FRIDAY POTPOURRI: HELP WANTED

GIRM 107 - 110

My father was a difficult man with whom to play volley ball.  He was that guy that liked to play everybody’s position for them.  I could stand through an entire game and not have to to

uch the ball. 

In the same way, liturgists will tell us that ministries should not be all done by one person: lecturing, serving, and distributing communion all at one Mass.  Neither should they be artificially divided up in order to give as many people as possible a chance to “do a ministry.” So, for example, a reading should not be divided up between lectors, one starting, one reading the middle, one reading the end of any given reading.  The noted exception noted being the Passion.

The priests, save for those parts that are explicitly allowed, are not permitted to divide their roles up such as, “I’ll take the Liturgy of the World and you take the Liturgy of the Eucharist.”  Deacons can do that however such as the above example or one takes the singing parts and one does the working parts . . . 

Different ministries can be done by one person if there is a lack of ministers.  So if you were serving and there was nobody else available, you could also do the readings but this is clearly a permit-able but none-the-less exception to the rule.

Remembering Pope Emeritus’s writings however, the MOST IMPORTANT JOB for the lay faithful at the Mass is to PRAY THE MASS.  This is essential.  Those doing the readings or ushering or serving are not “getting to do more,” they are in some ways being distracted from doing the most important job: that of giving glory and praise to God - offering themselves for all that their Father has given them.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: TO SERVE AND TO PROTECT

I grew up in a very small, ethic parish in which I was related to half of the congregation.  It had no boundaries so people could come from quite a distance.  We lived a couple of blocks away so if they needed a server, we got the phone call.  During the snowstorms of the ‘70s, my parents would slap cross country skies on my feet and send me off to serve morning Mass where it would be me, Fr. Ozimek, and Mrs. Bailey the organist having Mass - everybody else being trapped in their houses.

One day I walked in and Fr. Ozimek said, “You’re serving?”  Having been on the altar quite a bit at that point I responded, “Yeah.  I have to serve again.”  He got a very serious look on his face and corrected my sentence, “No.  You GET to serve again.”

He was correct.

In the absence of instituted acolytes, paragraph 100 uses a great word: lay people may be “deputed” to serve at the altar.  That word makes me think of a sheriff of a small town during the taming of the West tossing a gold star with the word “deputy” on it to someone who would help keep law and order in the town.

Now that I think about it, maybe it isn’t all that different.  Save for the star.

Altar servers have several possible jobs:

crucifer one who carries the crucifix

thurifer one who carries the thurible (the incense)

They also carry the candles, the bread, wine and water, and may even be deputed to act as extraordinary minister of Holy Communion along with a list of other jobs that any particular parish may load upon their shoulders.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: THE ALMOST FORGOTTEN MINISTRY

GIRM paragraphs 98 & 99

Before becoming a priest or permanent deacon, a man must become an installed acolyte and an installed lector.  As a matter of fact, two seminarians who are associated with St. Sebastian, Mike Petkosik and Brian Petro are being installed as lectors this evening.  Please say a prayer for them.  Congratulations guys!

One thing that they make perfectly clear every year: this is not a step to the priesthood (though one must be installed as both an acolyte and lector before being ordained.)  But a layman may also share in these ministries if they are installed as such by the bishop.  This is different than being an alter server or a reader (open to just about any Catholic) at the Mass and involves greater responsibilities.

Interestingly enough, these two ministries are reserved for men.  And just like the case is that when a priest is concelebrating the Mass that he, as an ordinary minister of Holy Communion is to fulfill that role before and extraordinary ministry of Holy Communion, if an installed acolyte or lector is at the Mass, he should really fulfill that ministry before someone who has not been installed by the bishop.

 Besides those preparing for holy orders, I do not believe we have any further installed lay persons in the diocese.  At one time, the cathedral had only installed acolytes serving but they were disbanded in favor of expanding service at the altar to a broader number of people.  I would guess this would have happened about 25 years ago or so.

I do remember when John Paul II (now saint) allowed female altar servers.  It was intended for mission countries where the lack of boys (because they were working in the fields or whatnot) were not available.  As per usual, the United States picked up on it and ran with it and today it is far more common to have female servers than not.  If one reads the decree, it did say that where it is possible to retain the tradition of having all boys, it should be retained.  I think this was the incident that cause Mother Angelica to have her order return to the full habit.  

Aren’t we an interesting bunch?

It’s difficult enough running a parish.  I can’t imagine being responsible for the Church.  Every little thing you say, do, or decree not matter how well intentioned falls on deaf ears in some circles, causes undo rejoicing in others and major distress and anger in still others with unforeseen consequences.  Good thing it is the Holy Spirit at the helm.

