Alter Girls

[Angelsflight]

No one is forced to be an altar server. The Mass is valid with or without an altar server, and the sacrafice of the Mass is also possible without servers - just like it is possible without music, etc.

But, again, out of curiousity and the historical-ness of altar serving: Was the movement to have girl altar servers brought about because of a lack of boys or because of an attempt of equality?

Does this really matter to you personally though? How does this ruin or affect your life in any way?

I just don’t lose sleep over this myself. I have more important problems in my life.

 

[Midtown_Mike]

Its not even just this topic that confuses me. I see so much stuff on other threads that astounds me.

“The priest is wearing red vestments today when he should be wearing green!. I am going to tell the bishop about this!”

“People are holding hands through the Our Father! I am going to tell the Bishop about this!”

“We are singing the wrong hymn today! We should be singing the other song! I am going to tell the Bishop about this!”

I personally would never tell a priest how to do his job. Never ever ever. He knows canon law better than I ever will in this lifetime. I will not question him, or the church.

And I truly do not care about whether the lady in aisle 2 is wearing open toed sandals, or the guy 2 rows in front of me is wearing a hat. Or who is in line for Eucharist that “looks like” they may be in mortal sin, or should not be there for whatever reason. I do not care if people hold hands through the Our Father. I go alone, so I hold hands with no one, and I probably would not if I went with someone, but i really don’t care if others do it. Its not my concern really.

I just go to mass, listen to what the priest has to say, take the Eucharist, and spend time with my lord. That is all I am there for. I am not there to judge the parishioners or the church. Thats just me though.

Many times I come here for the laughs it gives me…my problems should be so bad as those listed above.

 

[thewanderer]

Ok, so I haven’t read this whole thread, but I just wanted to point something out.

The Canadian GIRM says this
“he acolyte is instituted for service at the altar and to assist the Priest and Deacon.
It is his place principally to prepare the altar and the sacred vessels and, if necessary, to
distribute the Eucharist to the faithful as an extraordinary minister.”

ALONG with what the above poster posted.

So while the answer is yes, men are preferred whenever possible. It’s my understanding that women can only serve when there are no men able.

This post was earlier given as proving that altar servers are preferred as male rather than female because it uses the word his. The problem being that this passage is not refering to altar servers but to the acolyte, which, as can be seen from this quote which was also previously given is a different thing than the role of altar server.

1. In the absence of an instituted acolyte, there may be deputed lay ministers to serve at the altar and assist the Priest and the Deacon; these carry the cross, the candles, the thurible, the bread, the wine, and the water, or who are even deputed to distribute Holy Communion as extraordinary ministers

So, Gethsemene, if this post is what concinved you that there is a stated preference in the Church for altar boys over altar girls then I just wanted to make sure you realized your mistake.

Having said all that, I see many reasons to have only altar boys, as opposed to both, but there is nothing wrong with altar girls and the Church does not say that one should use only boys if it is possible, so there is definately nothing wrong going on in your new parish just because they use altar girls.

 

[Angelsflight]

Many times I come here for the laughs it gives me…my problems should be so bad as those listed above.

Some things on this forum are pretty funny…and some things just confuse me more…(note I list myself as “Confused Catholic”).

There are times when I want to run run run away from the church because of something I read on the forum. I haven’t run yet…but there are times when I have run to my priest about certain things that i read on the forum that seem strange or wrong…he usually sets me straight afterward.

 

[Angel_Bradford]

I think the concern is that being allowed to be an altar server as a young woman *could *become a stumbling block because they are allowed to participate in a practice that is meant to encourage priestly vocations, and they cannot become priests themselves.

I don’t believe there is a female altar server out there who thinks for one minute she is going to be priest when she grows up.

 

[englishredrose]

Its nice to know that even Female Altar Servers bring on such heated debate. We are controversally wanted after alll

Its sad that people don’ t know their history though

 

[Midtown_Mike]

Some things on this forum are pretty funny…and some things just confuse me more…(note I list myself as “Confused Catholic”).

