WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

I doubt not then but innocence shall make false accusation blush, and tyranny tremble at patience.

Pope Leo XIV Inspires Love For Jesus In The Sacred Liturgy

-

For those of us who are privileged to serve in the sanctuary, to serve Jesus and his priest, the recent words of Pope Leo resonate deeply.

Being so close to the sacred actions of Liturgy, how can we not be completely captivated by the Lord? Is the opportunity to serve in the sanctuary not a sublime gift to be treasured beyond Sunday throughout the week? Of course it is! We are loved by Jesus - each one of us! We hope and pray that our actions are grafted to the action of Jesus in the Mass.

The Holy Father spoke recently at a gathering of French altar servers in Rome. A few phrases stand out.

Dear Altar Servers, the celebration of the Mass saves us today! It saves the world today! It is the most important event in the life of the Christian and in the life of the Church, for it is the encounter where God gives Himself to us in love, again and again.

In that paragraph is a flood of inspiration! "The Mass saves us today!" Therein the temple of the Lord, kneeling in the sanctuary, we are drawn into eternity to meet "God gives Himself to us in love, again and again."

How can we not "(k)eep in mind the greatness and holiness of what is being celebrated"?

The Holy Father reminds us of the character of the dedicated altar server.

May your attitude, your silence, the dignity of your service, the liturgical beauty, the order and majesty of your gestures, lead the faithful into the sacred greatness of the Mystery."

  1. Attitude. Our minds are wholly centered on the Lord. We serve God; we serve His priest; we support each other. We "lead the faithful into the sacred greatness of the Mystery."
  2. Silence. We are transparent to the presence of God.
  3. Dignity of service. We are part of the shape of the Mass, the architecture of the Liturgy. We are models of prayer.
  4. Liturgical beauty. Is it possible to exhaust the nature of Divine Worship in a blogpost or even an entire book? The beauty of the earthy liturgy is configured to the heavenly Liturgy. Colour, light, texture/incense, fabric/vestments, movement/gesture, sound, silence... are saturated with the art of worship due to God.
  5. Order and majesty of gestures. As above, liturgical gestures are the actions through which Jesus makes himself present. We see, for example, crosses in the movements of the servers, crosses in the priest's gestures over the Gospel pages, the gifts and the people.

Pope Leo's comments could be considered a form of a charter for altar serving.

Reference: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-08/pope-leo-xiv-france-altar-servers-mystery-mass.html

The Guild of Saint Stephen: https://www.guildofststephen.org/

Comments

Post a Comment

Your comments will be appreciated and posted if 1) they are on topic and 2) preserve decorum.

Stand by your word.

Popular Posts

Divine Worship | Form One of The Offertory

-
Image
Divine Worship: the Missal, the Missal of the Personal Ordinariates, retains the older set of offertory prayers (in the vernacular) and also includes in a separate section the shorter offertory prayers (Form II) found in the Novus Ordo Missal of Pope Saint Paul VI. The longer offertory prayers capture the sacrificial nature of the Mass. Our sacrifice - offerings of bread and wine that represent us - our hopes, our needs, our lives - is joined to the prayer of Jesus to the Father in the Holy Spirit. The bread and wine are accepted by Jesus and become by the power of the Holy Ghost the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. See article :  https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/transubstantiation-for-beginners The one sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is made present in every valid Mass. Time and eternity meet. The congregation becomes present to the banquet of Jesus and the Apostles when Jesus established the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Or...
Read more

Syro-Malabar Church: The Ad Orientem and Versus Populum Debate

-
Image
The Syro-Malabar Church (SMC), an  Eastern Catholic Major Archiepiscopal Church based in Kerala, India, is visiting the issue of the orientation of the altar. That is, the orientation of the priest at the altar. The question they are visiting: should the priest face in the direction of the liturgical east (ad orientem), or versus populum (toward the people)? The SMC is an autonomous ( sui iuris ) particular church in full communion with the Pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. [Wikipedia] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/syro-malabar-synod-may-take-up-liturgy-alteration-laity-meet-today/articleshow/73062622.cms Times of India reports that the issue pertains to the difference in conducting masses in dioceses under the Syro-Malabar Church (SMC). In Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese (and most other dioceses to the north of Ernakulam), the celebrant faces the laity during the mass. H...
Read more

You know you're a REAL altar server when... .

-
Image
In a movie theatre, you genuflect before entering the aisle to take a seat. Riding a bus, sitting in class or at the doctor's office, and/or when watching TV, you rest your hands palms down on your thighs, finger tips at your knees. You can identify each and every variety of incense used in the Mass simply by its scent. You habitually wear black socks and black dress shoes... even when wearing shorts for gym class or at the beach. You turn a perfect right angle when entering a building. You have nightmares about serving Mass at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. You hear a bicycle bell ring and you drop to your knees. You can't resist the urge to lift a curtain from the bottom. You have a copy of Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described by Adrian Fortescue on your smartphone for recreational reading. You have a copy of Ritual Notes (11th Edition) on your smartphone for recreational reading. As a torchbearer, you can carry a processional candle without spilling one dr...
Read more

Apostles' Creed Ordinariate Style

-
Image
Members of the Personal Ordinariate are familiar with the following version of the Apostles' Creed. The Creed is here ordered into twelve articles, which is a common thing to do. I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth: and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead ; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead . I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints; the Forgiveness of sins; the Resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. CCC194 The Apostles' Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol o...
Read more

Rorschach Test For Catholics

-
Image
Walter Joseph Kovacs (Rorschach) by CohenAW "Do you see what I see? Why don't you see what I see?! I want you to see what I see!" Test #1 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Liturgical dance." Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: "Blasphemia!" What a charismatic Catholic sees: "Gift of tongues." Test #2 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Sign of Peace." Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: "Abusus liturgicus!" What a charismatic Catholic sees: "Baptism by fire." Test #3 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Synodality." Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: "Haeresis!" What a charismatic Catholic sees: "Spirit of Vatican II." Test #4 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Spectacle!" Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: "Caelum in terra!" What a charismatic Catholic sees: "Um... uh... zabbababaha quaamaaaa feraae auteaaam." Test #5 What a diocesan Catholic sees: "Lay presider." Quod sodalis FSSPX videt: ...
Read more

The Beauty of Holiness: Ordinariate Divine Worship

-
Image
Procession of the Blessed Sacrament | Corpus Christi The Lesson | Requiem for Monsignor Peter Wilkinson, PH | D. Duchesne Boat Bearer, Entrance Procession | Andrea Collins Photography Solemn High Mass | Andrea Collins Photography First Communion | D. Duchesne Holy Matrimony | Andrea Collins Photography Solemn High Mass | D. Duchesne Lift high the Cross! Elevation of the Precious Body | Andrea Collins Photography Elevation of the Precious Blood | Andrea Collins Photography Holy Baptism | D. Duchesne Lectors at the Easter Vigil 2026 | D. Duchesne Midnight Mass | D. Duchesne The Churching of Women | Procession to the Altar
Read more

POPE LEO XIV Magnifica Humanitas

Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good” (paragraph 211).

WORDS TO THE WHYS

The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject. - Marcus Aurelius