Altar Serving gone wrong...?

[PLAT]

two months ago I was serving the sunrise Mass for the passed Christmas, in which I was the thurifer (person in charge of the censer). The good thing about that mass was that there were enough boys to make the mass look “nice”. One thing unusual about that Mass was that there were two other priests as concelebrants. Anyway, this is what happened:

As the mass proceeded to the liturgy of the Eucharist, we prepared the neccessary bread and wine. The laymen delivered the gifts as usual, then I gave the censer to the celebrant for censing the altar, the food and the cross, etc. I proceeded to give the celebrant some swings, then I started to cense the congregation. See what happened?

If you haven’t realised (or has no knowledge about the duties of a thurifer), I had forgotten to cense the concelebrants… Then of course no one noticed this (not even the mc of the mass (with a small “m”) lol) until I finally realised and told them. We even had breakfast afterwards with one of the concelebrants, and because we were busy talking about things happened during the midnight mass, no one mentioned this error. (I guess the priest was being nice…)

Now I would be very surprised if that was a sin of any kind , but I feel so unsatisfied right now. The fact that I was serving the christmas mass and that I was serving at the local cathedral makes this feeling even worse.

Is there something I can /should do other than “be careful and diligent next time”?

Oh, has any one of you come across serving errors as altar boys?

 

[Waiting]

two months ago I was serving the sunrise Mass for the passed Christmas, in which I was the thurifer (person in charge of the censer). The good thing about that mass was that there were enough boys to make the mass look “nice”. One thing unusual about that Mass was that there were two other priests as concelebrants. Anyway, this is what happened:

As the mass proceeded to the liturgy of the Eucharist, we prepared the neccessary bread and wine. The laymen delivered the gifts as usual, then I gave the censer to the celebrant for censing the altar, the food and the cross, etc. I proceeded to give the celebrant some swings, then I started to cense the congregation. See what happened?

If you haven’t realised (or has no knowledge about the duties of a thurifer), I had forgotten to cense the concelebrants… Then of course no one noticed this (not even the mc of the mass (with a small “m”) lol) until I finally realised and told them. We even had breakfast afterwards with one of the concelebrants, and because we were busy talking about things happened during the midnight mass, no one mentioned this error. (I guess the priest was being nice…)

Now I would be very surprised if that was a sin of any kind , but I feel so unsatisfied right now. The fact that I was serving the christmas mass and that I was serving at the local cathedral makes this feeling even worse.

Is there something I can /should do other than “be careful and diligent next time”?

Oh, has any one of you come across serving errors as altar boys?

I’m not a server, but there’s no sin involved here. You simply made a mistake. I doubt if anyone but the concelebrants even realized it. We’re all human and prone to making mistakes. If you can contact the concelebrants and apologize, it will make you feel better. I doubt that they’ve given it any thought.

 

[Barbkw]

Our priest said that under the Traditional Latin Mass, a priest who didn’t celebrate each detail of the Mass was committing mortal sin. I can’t remember the exact total number of mortal sins possible he mentioned, but it was in the high numbers, 80’s.

(Perhap’s the reason why the Latin Mass is not being welcomed back.)

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Our priest said that under the Traditional Latin Mass, a priest who didn’t celebrate each detail of the Mass was committing mortal sin. I can’t remember the exact total number of mortal sins possible he mentioned, but it was in the high numbers, 80’s.

(Perhap’s the reason why the Latin Mass is not being welcomed back.)

For a sin to be mortal it must meet three criteria.

1. 
   *]Must be of Grave Matter
   *]Full Knowledge
   *]Complete Consent
   
   Forgetting something at Mass might meet criteria 1 but does not meet the other two.

 

[Joe_5859]

If I had a nickel for every mistake I made as an altar server when I was a kid, it would have paid for my college tuition!

As Waiting said, there is certainly no sin involved and I doubt the concelebrants gave it any thought (if they even noticed the omission themselves!). We all make mistakes. I bet you will never forget to do that again!

I think it’s great that you take this ministry so seriously that such a thing would concern you. But try not to take it too seriously! My advice is to let it go and move forward knowing that God appreciates your service and dedication.

 

[Joe_5859]

For a sin to be mortal it must meet three criteria.

1. 
   *]Must be of Grave Matter
   *]Full Knowledge
   *]Complete Consent
   
   Forgetting something at Mass might meet criteria 1 but does not meet the other two.

1. 
   I’m fairly certain that forgetting to cense the concelebrants is not grave matter.

 

[Waiting]

Our priest said that under the Traditional Latin Mass, a priest who didn’t celebrate each detail of the Mass was committing mortal sin. I can’t remember the exact total number of mortal sins possible he mentioned, but it was in the high numbers, 80’s.

