Girls as alter servers

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mrs_abbott

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This is one area that I wish the Church hadn’t given in on. I was disappointed when they allowed girls to be alter servers and assist the priest during Mass.
When I was growing up, I was taught that it was important for young men to be alter servers because it gave them an opportunity to assist in the Mass and discern whether or not they wanted to join the priesthood. Now, since girls can’t be priests, I didn’t quite understand why they were allowed to be alter servers.
It sounds like another Equal Rights Movement sticking their nose in the Church’s affairs. Am I wrong on this?
Does anyone know the reason why girls are now allowed to be alter servers? :confused:
 
Well, in my old parish they started asking the girls because none of the boys wanted to assist.
 
Our parish has more girls than boys serving - probably about 70% are girls at least. I don’t know why. My daughters are altar servers.
 
Personally, it really bothers me to see girls on the altar. It just doesn’t fit. If it is meant to foster aspirations to the priesthood, why it has been opened up to girls is beyond me. I used to go to a parish where only boys served. Now, I am in a larger parish where it is more common to see girls than boys. I personally think it is a disservice to boys and the altar to have this practice in place.
 
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malcolm_davies:
her’s an official reply:

ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur19.htm
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Wow, that’s the most in depth I’ve ever seen it discussed…good food for thought on all fronts. I’ve often wondered both sides of the argument, trusting there was good reason for only having boys all those years, but not really able to figure the reasons out for myself – now I see better, but also see the Holy Father’s points…sticky wicket to say the least; glad I’m just little old me and nobody important who has to make those decisions. :bowdown:
 
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a_cermak:
Well, in my old parish they started asking the girls because none of the boys wanted to assist.
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I truly find that very hard to believe. No boys wanted to assist??
Not one, none at all?

A dumb question: why is it that no boys wanted to assist?? If that really is the case that is. 👍
 
Does anyone know the reason why girls are now allowed to be alter servers?

Altar boys are used when there are not enough consecrated men ( almost a universal phenomena) and again to allow boys the opportunity to discern a vocation.

When a lad does not appear for a whole bunch of reasons during the week, one of the men are tapped on the shoulder and fill the breach…I guess we are lucky as so many men who are very devout have indeed been altar boys in their youth.

Again, the boys at the parochial school have oportunities every day to learn and be guided.

This terrible situation which abounds in many places is due ( in my opinion ) due to the breakdown of the Catechism and attended teachings of the young.
 
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palmas85:
I truly find that very hard to believe. No boys wanted to assist??
Not one, none at all?

A dumb question: why is it that no boys wanted to assist?? If that really is the case that is. 👍
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Because all the icky girls are doing it…😉 😛

(sorry, couldnt’ resist)
 
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palmas85:
I truly find that very hard to believe. No boys wanted to assist??
Not one, none at all?

A dumb question: why is it that no boys wanted to assist?? If that really is the case that is. 👍
Click to expand...
Small dying parish. It’s in a rural town and is a parish of around 300 Catholics of whom maybe 150 attend on any given weekend–most of them over 50. This is a district that at one time had K-12 Catholic education–today it’s K-6 due to not enough children. They had 2 boys of the appropriate age and that was it. It’s the kind of town where jobs are scarce and wages are low. So people leave, especially young people. I’ve seen it in a lot of rural towns.

Pax,
Amy
 
We have appx. 120 altar BOYS at our parish and we have 5 young men from our parish studying for the priesthood. There are no altar girls. I do not understand it being so offensive for girls not to serve. Growing up it never occured to me “Oh the church thinks less of me because I’m a girl so they won’t let me serve at Mass.”
 
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rayne89:
We have appx. 120 altar BOYS at our parish and we have 5 young men from our parish studying for the priesthood. There are no altar girls. I do not understand it being so offensive for girls not to serve. Growing up it never occured to me “Oh the church thinks less of me because I’m a girl so they won’t let me serve at Mass.”
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I know at Catholic school in grade 7 we all got a bit upset we couldn’t be altar servers. The priest came and explained to us why we couldn’t be altar servers but none of us girls accepted it (this was around the time the nuns were losing their veils, etc, so a time of big change). Two years later, the same parish had altar girls…

I let my daughters serve since all the other girls do. I don’t see it as a big deal.
 
Ok, now that was unqualified. My girls are both servers, and they serve with more reverence than most of the boys. They have boys in their group who call my little ones names, push her, cut her off as she walks up front etc. They giggle, don’t listen to father when he explains how to do it and so on. I don’t want to say the boys are all bad, and mybe it’s just the group, but still. I grew up not being allowed to serve, as a matter of fact, upon my confirmation, we were told to stay away from the bishop because "he doesn’t like grils at all " EDIT A horrible memory to my confirmation. But anyway…girls are doing just as good a job as boys, and even though the “job” was originally intented to prepare boys for priesthood, maybe some girls will decide to join a convent or get otherwise involved in the church, like catechists or such. I’m not a feminist, but my girls would be heartbroken if they couldn’t serve anymore. They love doing it! Oh, and btw, in our parish and in our last, the boys were generally more interested in goofing off than in committing themselves to serving. Our priest here lets everybody serve, we have up to 12 servers up there at some masses. There’s some great boys, too, I see one priest in the making with one of them. I pray that he will become a priest, just as I pray that the sefving will help my girls decide to devote themselves to a religious life.
Peace to you all ( and I think Jesus loved girls as much as boys…)
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leaner:
Because all the icky girls are doing it…😉 😛

(sorry, couldnt’ resist)
Click to expand...
 
