Female Altar Servers

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awindrose said:
Hate to throw this in here, but my parish has had 4 young men enter the seminary in the last 6 years. We have a mix of boy and girl alter servers.

I suspect that it is the spirit of the parish that has more to do with the number entering priesthood then the gender of the servers.
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Amen!
Wonderful article in my archdiocese newspaper this week about a new group that “was designed to introduce boys to seminary life as a positive experience and encourage vocations”. There were 100 6th-8th grade boys invited to the seminary. I don’t think I can link it yet, but it really looks like a good direction the vocations department at our seminary is taking. It seems obvious the pastors who sent students to this retreat are interested in priestly vocation awareness, regardless of needing to use female servers.
We also must not forget men who join Religious Orders. I am not sure if seminary vocation offices keep record of that. Even though the numbers entering those Orders is most likely low, there are still some men who have chosen that vocation.
 
Annunciata said:
My granddaughter as you well know posts on this forum and is very hurt and comments directed towards the female altar servers…she is on vacation just now and I have urged her to make a post in this thread explaining how she came to serve w/ her brother…

BTW…she recently received an award from her bishop naming her an “Outstanding Catholic Youth”… and… she also received the “Best All Around” student from her Catholic school which she just graduated from…👍
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*Thanks for the vote of confidence Nana…🙂 😉 *

Hello,
I am Annunciata’s granddaughter Jessie and I would like to express my experience as an altar server:
*I became an altar server two years ago at my parish and my faith has grown a considerable amount since then. I was personally asked by my parish priest to become an altar server and to encourage my brother to join also. My brother Jason and I are now regular altar servers at Sunday mass and look forward each time we have the privilege to serve. *

*I can assure you that I have no desire of even thinking about becoming a priest since that is reservered for men. Whether or not I will have a call to the religious life of a sister is yet to be discerned. Right now I serve just for the closer relationship with God and the grace I receive when I am on the altar. My parish has a balanced amount of girl and boy altar servers who are very respectful on the altar. I, myself look forward to continuing to be active in my parish as an altar server, and, hopefully, a Reader after I make my Confirmation. *

Thank you for allowing me to share my experience with you all. 🙂
 
Hello,
I am Annunciata’s granddaughter Jessie and I would like to express my experience as an altar server:
I became an altar server two years ago at my parish and my faith has grown a considerable amount since then. I was personally asked by my parish priest to become an altar server and to encourage my brother to join also. My brother Jason and I are now regular altar servers at Sunday mass and look forward each time we have the privilege to serve.
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As forcibly as I speak against female altar servers, I appreciate your contribution to your parish and your service. You are doing a good thing in serving Christ.

I speak against the disobedience and evil intentions that led to the allowance of female altar servers.
This in no way reflects on those who serve faithfully and without an intent to attack the Holy Faith. We should all seek obedience and if in the future they prohibit female altar servers we should obediently cease to use them. As they are permitted there is no sin or scandal in serving as an altar girl and indeed it is a good deed to do so.

To promote them with the intent of female priesthood, to diminish the call of celibate male priesthood or to just get attention is wrong. We should seek to even participate interiorly at Mass as action does not mean that we are participating and some have subverted the meaning of Mass to only really be participating when you are up on the Altar.

God Bless
Scylla
 
scylla said:
As forcibly as I speak against female altar servers, I appreciate your contribution to your parish and your service. You are doing a good thing in serving Christ.

I speak against the disobedience and evil intentions that led to the allowance of female altar servers.
This in no way reflects on those who serve faithfully and without an intent to attack the Holy Faith. We should all seek obedience and if in the future they prohibit female altar servers we should obediently cease to use them. As they are permitted there is no sin or scandal in serving as an altar girl and indeed it is a good deed to do so.

To promote them with the intent of female priesthood, to diminish the call of celibate male priesthood or to just get attention is wrong. We should seek to even participate interiorly at Mass as action does not mean that we are participating and some have subverted the meaning of Mass to only really be participating when you are up on the Altar.