There are times when I want to run run run away from the church because of something I read on the forum. I haven’t run yet…but there are times when I have run to my priest about certain things that i read on the forum that seem strange or wrong…he usually sets me straight afterward.

DO NOT RUN AWAY!!!

We’d miss you!

 

[Debora123]

I just dont think having altar girls is a big deal. They are there to serve God, not take anything away from the boys. And from the sound of it, lots of boys dont want to serve, or dont have time to serve…etc. So, what would happen if we did take altar girls out and there were no boys that wanted to. Who would do it then? Is it better if no one serves and the priest does it all?

Its not even just this topic that confuses me. I see so much stuff on other threads that astounds me.

“The priest is wearing red vestments today when he should be wearing green!. I am going to tell the bishop about this!”

“People are holding hands through the Our Father! I am going to tell the Bishop about this!”

“We are singing the wrong hymn today! We should be singing the other song! I am going to tell the Bishop about this!”

I personally would never tell a priest how to do his job. Never ever ever. He knows canon law better than I ever will in this lifetime. I will not question him, or the church.

And I truly do not care about whether the lady in aisle 2 is wearing open toed sandals, or the guy 2 rows in front of me is wearing a hat. Or who is in line for Eucharist that “looks like” they may be in mortal sin, or should not be there for whatever reason. I do not care if people hold hands through the Our Father. I go alone, so I hold hands with no one, and I probably would not if I went with someone, but i really don’t care if others do it. Its not my concern really.

I just go to mass, listen to what the priest has to say, take the Eucharist, and spend time with my lord. That is all I am there for. I am not there to judge the parishioners or the church. Thats just me though.

Went off topic a bit, sorry!

Haha, did you see a previous thread about the athlete’s clothes in the Olympics being too “immodest??” That was a good one.

 

[Angelsflight]

I don’t believe there is a female altar server out there who thinks for one minute she is going to be priest when she grows up.

Anybody ever play “careers” when you were a kid? My best friend wanted to be a hairdresser, so she did my hair. My brother wanted to be a chef, so he made something (usually inedible!) in the kitchen.

I wanted to be a priest. LOL. I really and truly did. I would hold a little “mass” in my bedroom with my brother and friend as parishioners. I would take a rolling pin to a slice of bread and then distribute the “host”. Mind you, I was 7 or 8 at the time. At the time I was not sure what nuns were really for, and somebody had to say mass!

I was never an altar server, but I did eventually grow up and realise I could never be a priest. I couldn’t be a priest today even if I were a man. I have too much social anxiety to get up in front of people and speak.

So, even if some little girl does have the desire to be a priest, she will grow out of it.

 

[Angelsflight]

Haha, did you see a previous thread about the athlete’s clothes in the Olympics being too “immodest??” That was a good one.

I DID see that!! LOL

 

[Angelsflight]

DO NOT RUN AWAY!!!

We’d miss you!

Awww…shucks.

 

[minkymurph]

Haha, did you see a previous thread about the athlete’s clothes in the Olympics being too “immodest??” That was a good one.

Of course they were! They should be dressed in full Burkha’s and no men should be allowed to watch while they compete. :tsktsk:

 

[Debora123]

Of course they were! They should be dressed in full Burkha’s and no men should be allowed to watch while they compete. :tsktsk:

Oh no no no. They should just not compete at all!

Haven’t you heard? It’s not proper for a lady to do such masculine things as sports or physical activity. Gender roles are much too blurred here in the 21st century. Didn’t you know that feminism is the root of all evil in our society??

 

[severus68]

I just dont think having altar girls is a big deal. They are there to serve God, not take anything away from the boys. And from the sound of it, lots of boys dont want to serve, or dont have time to serve…etc. So, what would happen if we did take altar girls out and there were no boys that wanted to. Who would do it then? Is it better if no one serves and the priest does it all?