Aside from that, in my opinion, girls should not be altar servers. When I was an altar boy, we started that whole mess and at the time I didn’t think much of it (my sisters were some of them). However, now, with more knowledge and experience under my belt, I can see the folly in it. I know that I will only allow altar boys if I get ordained (by the grace of God).
 
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a_cermak:
Small dying parish. It’s in a rural town and is a parish of around 300 Catholics of whom maybe 150 attend on any given weekend–most of them over 50. This is a district that at one time had K-12 Catholic education–today it’s K-6 due to not enough children. They had 2 boys of the appropriate age and that was it. It’s the kind of town where jobs are scarce and wages are low. So people leave, especially young people. I’ve seen it in a lot of rural towns.

Pax,
Amy
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You know, Amy, you could be talking about my home town if I didn’t know better. At Mass, I look around the church, and I see whole bunches of grey heads, and very few kids from 7 to 18 years old. Then I think, “How many people will be here when a lot of the older people are gone”. That really makes me sad, sometimes. I am a cradle Catholic, and I would rather see boy servers than girl servers, but look at it another way. Maybe by the girls serving, it helps keep alive that little spark of faith that maybe wouldn’t be there otherwise. Our whole area is slowly dying due to lack of decent paying jobs, and the lack of interest in church-related things. We have trouble getting people to bring up the gifts, readers, and communion distributers. I don’t know what the answer is. I pray for better times. God bless you and our Church.
 
I do not have an issue with girls being alter-servers. If the boys in a parish are unwilling to serve because of whatever excuse (and anything that keeps one from serving God is simply that, an excuse) than the Father needs someone to assist him. We have about a 50/50 split in my parish and as the sacristan I can attest to the greater reverence and attention to detail that most of the girls exhibit.

No, girls can not be priests, but they can become Sisters, or good Catholic mothers who will teach their children the respect for service that the boys of their generation seem to be lacking. What was that Paul said? “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female.”
 
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ComradeAndrei:
Aside from that, in my opinion, girls should not be altar servers. When I was an altar boy, we started that whole mess and at the time I didn’t think much of it (my sisters were some of them). However, now, with more knowledge and experience under my belt, I can see the folly in it. I know that I will only allow altar boys if I get ordained (by the grace of God).
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“Aside from that, in my opinion, girls should not be altar servers. “ You have offered us your opinion, would you care to tell us what your opinion is based on?

“When I was an altar boy, we started that whole mess and at the time I didn’t think much of it (my sisters were some of them).” By calling it a “mess” you are implying there is a problem. What do you see as the problem?

“However, now, with more knowledge and experience under my belt, I can see the folly in it.” Once again you claim there is a problem but offer no evidence of a problem. Please share your experience.

“I know that I will only allow altar boys if I get ordained (by the grace of God).” I applaud your desire to serve in the priesthood. Please remember that a priest takes a vow of obedience and the gender of alter-servers may not be a decision the bishop allows you to make.
 
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rkberlin:
Ok, now that was unqualified. My girls are both servers, and they serve with more reverence than most of the boys. They have boys in their group who call my little ones names, push her, cut her off as she walks up front etc. They giggle, don’t listen to father when he explains how to do it and so on. I don’t want to say the boys are all bad, and mybe it’s just the group, but still. I grew up not being allowed to serve, as a matter of fact, upon my confirmation, we were told to stay away from the bishop because "he doesn’t like grils at all " A horrible memory to my confirmation. But anyway…girls are doing just as good a job as boys, and even though the “job” was originally intented to prepare boys for priesthood, maybe some girls will decide to join a convent or get otherwise involved in the church, like catechists or such. I’m not a feminist, but my girls would be heartbroken if they couldn’t serve anymore. They love doing it! Oh, and btw, in our parish and in our last, the boys were generally more interested in goofing off than in committing themselves to serving. Our priest here lets everybody serve, we have up to 12 servers up there at some masses. There’s some great boys, too, I see one priest in the making with one of them. I pray that he will become a priest, just as I pray that the sefving will help my girls decide to devote themselves to a religious life.
Peace to you all ( and I think Jesus loved girls as much as boys…)
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Yes Jesus loved and loves us all equally.

But your comments are so obviously (to me) about you and not about Him. Perhaps if you try to make this and other issues
“Less me and more Him”,
you will see the real benefits of traditional decisions that lay people have unfortunately changed for their benefit and needs.
 
Our parish has both male and female servers. The ranks are filled, and serving for both religious ed. and the school does not start until the end of 5th grade.

I think the success of the program is the fact that unless it is an emergency, and unless they are siblings, boys and girls NEVER serve on the same team- not even for Christmas or Easter. They are also not trained together.

I don’t think altar service necessarily promotes the priesthood, not nearly as much as a family where it is OK for a boy to state that he wants to become a priest, and a parish priest who is worthy of imitation. Happily, our parish has such families, and such a priest, so that in a few years, we will be offering more than a couple vocations every two or three years.

(We won’t talk about the flip-flop thing, which was stopped before it could get started.)
 
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