The presented article addresses the issue of understanding the permanent ministries of lector and acolyte, pointing out the need to recognize the "secularity" of these offices, since they are by their very nature intended for the lay faithful. To this end, the issue at hand was analyzed from historical, legal and pastoral perspectives. Three chapters of the publication are devoted to this. The first draws attention to the issue of nomenclature, explaining the various terms referred to the lectorate and acolyte (including "ministry," "office" and "function"). The second section on the historical background shows the realization of the postulate to return to the sources during the reform of ordination. The last part of the article addresses the pastoral dimension of the presence of lector and acolyte in the parish space. Here the publication uses the method of synthesis, attempting to grasp the cause and effect of certain activities without expanding side threads that have already been described in other studies. In this way, it is possible to see that the problem of understanding the permanent ministries, despite the great contribution of the liturgical renewal to changing this perspective, stems from the contemporary mentality of the laity and clergy.