Its not even just this topic that confuses me. I see so much stuff on other threads that astounds me.

“The priest is wearing red vestments today when he should be wearing green!. I am going to tell the bishop about this!”

“People are holding hands through the Our Father! I am going to tell the Bishop about this!”

“We are singing the wrong hymn today! We should be singing the other song! I am going to tell the Bishop about this!”

I personally would never tell a priest how to do his job. Never ever ever. He knows canon law better than I ever will in this lifetime. I will not question him, or the church.

And I truly do not care about whether the lady in aisle 2 is wearing open toed sandals, or the guy 2 rows in front of me is wearing a hat. Or who is in line for Eucharist that “looks like” they may be in mortal sin, or should not be there for whatever reason. I do not care if people hold hands through the Our Father. I go alone, so I hold hands with no one, and I probably would not if I went with someone, but i really don’t care if others do it. Its not my concern really.

I just go to mass, listen to what the priest has to say, take the Eucharist, and spend time with my lord. That is all I am there for. I am not there to judge the parishioners or the church. Thats just me though.

Went off topic a bit, sorry!

Not really off-topic. I agree with you. Why does the idea of female altar servers anger/scare some. If the Church says it is okay, who are we to say otherwise.

About those other matters on threads, don’t let me get started.

 

[Angelsflight]

Not really off-topic. I agree with you. Why does the idea of female altar servers anger/scare some. If the Church says it is okay, who are we to say otherwise.

About those other matters on threads, don’t let me get started.

Oh…come on…get started…lol. Just kidding.

 

[severus68]

Oh no no no. They should just not compete at all!

Haven’t you heard? It’s not proper for a lady to do such masculine things as sports or physical activity. Gender roles are much too blurred here in the 21st century. Didn’t you know that feminism is the root of all evil in our society??

Yes, and women not knowing their place as being subordinate to men - terrible!

 

[severus68]

Haha, did you see a previous thread about the athlete’s clothes in the Olympics being too “immodest??” That was a good one.

I can’t believe that there were those watching the Olympics just to judge on dress and immodesty.

 

[adrift]

Seems they are still the exception because many local priests (or is it the bishops?) have chosen not to follow the pope’s lead on this for whatever reasons. But if more did, I guess female altar servers would not be the exception because the ones I’ve known seem very passionate about it, much more so than the boys.

You are mistaken. It isn’t that the pope approved he merely allowed for altar girls. He permitted Bishops and priest to decide. There is a great deal of difference between allowing and approving.

In my friend’s parish it’s the opposite. When girls started serving, it inspired more boys to join up. So what you say above is not a fact at all. Seems it hasn’t happened in your parish. Have you seen it happen elsewhere? It would depend on the parish, and on the boys in question.

.

Your friends parish is a rarity. There are many parishes that can attest to the lost of boys as servers. I can name at least twenty parishes that this is the case.

 

[Debora123]

Your friends parish is a rarity. There are many parishes that can attest to the lost of boys as servers. I can name at least twenty parishes that this is the case.

Interesting.

I have personally never seen or been part of a parish that forbids altar girls. The parish I’ve been part of for the majority of my life has plenty of both girl and boy servers.

However, a friend of mine, (who is very religious and was an altar boy for many years) recently shared with me that his university’s parish priest decided to switch over to boy only altar servers. He told me that when that happened, he, along with numerous other guys, quit being an altar server in objection to the boys only rule.

As a result, they ended up having to go through a few “serverless” daily masses per week until the priest allowed the girls back and the guys returned.

 

[Debora123]

You are mistaken. It isn’t that the pope approved he merely allowed for altar girls. He permitted Bishops and priest to decide. There is a great deal of difference between allowing and approving.

Why would he use them in his own mass if he didn’t approve? Yes, he allows it to be a priest’s choice to have girl or boy altar servers, or NO altar servers at all! But if he uses them in his own mass, it seems to me like he approves of them himself, on a personal level.