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: THE GLITCH IN THE PROGRAMMING

I think the St. Sebastian servers are some of the best in the diocese (Thank you Mr. F.).  If there were going to be a contest for great serving teams I'd pitch my troops against anybody's in a fair fight.  But, as with any family, there are certain things in which we are just dysfunctional. 

Case in point:  SEVEN YEARS AGO I changed how we do the Gospel procession.  I made it easier and shorter.  I KNEW that it would take a while for the servers to catch on to a different routine but . . . honestly . . . SEVEN YEARS?

So I've taken to making sure, before Mass, to ask if they know EXACTLY and PRECISELY what is going on with the Gospel procession.

No they don't.

Or rather . . . some do, but JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE SAYS THEY KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY DO.  It reminds me of the car I had in seminary.  Just because it started didn't mean it was going to get you where you were going.  It might today.  It might tomorrow.  But you just never knew.

So I started going over it at EVERY MASS.

That, too, unfortunately, guarantees absolutely nothing.

MASS BY THE NUMBERS

Years ago my family was heavily involved in the restoration of an old silent movie theater in my hometown. It became the home of a professional company that produced shows for younger audiences and families. The family reupholstered every seat, installed windows, repaired plaster and painted, cleaned, and any other number of odd and dirty jobs to get the theater up and running often spending long hours late into the night.

The day the theater was to open they worked until the last possible moment, went home, showered and changed, and came back and ushered for a great little show called, “Cheaper by the Dozen.” When the show was done the director stood up to offer thanks for all those who played a role in the opening of the theater. Those who played obvious roles in the production, those who gave much money, those who were important people from the city were all given gushing thanks and flowers, but no mention was made of anybody who volunteered to do the actual grimy work of making the building itself useful let alone presentable.

As such things go, the people who were forgotten didn’t mind so much, it was those who love those who were forgotten that were hot under the collar. (Read: Me.)

I suppose that is one reason (as you all well know) I am so opposed to clapping at mass. Those for whom we clap of course do work many hard hours and deserve some recognition. But have you ever stopped to consider how many people it takes to make mass possible at an average size parish on a typical weekend; those whose efforts are not always obvious but whose services are heavily depended upon none-the-less? (We may not notice some of them when they do their job, but we would sure notice when they did not!)

Consider the numbers.

Here are some of the people that you might need for the whole weekend.

SEXTON - A sexton is the person who gets to church earlier than everyone else because he unlocks the place. Of course this role is often undertaken by the priest, sacristan, or janitor so we won’t count it.

SACRISTAN – This is the person who gets everything ready for mass by making sure all the altar appointments are ready and what not. Some places have a sacristan (or two!) for each mass others have only one. For the sake of argument we will count two for a whole weekend.

JANITORS AND ALTAR GUILDS – The church has to be cleaned. Even if there is a cleaning company (rare) there are still some things that need extra care. Let us suppose that you have one janitor and three Ladies who change candles, straighten books, and polish the brass.

LAUNDERER – All the altar linens must be cleaned in a special way. That is, they cannot be simply thrown in the wash. In addition they must also be ironed and in some cases, such as with corporals, heavily starched. Then there are the server’s cassocks and surpluses or albs and such things often done by another team of people. Let us cut the difference and say that there are two people doing everything.

ART & ENVIRONMENT – You might have one person doing this or a whole committee handling this. Then again, it might just be the pastor! They decorate for the high holy days as well as make sure the sanctuary is properly appointed throughout the year. The also keep the plants watered and make sure everything is in keeping with the liturgical season. Let’s say you have a three person committee that does everything from setting up the Christmas trees to having flowers at the Marian shrine in May.

COORDINATORS OF MINISTRIES – Somebody has to keep track of the servers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, and lectors, assign them to the masses and make sure they are showing up. This is a huge logistical job. Most of the parishes I have been at have three different persons doing this so I will use the number three.

LITURGIST OR LITURGY COMMITTEE – Some places have this, others don’t, and many that do are using people already being mentioned so I will not add numbers for them.

MONEY COUNTERS – A delicate topic indeed, but necessary none-the-less. It is best to have at least three people and to have at least three teams of three. But for the sake of argument, we will only count three in total.

Now hear is a list of people that need for every mass on each weekend.

SERVERS – I like to use many, but here I am only allowed three a mass, and since many people only use two, so perhaps three works out to be average.

LECTORS – Let us just say one though many people use two.

EMHC – Here is bone of contention. I know some people will say that they are overused and maybe so, but that is not the point here. To keep mass under an hour here we use about eleven per mass.

