Here is an except from : The History of Lay Preaching  
Before 2001, when the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued national norms, lay preachers in the Rochester diocese were called forth by their pastors. Afterwards, they were authorized by the norms of the local bishop. Always, they were required to possess maturity in faith and character and the ability to communicate, along with proper preparation through study, formation, and prayer. By that time, of course, lay ministry had blossomed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with more and more laity earning their Master of Theology degree (the permanent diaconate degree) and /or the Master of Divinity degree, the same one held by priests. In fact, from 1982 until the present, a total of

History of Lay Preaching: Lay Preaching During Mass? 1 Gloria Ulterino

544 lay men and women received these degrees. Specifically, 306 women and 148 men (outside the diaconate) earned the M.A., while 50 women and 40 men received the M.Div. (Beginning in 1993, that number included people from the newly formed Albany branch of St. Bernard’s.)

Lay Preaching: Rooted in Scripture and Tradition

Where, then, shall we begin our search for the origins of lay preaching? With Jesus, of course. Time and time again, Jesus encountered ordinary people, so transformed that they named his truth. Consider the man born blind, for example, fearlessly proclaiming to religious leaders that Jesus was healer, prophet, and man sent from God. Or the Samaritan Woman, whose life was so changed that she became the first evangelist to her people, bringing many to faith because of her “testimony.”  Read More Here

* This one of three essays on the history of lay preaching in the Roman Catholic tradition. Gloria Ulterino prepared these for www.godswordmanyvoices.org, a web site which promotes the value of lay preaching. © Gloria Ulterino, 2016. For permission to use this material, contact Gloria Ulterino by email.