The season of Easter follows the Triduum and concludes with the feast of the Body & Blood of Christ.  There is much joy in the stories from this relatively
short  period of time.  The readings also flesh out Jesus’ teachings regarding the meaning of the “new covenant” that He told his followers He was bringing to
the world.

Throughout this Season we proclaim the amazing story of Jesus’ Resurrection and its significance for us in our daily living.  We as Lectors ultimately are
challenged to be like those early Christians.  We relate to our listeners the experiences of our fellow believers who, 2000 years ago, were convinced that Jesus
had indeed risen from death.  Further, they were confident that Christ will be with them “until the end of Time.”  Our proclamation effort should reflect our
witness to the truthfulness and validity of Jesus’ promise over all the centuries to be true, today, in our own lives.  Try as best you can to put yourself into each of the scenes the stories relate to us so that you report not only the words and actions but also the deep feelings Christ’s followers experienced in those days.

Fifty days after the Easter celebration we turn to celebrate and remember the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles.  The precursor of this feast was a Jewish festival celebrating fifty days after Passover as well as coinciding with the spring harvest of fruits and vegetables.  By the time of Jesus it had evolved into a celebration of the religious history of the Jews culminating in the early centuries after Jesus’ death with an emphasis on the Torah as God’s gift to His people, Israel.

The Church focuses on the Spirit of God in the world in the three weeks starting with Pentecost and culminating in the Body and Blood of Christ.  As followers of Jesus we are charged with the responsibility to “teach all the nations”.  We gain sustenance for our mission from these very intensive weeks of celebrating the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  These weeks are focused on remembering what Jesus taught and what His mission was — the growing sense of freedom for all humanity from the bondage of self-absorption and the evil in our world.  As lectors we must reflect our conviction that continuing this mission has meaning for us as the story-tellers of our community.

In a given liturgy click on the format you are interested in viewing or printing.  We’ve also included a link to “The Word” column from America Magazine for each liturgy (if available).  The articles are from and earlier Year A cycle (2008) but are still useful and thought-provoking for your preparation efforts.  (We will update these references before the next Year A cycle starts.)