(Perhap’s the reason why the Latin Mass is not being welcomed back.)

This would only be a sin if one of the essentials of the Mass was deliberately omitted. This wasn’t the case for our server.

 

[Corki]

Our priest said that under the Traditional Latin Mass, a priest who didn’t celebrate each detail of the Mass was committing mortal sin. I can’t remember the exact total number of mortal sins possible he mentioned, but it was in the high numbers, 80’s.

(Perhap’s the reason why the Latin Mass is not being welcomed back.)

But forgeting or accidently making a mistake wouldn’t be a sin, let alone a mortal one.

BTW, if a priest doesn’t celebrate the OF Mass according to the Missal and does so on purpose, knowing he is violating the GIRM, I would say he’s committing a sin too. So it’s not about the TLM, it’s about obedience vs. illicit innovation.

 

[archangel04]

Lol that’s nothing and no real big mistake there. Try closing the book on the priest while he is reading the prayers from it now that is a mistake that others noticed lol

 

[TheDoctor]

…The good thing about that mass was that there were enough boys to make the mass look “nice”.

Gee, I am confused PLAT. Why would the lack of boys make the mass look “ugly”? You have to be careful - someone might read into it that you were taking a backhand swipe at women and young ladies who also serve Christ on the altar…

 

[tbtcom1213]

If you make a mistake let it pass and adress it after Mass.

As long as the congregation doesn’t know then the error wasn’t obvious and simply remember to correct it next time you’re in the same role.

For instance when I MCed a Solemn Mass in the EF for the first time my mistake took place during the formation of the Gospel procession. The acolytes lined up side by side with the thurifer instead of behind us. I directed them to go behind us and they did. After Mass however the liturgical coordinator told me that if the error is not obvious don’t change the position as it will disrupt the flow of the Mass.

Open my mouth O Lord to bless your holy name, cleanse my heart from all evil and distracting thoughts so that I may serve worthily at your holy altar and behold the priest in the way, the truth and the Life of Christ Amen.

Saint John Berchmanns patron saint of altar servers, ora pro nobis
Saint Tarsicius patron saint of acolytes, ora pro nobis

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

I’m fairly certain that forgetting to cense the concelebrants is not grave matter.

Not following the rubrics can, arguably, be of grave matter. If the rubrics say to cense the concelebrants and one does not, then one failed to follow the rubrics.

If they did so because they forgot then criteria 2 and 3 were not met. If they did so knowingly and willingly then they were met and it could, again arguably, be a mortal sin.

 

[EasterJoy]

But forgeting or accidently making a mistake wouldn’t be a sin, let alone a mortal one.

BTW, if a priest doesn’t celebrate the OF Mass according to the Missal and does so on purpose, knowing he is violating the GIRM, I would say he’s committing a sin too. So it’s not about the TLM, it’s about obedience vs. illicit innovation.

Right. It is a sin to be careless, but it is not a sin to think you are being careful as can be, to be humble enough to accept all the necessary training and so on, and yet to make a mistake, nonetheless.

To commit a mortal sin in how one celebrates the Mass would require a grave level of willfulness or sloth. You have to be aware of what to do (or aware that you ought to know, and fail to exert yourself to learn) and then say, in essence: “Well, who cares, I’ll do it as I do it and that’s going to have to do, because this is the effort I’m willing to make (or the amount of obedience I’m willing to offer).” Losing your concentration for a moment, even if it is a failure in will, still doesn’t fall in that category.

Even well-trained and attentive servers will make a mistake from time to time. I suspect that the priests in the OPs case mentioned nothing because they were satisfied it was only a momentary lapse, and nothing that needed to be addressed through additional training or encouragement to greater attentiveness. In that case, mentioning the error would have served no good purpose. It would be charitable to in that case to let the error pass and saying nothing.

It might help the OP to note this in the GIRM:
324. If the priest notices after the consecration or as he receives Communion that not wine but only water was poured into the chalice, he pours the water into some container, then pours wine with water into the chalice and consecrates it. He says only the part of the institution narrative related to the consecration of the chalice, without being obliged to consecrate the bread again.

In other words, the GIRM actually has a note in it about what to do in the case of the mistake in which the wine was left out of the chalice!! I think if the omission of the OP were anything like that serious, there would be a note addressing that, as well. As it is, we know that a Mass is valid with no incense whatsoever, so his mistake is not so serious as what a priest might make. If it were, one of the priests would have seen to the correction on the spot. They probably decided that tolerating the omission was more supportive of the solemnity of the Mass than the distraction of addressing the error during Mass.

