ROME — David Nerbun, of the Diocese of Charleston, was one of 45 seminarians at the Pontifical North American College who were instituted into the Ministry of Reader on Jan. 13.
Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta celebrated the Mass and instituted the new lectors on the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, according to a press release sent by the college.
“As lectors you must savor the word, taste it, relish it and, above all, come to love and appreciate it,” Archbishop Gregory said in his homily. “Out of your own love for God’s word, you must then proclaim it with zeal to all God’s people,” he said.
The archbishop handed the book of sacred Scriptures to each seminarian and said, “Take this book of holy Scripture and be faithful in handing on the word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of his people.”
The institution as lector is one of the ministerial steps leading towards diaconal and priestly ordination.
As the rite indicates, a lector is charged with proclaiming the word of God in the liturgical assembly, instructing children and adults in the faith, and preparing them to worthily receive the sacraments.
Nerbun is in his first year of theological studies. He is a native of Columbia, S.C.