Last week Anne Borgmeyer reflected on the first part of paragraph 53 in Pope Francis's letter Desiderio Desideravi, in which Pope Francis wrote about the importance of gestures in Mass.

The second part of paragraph 53 reads:

And if all this is true for this simple gesture, how much more will it be for the celebration of the Word? Ah, what art are we summoned to learn for the proclamation of the Word, for the hearing of it, for letting it inspire our prayer, for making it become our very life? All of this is worthy of utmost attention — not formal or merely exterior, but living and interior — so that every gesture and every word of the celebration, expressed with 'art,' forms the Christian personality of each individual and of the community.
— “Desiderio Desideravi,” Paragraph 53

Anne reflects:

The other part of paragraph 53 that struck me was the call to truly celebrate the Word and the “art” that is involved. Ministers of the Word (lectors) take very seriously the art of the proclaiming the Word as an important part of liturgy. The individual person that proclaims the Word is bringing the scripture readings to us after preparing and praying over the reading so that we may hear, through them, the words of our faith. As the reader embraces the Word, they bring a part of themselves to the liturgy. Each reader is unique. To truly hear the Word, the listener needs to be in the moment with the proclamation during the liturgy. Ideally, listeners put down the written word and truly hear the Word as it is proclaimed, giving it the “utmost attention” and allowing themselves to be one with the spoken Word. In a perfect world everyone prepares for the liturgy each week by reading the scriptures in advance of the liturgy to be ready to hear the spoken Word. Pope Francis reminds us the art is that we are “summoned to learn for the proclamation of the Word, for the hearing of it, for letting it inspire our prayer, for making it become our very life.”