MUSICIANS – This is hard to calculate. You might have a choir so let us assume there are 20 people in it. And there might be three more masses at which there is only an instrumentalist and a cantor. Let us average it out to six people per mass.

USHERS & GREETERS – Often these are the same people. How about we only use four for per mass though at this parish we usually have six.

CLERGY – Of course you need a priest and some places there are deacons. Let us count that as two.

GIFT BEARERS – At least two.

So, the total number of people needed to get the parish up and running for a weekend with four masses is:

Those needed only once: 17
Those we multiplied by 4 to cover all the masses: 116
For a grand total of: 133

(And we didn't even get into those who work with the RCIA or, as is in some places, youngsters and the like.)

Your parish may have a great deal more people in these roles or somewhat less. But these are the people I have in mind when I baulk (thanks for the correction in spelling) at singling obvious people out for applause at mass.

These (what Pope Benedict emphasizes as) secondary roles make it possible for the Church to fulfill their primary role of prayer and worship. They are not more involved because they get to “do something”, everybody is doing something and most of the people are doing the most important thing. But it is nice when ALL of the “secondary – though necessary – jobs” are done well. It sure makes life a lot easier and more pleasant.

So for all you unsung behind the scenes people out there: THANK YOU!

QUIZ TIME!

Want to be an altar server? Think you were a good one when you were younger? Here is a little quiz. (Yes, I am too tired to come up with anything thoughtful today!)

What are the names of the these three pieces of cloth used at every mass?




If you got it above you should be able to get it again here. What is this cloth called? Where is it used during the mass? Why is it divided into 9 squares?

What should happen to them after use at mass?

Answers tomorrow on Symbolic Saturday!

IN OTHER NEWS: Thus far there has been three thumbs up and one definite thumbs down on the new ADAM'S ALE picture. Is anyone offended? Should it stay or should it go?

Altar Servers….Boys vs. Girls

Fr. V is on vacation and I have taken over. Today the blog…tomorrow the world!!!

For the past year I have found myself a bit of a liturgical snob of. My friends often say that I’m a bit too critical with regards to the mass; yet, the most holy sacrifice should be done properly and with reverence or it’s not worth doing at all. After attending some short classes on the liturgy provided by our friend Fr. V, I was reinvigorated with the mass and how my whole life is centered on it. Sadly, there are some priests that change the mass to their liking, which of course brings some sorrow to my heart and soul. Yet, there are certain things that I enjoy about mass” good music (which I will post about later in the week), having the Eucharistic prayer said correctly, full, conscious, active participation by the congregation, and also watching alter boys perform their duties with the utmost respect and reverence.

While watching the rainfall in beautiful Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday I sat and had a chat with a friend about alter boys. Formally, only boys and young men whom the Church hoped to recruit for priesthood were altar servers. However, things have taken a turn and now girls or young women can be alter servers. This was a source of discussion as my friend and I chatted. So I pose the question, is it appropriate for girls to be altar servers?

Depending on whom you speak with, you'll find some stanch Catholics that believe only boys should assist with the most holy sacrifice while others believe that girls can partake. On July 26, 1766, Pope Benedict XIV forbid females from serving at the altar. He stated,

“ 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.”

However, after the Second Vatican Council, thoughts changed and girls were allowed to join in the fun. Yet, in 1970 and 1980 two documents were put out by the Vatican stating that girls should NOT be altar servers. Some argument arose from this heated debate and officials were going back to canon §230 2 which stated:

"Lay persons can fulfill the function of lector in liturgical actions by temporary designation. All lay persons can also perform the functions of commentator or cantor, or other functions, according to the norm of law."

The canon was argued in both directions and it was decided that each diocesan bishop could decide what was proper for their diocese. Yet, the tables turned again when a later document stated that a priest, if faced with a girl altar server, does not have to allow her to serve, since no one has the right to be an altar server.


After all of that, I’m not sure what to believe anymore. Being an altar server and a girl, I have to question if I was doing the proper thing in the Church’s eyes. The argument that I hear is that yes, serving properly sets up the role of the male to become a priest. However, one could possibly argue that a girl severing also is fulfilling her vocation as a possible sister/nun. Being a more conservative Catholic, I still agree with the fact that only males should serve. Although serving for a girl may aid her in her vocation to religious life, the role of a sister serves a different purpose in the Church and although her life should be centered on the Eucharist, males should only serve. Who should we ultimately follow, the Pope or the Bishop? How strictly should we adhere to canon law? Are we in today’s world becoming cafeteria Catholics? I shall let you decide.