HELP! There are too many FEMALE ALTAR SERVERS in our diocese

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I can’t help myself. Just one more look…

BTW this is not a TLM. It is a bona fide Novus Ordo, celebrated with Latin, Gregorian Chant and Sacred Choral Music.

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Kay Cee:
Both of my daughters are altar servers. Sometimes they’re the only ones who show up when they’re scheduled. Often they fill in for scheduled kids who don’t bother to come.

Any boy who thinks it’s beneath him to serve God with my daughters needs a serious attitude adjustment!!!
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Where they are permitted, I see no problem with it. I don’t think the lack of boys has anything to do with girls in the sanctuary, though that may be a very small part of the problem. To me it is a pastoral and a parental problem. The boys you see in the pictures above come from families where the Mass is the center of life. The priests re-emphasize this through their dealings with them. Lay people do not work with the altar boys in my parish. They are trained by the pastor and other priests at the parish.

In fact, it is the priests at my parish that handle a lot of things. THEY teach RCIA. THEY train altar boys.

I might add one thing else I have noticed. These kids - they go to confession regular from what I have seen. Confessionals are running before all masses and it is nothing to see kids running up to the confessional a half hour before Mass. The priests emphasize this too. They have to be “clean”, as we all should be.
 
Beautiful photos.
I must say that the comment on Confession sounds like my current parish, where Confession is frequent and there is no excuse not to Confess. In my last parish there was such a narrow time window to get to Confession it was widely believed they were discouraging the practice of receiving the Sacrament.
 
I’ve witnessed priests at my parish spending time in the box outside of posted hours…and people come. What they don’t finish before Mass, they go back and do after. Once again, people come.

But, for altar servers, I know it is stressed.
 
Can I ask what parish that is? I went on vacation recently and I think that is the church we went to! Don’t worry if you don’t want to advertise it over the internet, just wondering.
 
No problem.

It is Assumption Grotto Parish in Detroit, Michigan.
 
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Lux_et_veritas:
No problem.

It is Assumption Grotto Parish in Detroit, Michigan.
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Diane, is the last picture the Grotto too? With the priest facing East?
I have got to get down there!

My Motto is Altar Boys, Choir Girls…
 
Beautiful pictures!!!

In our parish, we have more altar girls than boys. It just does not seem popular to serve with the boys. Although, we do have several high school boys that serve as MCs(???) at holy day masses, etc.

We just went through a priest change, and our old priest seemed to be trying to get back to a more traditional altar serving routine. We’ll have to see if it lasts with our new pastor.

So far we have one daughter, and I don’t know if we will encourage her to be an altar server or not. I see good things coming out of Lincoln, but then again, I see good things coming out of our diocese too (even with altar girls!) God Bless Archbishop Chaput!!
 
Hi, I must say that I’m very sorrowful that so many think that girls should not serve, it makes a loving part of my life seem bad in some way. I loved serving Mass, and am so happy that I had the opportunity to serve in that way. I have never thought, that this may lead to a position in the church as a priest, and would never argue with our church about such issues.

I feel I understood the Mass, and was able to find the proper responses much more acutely because of it. I love my God, and will always treasure that part of my life as an alter server.

Sincerely,

Debbie
 
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Lambertd0:
Hi, I must say that I’m very sorrowful that so many think that girls should not serve, it makes a loving part of my life seem bad in some way. I loved serving Mass, and am so happy that I had the opportunity to serve in that way. I have never thought, that this may lead to a position in the church as a priest, and would never argue with our church about such issues.

I feel I understood the Mass, and was able to find the proper responses much more acutely because of it. I love my God, and will always treasure that part of my life as an alter server.

Sincerely,

Debbie
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My girls love being Choir Girls too.
 
While I sympathize with those who are unhappy with altar girls, I find myself thinking that there were intimations from Rome and elsewhere, that while women could not be priests we as a Church needed to seek out ways in which women(females) could participate more fully in the Church. As an altar boy in the 40’s and 50’s I would have to say that even then when we got much older than say sixth grade it was really uncool to be an altar boy. I would imagine that with the trend for everyone to get “older” younger that this attitude would have devolved down into even lower grades. We have both male and female altar servers in our parish and it appears to me that the older girls stick with it while as the boys get older they tend to drop out. To tell the truth most weekends I couldn’t really tell you if there were girls, boys or both at the altar. They have receded into the background. During the week we don’t have servers except for older men at funeral masses.
 
Both of my children are altar servers, one is a boy and one is a girl and I couldn’t be prouder of both of them.
 
netmil(name removed by moderator):
Diane, is the last picture the Grotto too? With the priest facing East?
I have got to get down there!

My Motto is Altar Boys, Choir Girls…
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Yes, he is facing East - ad orientem and it is a Novus Ordo, not a TLM. Here are more pictures:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=72363

Please do come to Assumption Grotto. If you want to come, let me know and I’ll give you instructions on finding it. It is an oasis.
 
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rwoehmke:
…I find myself thinking that there were intimations from Rome and elsewhere, that while women could not be priests we as a Church needed to seek out ways in which women(females) could participate more fully in the Church.
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This is an issue I had to think through. However, people do not need to be in the sanctuary to “fully participate”. Participation comes right in the pew where you and I sit today.

