History and Graces received from Altar Serving

For hundreds of years, the usage of altar servers has brought about countless priestly vocations. In the words of the Archbishop of Westminster, Bernard Cardinal Griffen, "To serve at the altar, as to sing in the choir, is next to the priesthood the highest privilege which a human can enjoy. He represents the faithful and takes a most intimate part in the rich treasures of the church's liturgy and ceremonial. Those sacred ceremonies should be carried out with devotion, dignity, and attention to detail."

History:

An altar server is a lay assistant to the priest during the Mass or to other members of the clergy in other religious functions including Benediction and Eucharistic Adoration. An altar server is not to be confused with an acolyte. Before the Second Vatican Council, the acolyte was the highest of the minor orders, having duties including the lighting of the altar candles, carrying the candles in procession, assisting the subdeacon and deacon, and the ministering of water and wine to the priest at Mass. Acolytes wore either the alb or the surplice over a cassock. The order of acolyte was conferred on a seminarian at a minor ordination.

After the changes to the minor orders in 1972, the acolyte survived but became one of two lay ministries (along with that of lector) instead of an order. Today, Traditional Catholic orders such as the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, Society of St. Pius X, Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, and others preserve the traditional orders, including the acolyte. Therefore, the acolyte is not to be confused with the altar server even though the altar server can do the already mentioned duties of the acolyte.

In the post-Vatican II Church, an acolyte has all the responsibilities of an altar server except a few additional ones. The acolyte is also a permanent extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and can also be entrusted with celebrating the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. He is also the only lay minister who can do the purification of the vessels at Mass. Furthermore, an acolyte is given a priority to lead blessing ceremonies (Book of Blessings, Introduction, n. 18). In the absence of both a priest and deacon, the acolyte has priority to lead Sunday Celebrations (Directions for Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest, 1988, n. 30). Of course, these are modern novelties and not something that is in accord with Catholic Tradition.

Traditionally, the role of altar server has always been reserved to males and rightfully so. By having males serve at the altar, a young man is better able to discern the priesthood since he is involved with the Liturgy. Personally, I support the return of an all-male group of altar servers for the entire Catholic Church. Some parishes are even returning to the practice of all-male altar servers. Historically, the role of altar server has always been reserved to males. In the Encyclical Allatae Sunt on July, 26, 1755, Pope Benedict XIV stated in paragraph 29:

Pope Gelasius in his ninth letter (chap. 26) to the bishops of Lucania condemned the evil practice which had been introduced of women serving the priest at the celebration of Mass. Since this abuse had spread to the Greeks, Innocent IV strictly forbade it in his letter to the bishop of Tusculum: "Women should not dare to serve at the altar; they should be altogether refused this ministry." We too have forbidden this practice in the same words in Our oft-repeated constitution Etsi Pastoralis, sect. 6, no. 21."

In 1970 the Vatican condemned female altar serving in Liturgicae instaurationes as well as in 1980's Inaestimabile donum. Not until a circular letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to presidents of episcopal conferences on March 15, 1994, did the Vatican officially allow female altar serving.

Graces:

To serve at the altar as an altar server is one of the greatest sources of grace. The altar server assists the priest at the Sacred Liturgy; he is privileged to walk into the sanctuary. Remember, the Mass is the Sacrifice of Calvary. It is not a memorial but rather the Mass truly is the Sacrifice of Calvary. For that reason, all altar servers must display the utmost respect and reverence. For example, each and every single time that the server walks past the Tabernacle, he is to genuflect on his right knee to our Lord who is truly present in the Eucharist.

All altar servers must listen attentively during the Mass and should remain in a state of prayer with their hands in a prayer position. Talking amongst each other is absolutely forbidden. Likewise, all altar servers should wear proper shoes and never flip-flops, sandals, boots, or gym shoes. An altar server must also learn the proper name of all of the items used during the Liturgy.

Altar Servers must ensure that no particle of Our Lord's Body or Blood falls to the ground. With the use of the paten, altar servers perform an extremely important sacred ministry. They must ensure that no particle of the Eucharist is desecrated accidentally at any portion during the Mass. Furthermore, altar servers must know the basic prayers of the Mass at least in the vernacular and perhaps some of them in Latin. The altar server must have a basic understanding of the Catholic Faith and understand the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Traditionally, laypeople including altar servers were also forbidden to touch the sacred vessels including the Chalice. If they had to touch the paten they would hold it with a purificator. Likewise, they were only to carry the Chalice by touching the chalice veil covering it. Today's servers should do likewise.

To all altar servers, please take these suggestions to heart. I strongly suggest you read the words expressed in the article Advice for Altar Servers. Remember, as an altar server, you stand next to the priest who stands at the Cross of Calvary. At the Consecration, you stand near the altar on which the Bread and Wine become Jesus Christ. You should humble yourself and bow your head before the power of God. You are assisting at the Holy of Holies. Display reverence and worship Our God. Undoubtedly, altar servers receive countless blessings from Almighty God from serving devoutly at Mass. Even attending Holy Mass is the source of numerous graces. It is certainly more grace-filled for altar servers.

