranger or to those who haven’t attended Mass in your parish on a regular basis. It is best to have a greeter at each door of the church as people arrive for worship. Lengthy conversations aren’t necessary at this time. Sometimes a warm smile and a “good morning” may be all that is needed to help people feel welcome and glad to be at church for worship.
 
Liturgical Movement

• Please arrive 20 minutes before mass; turn on lights in main church – preset 2
• Greet everyone as they enter
• Ask a family to take up the gifts before communion
• Make sure glass doors to church are closed when the service starts, they may be open before mass
• Offertory: two ushers take two baskets each, go to steps of sanctuary, bow to altar. Hand one basket to first person on either side in front section. Take second basket to first person in back section. Collect baskets when they reach the back pew of each section
• If there is no family to take offertory gifts, then ushers will take gifts up. Remind families that after the priest receives the gifts they all bow together to the altar and then return to their seat. No genuflecting before the sanctuary during mass
• Please notice if there are parishioners who cannot make it up for communion; please tell Father or the Eucharistic Minister when you go up to receive
• If it is getting crowded during mass, especially Easter and Christmas, assist people by going down the side aisles and finding open seats. This may involve asking people to move towards the center aisle. Motion for parishioners to walk towards you
• After mass, open glass doors and hand out bulletins
• Once everyone leaves, go through and straighten books and pick up debris. If you find multiple books of the same type in a section please move them to sections that are lacking that book.
• Check cry room
• Turn off lights after mass; close doors