God Bless
Scylla
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Pretty well stated… and I share your sentiments.
 
scylla said:
As forcibly as I speak against female altar servers, I appreciate your contribution to your parish and your service. You are doing a good thing in serving Christ…

…God Bless
Scylla
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Thank you…and please know I will always be faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic church…🙂
 
I just want to say that I am in favor of male only, celibate priesthood and loyal to the magisterium and in full support of the pope. I also have no problem with female altar servers or lectors or EMHC. I don’t think that the two positions are necessarily at odds with each other. My two youngest sons will be serving this sunday when the bishop comes for his pastoral visit. I am hoping that this experience will inspire them to look at the priesthood. Please help me by praying for them. they are 11 and 13 years old so it’s early but certainly not too soon.
 
Our pastor has come out in recent days (July 2007) saying that the Pope has now started allowing altar girls. Has there been a change on the church’s stance and recommendations (which as I understand remains that boys are still preferred for various reasons though it is left to the local archbishop to determine whether they allow it or not) on this matter?

Thanks so much and God bless
Stephen
 
No there has been no change in the Law about girls being altar servers. Unfortunately, they are permitted.:crying:
 
Ask him to show you the document that was just issued, as you are curious to read it.

It doesn’t exist, often these type things are promoted by ignorance and people accept it. This is the big problem with faithful Catholics as they don’t realize that people lie, so they often trust a little too much.

So it is worthwhile to check into these type things as too much has passed within the last few decades involving outright dishonesty by some Catholics who desire to change the Church.

Don’t be worried about investigating and politely asking for some documentation to satisfy curiosity and ensure proper obedience.

In Christ
Scylla
 
My parish has had altar girls for years I think. I don’t really see a problem with it.
 
The main problem with having girl altar servers is that for 2,000 years, countless vocations to the priesthood have been fostered by young boys serving at the altar. It’s no secret that the vast majority of priests were altar boys when they were young.

With today’s shortage of priests, we need to do more than just pray that God will bless His Church with more holy priests. We must also give young men and boys the opportunity to serve our priests at the altar, so that the seed of a vocation may be planted. Every time a girl serves, that’s a lost opportunity.
 
People, like your priest, use Vat. II as an excuse to promote their agenda. Their battle cry, “In the Spirit of Vat. II” is being quieted by Pope Benedict. And I agree, altar girls shouldn’t happen.
 
dbacks5439 said:
People, like your priest, use Vat. II as an excuse to promote their agenda. Their battle cry, “In the Spirit of Vat. II” is being quieted by Pope Benedict. And I agree, altar girls shouldn’t happen.
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Why?
 
Our parish started having altar girls years ago. Now there are no altar servers at all - no girls or boys. 😦 There hasn’t been a vocation to the priesthood from our parish for about 15 years!! Is it any wonder?!
 
ssammut said:
Our pastor has come out in recent days (July 2007) saying that the Pope has now started allowing altar girls. Has there been a change on the church’s stance and recommendations (which as I understand remains that boys are still preferred for various reasons though it is left to the local archbishop to determine whether they allow it or not) on this matter?

Thanks so much and God bless
Stephen
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This is not new. The Vatican, through the Congregation of Divine Worship, issued the statement in 1994. It is up to the discretion of the Bishop, so perhaps your diocese did not allow altar girls until now.

“Girls or women may also be admitted to this service of the altar, at the discretion of the diocesan Bishop and in observance of the established norms.” – Redemptionis Sacramentum
 
Altar girls have been approved for quite some time. But, I think it’s a good thing for the reason Mother Angelica gave when it happened. For the first time in fifty years, we’ll see one hundred percent obedience with the liberals in the church.
 
1ke said:
This is not new. The Vatican, through the Congregation of Divine Worship, issued the statement in 1994. It is up to the discretion of the Bishop, so perhaps your diocese did not allow altar girls until now.
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Some places had them unofficially before that. My parish started a few years before the Vatican allowed it. My cousins were altar girls when they were growing up in the 1970s.
 
Karl_M said:
Altar girls have been approved for quite some time. But, I think it’s a good thing for the reason Mother Angelica gave when it happened. For the first time in fifty years, we’ll see one hundred percent obedience with the liberals in the church.
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Ain’t that the truth…:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
 
Female altar servers? I say no.

Why did we start having altar servers in the first place? Because the priests were lazy and needed them? I don’t think so. 😉
 
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