I am witnessing the development of young boys into men and I truly believe I’ll see some choose the priesthood. In this parish, it is not likely to be discouraged by parents because the families are all pretty big, for those who could have children. For the majority who choose fatherhood, these young boys will grow into good fathers. They are being taught well by the priests who show exemplary levels of virtue and encourage it in all of us through their homilies, retreats, conferences, articles, etc, but the boys - they get good guidance and see positive role models in the priesthood.

I too once thought that teenage boys were not interested. There are loads of teens at this parish serving. As I stated earlier, approximately 60 servers in all.

The potential to groom priests out of this crop is just high, imho. This means that the activity in the sanctuary leads to something more for those who are called and choose to follow. However, for a female, there is no further activity in the sanctuary, aside from Lector. It is basically a dead-end, setting aside the positive memories it may stir. There is nothing wrong with this, but there is just something phenomenal about what I am seeing at the vast numbers of active boys of all ages at this parish. It is not limited to boys. Many of them continue serving into their 30’s and up, and there are a few seniors who serve, as well. Why? Why can this parish get 60 altar boys while other parishes can’t foster a few? Something is attracting them to it here and I can tell you I don’t see anyone unhappy about doing it. It seems to be the popular thing for these kids.

I believe it has to do with the time and attention given to the task by the priests themselves. They have a yearly retreat and they are taught choreographic sequences. It requires near military type discipline to execute what is seen in the photos.
 
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twiztedseraph:
Hey I consider myself somewhat of a traditionalist, I had a friendly debate with our Priest on the use of Latin in the Holy Mass, I talk and try to gently correct priest’s respectfully who don’t follow the rubrics. All that aside, I don’t see the big problem with gemale altar-servers, I mean grant it, it’s impossible for them ever to be priests. But why not allow the other sex to feel a little holiness at mass? I mean I know my spiritual life greatly benefited thanks to serving, girls can be just as if not more spiritual than young boys. So as long as the Church doesn’t prohibit it, let it be. If say the girls were putting on too much make than I could see a problem as that would be an irreverent distraction. However many of the boys are wearing dirty sports shoes while they participate in the re-representation of the Eternal Sacrifice. So I think lets not go to extremes here. If there was something inherently evil, wrong or immoral about it Holy Church wouldn’t allow it, we have to trust those in charge. After all submission to a higher authority is the essence of Catholicism is it not? Just my opinion.
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Hmmm.
 
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matthew1624:
They are about even at our parish. My daughter was recruited. We didn’t plan on it except after repeated requests we eventually let our daughter become one. Did we do the right thing?

God Bless…
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Yes…There is no reason why your daughter should not serve at the altar…She will not only deepen her own spiritual life, but will be encouraging other young women to do the same, and perhaps to consider the religious life.

I know that people say that boys who serve are more likely to consider the priesthood, and that may be true…I don’t know. However, girls who serve may be more likely to consider the religious life, or other ways to serve the Church. Both boys and girls need to be encouraged in this way…
 
Ironically, the parishes that send the most young women to the convent, are the ones that have an all altar boy corps. I have yet to hear of a female religous vocation that has been fostered by having been an altar girl.
Catholic Heart:
Yes…There is no reason why your daughter should not serve at the altar…She will not only deepen her own spiritual life, but will be encouraging other young women to do the same, and perhaps to consider the religious life.

I know that people say that boys who serve are more likely to consider the priesthood, and that may be true…I don’t know. However, girls who serve may be more likely to consider the religious life, or other ways to serve the Church. Both boys and girls need to be encouraged in this way…
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JNB:
Ironically, the parishes that send the most young women to the convent, are the ones that have an all altar boy corps. I have yet to hear of a female religous vocation that has been fostered by having been an altar girl.
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Well, today is your day. Now a college senior, I served Mass at my home parish from 4th grade (the spring of my first year, '94, I was told by my pastor that I was ‘legal’; I had no idea what he meant and figured that I had finally been enrolled on some archdiocesan registry of altar servers!) all the way through graduation, and still serve on occasion when I come back for vacations and am called upon.

I credit my altar-serving experience for introducing me to some very dedicated priests, getting me interested in my faith, and jump-starting a prayer life and a relationship with Jesus - all because I wanted to get away from my parents in the pews and get noticed. One time I was asked to serve for an archdiocesan Chrism Mass and was pretty much the archbishop’s right-hand woman 🙂 Whodathunkit? That experience alone was a defining moment in my journey. I was surrounded by all these different people (deacons, priests, bishops, men and women religious, musicians, lay faithful…) gathered under one roof. It put forth the searing question, “How do I fit into this Body of Christ?”

To my joy and my chagrin, the idea of vocation has continually presented itself throughout my college years. It has taken a lot of talking, and wrestling, and imagining, and surrendering to get me to the point today where I would admit that God is very likely inviting me to the life of a contemplative monastic. Initially it seemed like the most illogical thing in the world, given my background and goals, but through much discernment and prayer, it seems very natural and brings me peace. All I can say is that I can’t not try it, and I yearn for the day when I can actually go for it. Please pray for me and for my folks - it’s not an easy bit for them to swallow.
 
The early morning Mass I attend is devoid of kids and teens. The servers are men from 30-60 years in age. They are well trained and militarily precise.

Unfortunately the woman in charge of altar servers is doing everything she can to preclude them from serving. She is struggling mightily to install altar women with little success.

I wish this woman would find another parish.
 
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