 

[PLAT]

Gee, I am confused PLAT. Why would the lack of boys make the mass look “ugly”? You have to be careful - someone might read into it that you were taking a backhand swipe at women and young ladies who also serve Christ on the altar…

While the mass certainly doesn’t require those crosses and incense, etc. to be solemn , it is really helpful for the congregation because (idk why, some psycological effect maybe) it makes the mass look more “solemn”.

And, I was referring to them as “boys” because that’s the term we use, and besides our church doesn’t have girl servers.

 

[japhy]

I hope the concelebrants were not incensed that they were not censed!

 

[EasterJoy]

While the mass certainly doesn’t require those crosses and incense, etc. to be solemn , it is really helpful for the congregation because (idk why, some psycological effect maybe) it makes the mass look more “solemn”.

And, I was referring to them as “boys” because that’s the term we use, and besides our church doesn’t have girl servers.

The bishops have asked that the term “altar boy” be retired.

From “Guidelines for Altar Servers”,Committee on Divine Worship, USCCB
(nccbuscc.org/liturgy/current/servers.shtml) (boldface mine):

1. Although institution into the ministry of acolyte is reserved to lay men, the diocesan bishop may permit the liturgical functions of the instituted acolyte to be carried out by altar servers, men and women, boys and girls. Such persons may carry out all the functions listed in no. 100 (with the exception of the distribution of Holy Communion) and nos. 187 - 190 and no. 193 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.

The determination that women and girls may function as servers in the liturgy should be made by the bishop on the diocesan level so that there might be a uniform diocesan policy.

1. No distinction should be made between the functions carried out in the sanctuary by men and boys and those carried out by women and girls. The term “altar boys” should be replaced by “servers”. The term “server” should be used for those who carry out the functions of the instituted acolyte.…

Please note that the phrase The term “altar boys” should be replaced by “servers” was not confined to those parishes or dioceses that have both male and female servers, even though the document specifically states that some bishops may elect to allow only males to serve in their dioceses.

 

[japhy]

The bishops have asked that the term “altar boy” be retired.

From “Guidelines for Altar Servers”,Committee on Divine Worship, USCCB
(nccbuscc.org/liturgy/current/servers.shtml)

But the same document says:
The following guidelines were prepared by the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy and presented to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops for discussion at the June 1994 Special Assembly on Thursday, June 16, 1994. The suggested guidelines have been slightly revised according to the third typical edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. They may be used as a basis for developing diocesan guidelines.
This is not a legally binding document for any bishop who does not wish to implement it as such.

 

[Heffner]

two months ago I was serving the sunrise Mass for the passed Christmas, in which I was the thurifer (person in charge of the censer). The good thing about that mass was that there were enough boys to make the mass look “nice”. One thing unusual about that Mass was that there were two other priests as concelebrants. Anyway, this is what happened:

As the mass proceeded to the liturgy of the Eucharist, we prepared the neccessary bread and wine. The laymen delivered the gifts as usual, then I gave the censer to the celebrant for censing the altar, the food and the cross, etc. I proceeded to give the celebrant some swings, then I started to cense the congregation. See what happened?

If you haven’t realised (or has no knowledge about the duties of a thurifer), I had forgotten to cense the concelebrants… Then of course no one noticed this (not even the mc of the mass (with a small “m”) lol) until I finally realised and told them. We even had breakfast afterwards with one of the concelebrants, and because we were busy talking about things happened during the midnight mass, no one mentioned this error. (I guess the priest was being nice…)

Now I would be very surprised if that was a sin of any kind , but I feel so unsatisfied right now. The fact that I was serving the christmas mass and that I was serving at the local cathedral makes this feeling even worse.

Is there something I can /should do other than “be careful and diligent next time”?

Oh, has any one of you come across serving errors as altar boys?

One of the concelebrating priests should have sensed the main celebrant and the faithful.

 

[SKWill]

One of the concelebrating priests should have sensed the main celebrant and the faithful.

Do you have a citation for that? I just skimmed the GIRM and found no provision for a concelebrant to insense the celebrant, other concelebrants and the faithful (Instructions for the insensing of the sacred ministers and faithful by an acolyte or deacon are easily found in the GIRM.)

 

[EasterJoy]

But the same document says:
The following guidelines were prepared by the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy and presented to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops for discussion at the June 1994 Special Assembly on Thursday, June 16, 1994. The suggested guidelines have been slightly revised according to the third typical edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. They may be used as a basis for developing diocesan guidelines.
This is not a legally binding document for any bishop who does not wish to implement it as such.

As I said, they have asked. It does make sense. Few young men doing a worthy service want to be described as “boys” any more, and if a parish that just happens to only have boys as servers calls them “altar boys”, it sounds parochial. The term “altar server” more accurately describes the situation in the whole of the Roman Catholic world. It is worth checking to find out which term your bishop uses, and teaching the young people assisting your priests at Mass to use that one.