Prayer before Serving:

Heavenly Father, we ask your blessing upon us, that we may serve at your altar with reverence, attention, and love, in order to draw others to do the same. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Vesting Prayers:

For the Cassock:

Dominus, pars hereditatis meae et calicis mei, tu es qui restitues hereditatem meam.

O Lord, the portion of my inheritance and my chalice, You are He who will restore my inheritance.

For the Surplice:

Indue me, Domine, novum hominem, qui secundum Deum creatus est in iustitia et sanctitate veritatis. Amen.

Invest me, O Lord, as a new man, who was created by God in justice and the holiness of truth. Amen.

Additional Information:

Advice for Altar Servers
Handbook for Servers by the Archconfraternity of Saint Stephen
How to Serve: In Simple, Solemn and Pontifical Functions by Dom Matthew Britt OSB
How to Serve Low Mass & Benediction Paperback by Rev. William A O'Brien

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The Miracles of St. Padre Pio

A reader of my blog asked me to make post on this, and I was more than happy to do so.

St. Padre Pio (1887 - 1968) lived in our modern world but was everything other than ordinary. On September 20, 1918, St. Padre Pio received the stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. He is the only priest in history to receive the Stigmata. Roughly 300 others in Church history have also received it including St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Frances of Rome, and others. While the Church has yet to issue an official statement on this phenomena, it is surely an act in accordance with the Divine Will.

Doctors examined St. Padre Pio and could find no natural cause of the wounds. These wounds remained his entire life until his death when, as he predicted, they were healed. However, there was no scarring of the flesh. The blood that flowed from the stigmata was reported by others to have a smell of roses and flowers. St. Padre Pio was a living example of how holy an individual can become by faith.

He had the gift of Bilocation:

"Among the most remarkable of the documented cases of bilocation was the Padre's appearance in the air over San Giovanni Rotondo during World War II. While southern Italy remained in Nazi hands American bombers were given the job of attacking the city of San Giovanni Rotondo. However, when they appeared over the city and prepared to unload their munitions a brown-robed friar appeared before their aircraft. All attempts to release the bombs failed. In this way Padre Pio kept his promise to the citizens that their town would be spared. Later on, when an American airbase was established at Foggia a few miles away, one of the pilots of this incident visited the friary and found to his surprise the little friar he had seen in the air that day over San Giovanni." (Source: EWTN)

There are numerous other bilocation miracles that have been confirmed by numerous eyewitnesses. Read about them here.

"In order to attract us, the Lord grants us many graces that we believe can easily obtain Heaven for us. We do not know, however, that in order to grow, we need hard bread: the cross, humiliation, trials and denials." Padre Pio

He had the Gift of Levitation:

In his life, St. Padre Pio was a miracle worker. He also could levitate. On one occasion, St. Padre Pio levitated through the air in order to reach the Confessional without being seen and stopped. He immediately began to receive penitents. A man in the church was amazed how the priest had gotten to the confessional because so many people were outside of his door waiting to talk with him. St. Padre Pio said to him that God made him invisible and he walked on their heads to the confessional.

He healed others:

In 1919, St. Padre Pio received a penitent using two canes. The doctors could not help the 62-year-old man, but after Confession St. Padre Pio said, "Stand up and go away! You have to throw away these canes." The man could walk perfectly again. There have been numerous other healings too.

He had the Gift of Perfume:

Sometimes God allows saints to emit a beautiful perfume in order to draw more people to Himself and holiness. This perfume is smelt only by a privileged few, not all. St. Padre Pio had this gift and the smell of roses, incense, ammonia, and others was emitted from him. He said to some inquiring about them: "They are only a sign of my presence."

Father Agostino of San Marco in Lamis had a malfunctioned olfactory gland and could only smell strong odors. He said, "I smelt a number of times the perfume that many people smell. Even when I was distant from San Giovanni Rotondo I smelt it." The Gift of Perfume continued after St. Padre Pio's death. Not just places connected with him but also places in American and distant places of the world smelt the distinct perfume.

The Gift of Light:

On October 5, 125, Dr. Giorgio Festa operated on St. Padre Pio for a hernia. Before he had to stitch the would, the doctor noticed St. Pio had lost consciousness. He took advantage of this and look at his left side - the place of Jesus' wound from his stigmata. And, he was the wound was "fresh and of a vermilion red and in the shape of a cross...From the edges of the wound emitted small but unmistakable rays of light." Dr. Giorgio put on the bandage and St. Padre Pio regained his senses.

He also had the Gift of Visions, the spirit of Prophesy, Clairvoyance, the power to read hearts in Confession, and Xenoglossy (The ability to write, speak, or understand an unknown language).


Reading:

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