Q I attended Mass while on vacation at a small parish and the lector was also a Eucharistic Minister and took up the basket of the collected offerings after Mass. A friend of mine told me that was not proper. Is that true?  To do all of those things at one Mass for one person, are there rules about that?
— A.R., DeKalb

A Since the renewal at the Second Vatican Council lectors have come into prominence. They can do the readings from the Old Testament and the New Testament other than the Gospels and becoming a lector is a minor order.

Those who are candidates for the priesthood are ordained lectors, so it is a ministry.

A commentator, announcer at Mass is separate. Some places have maintained both, but where you can keep them separate is a good thing.

To distribute the holy Eucharist we have special ministers and they are appointed by the bishop. It is a little bit confusing if you have one person do all three of those. But again, in small places with a limited number of people, you do what you can with what you have.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal in No. 110 says that “if at a Mass with the people only one minister is present, that minister may exercise several different functions.”

Clearly implied, I believe, is the converse — i.e., when several ministers are present, no one should exercise more than one ministry at a particular Mass.

Having diverse individuals involved in the liturgy draws more people more deeply into the celebration. It also better illustrates the important role of the laity in the public worship of the church.

However, I am not aware of any rule prohibiting  a layperson from distributing Communion during Mass and then helping to count the collection afterward (or a lector from also being a catechist.)

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