Non-catholics altar serving

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Hey all,

I work at a Catholic school that allows non-catholic students to alter serve during daily Mass. Is that allowed? Does it make a difference if they are baptised or not?

Thanks,
JMJ
 
cat3gs said:
I work at a Catholic school that allows non-catholic students to alter serve during daily Mass. Is that allowed? Does it make a difference if they are baptised or not?
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I can’t find the documents on this matter right now…

but why on earth at a Catholic school is there need to resort to non-Catholic (and even non-baptized) Christians for altar servers? What non-Catholic would feel comfortable in such a position at Mass, unless a) they don’t understand what’s going on, or b) the Mass is being celebrated so poorly as to not impress upon everyone present what the Mass really is.

I hope the practice leads to the conversion of those non-Catholics who serve. I doubt it’ll lead to vocations to the priesthood in those Catholic boys who aren’t being encouraged to serve. 😦
 
At our parish they must have made their first Eucharist before serving. This would exlude non-Catholics.
 
cat3gs said:
Hey all,

I work at a Catholic school that allows non-catholic students to alter serve during daily Mass. Is that allowed? Does it make a difference if they are baptised or not?

Thanks,
JMJ
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Lay Ministries must be exercised by a Catholic in good standing with the Catholic Chruch. That would include Altar Servers. as someone else stated Servers should have received their First Holy Communion, which also requires them to have been Baptized.
 
This is from the** USCCB Guidelines for Altar Server **
Servers should be mature enough to understand their responsibilities and to carry them out well and with appropriate reverence. They should have already received holy communion for the first time and normally receive the eucharist whenever they participate in the liturgy.
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Lux
 
japhy said:
I can’t find the documents on this matter right now…

but why on earth at a Catholic school is there need to resort to non-Catholic (and even non-baptized) Christians for altar servers? What non-Catholic would feel comfortable in such a position at Mass, unless a) they don’t understand what’s going on, or b) the Mass is being celebrated so poorly as to not impress upon everyone present what the Mass really is.

I hope the practice leads to the conversion of those non-Catholics who serve. I doubt it’ll lead to vocations to the priesthood in those Catholic boys who aren’t being encouraged to serve. 😦
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Most of the kids have been here since kindergarten and have been going to daily mass. And the kids do serve with respect. And yes one girl has even converted though her parents are still non-catholic. Each day its a different grade that serves. Usually just 5th -8th grade.
Its not the best Mass out there (the best I’ve been too is at St. Mary’s in Greenville SC) but it certainly isnt the worst! We have very few/sporadic things that need to be corrected.

It still bothers me though.Apparently it doesnt seem to bother anyone of the other teachers. Guess I need to go speak to our Priest.

Thank you all for answering:)
JMJ
 
Say it ain’t so…

My Bishop converted to Catholicism when he was a child in order to join his friends in altar serving - he was attending the Catholic school because it was a better education than the public schools. By just opening the door to non-Catholics without them becoming Catholic just think of all the future Bishops we’re missing out on.
 
I am a non-catholic who altar served for a couple years. I have never had a problem with any priests under whom I have served. Also, I attended a catholic school from the beginning and went through all of the first communion classes with everyone else. When the time came, I went to the mass and crossed my arms as I always did. I most certainly served with the utmost reverence and respect for the faith. I was instructed just as any other member of the alter servers would be. I was no doubt more mature than most of the others who I served with. Overall, it would seen as though I ought to be allowed to serve. Plus, it’s not like I’m an atheist. If I were, then I would be insulting the faith by serving. Rather, I am a Missouri-Synod Lutheran (probably the most conservative Lutheran synod). The only requirement that I did not meet according to the USCCB is having received communion in the Catholic Church, something I never intend to do. I do receive communion whenever possible in the Lutheran Church. That would mandate that I believe in the true presence of the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament. Therefore, I have the most fundamental part of the Catholic Eucharist down anyway.
 
cat3gs said:
Hey all,

I work at a Catholic school that allows non-catholic students to alter serve during daily Mass. Is that allowed? Does it make a difference if they are baptised or not?

Thanks,
JMJ
Click to expand...
cat3gs:

No. It isn’t allowed. As Bro Rich has said, all laypersons who exercise service in the Mass (serving, reading, etc…) must be Catholic, and Catholics in good standing. That’s the liturgical law. Parishes cannot exempt themselves from it. Having said that though, we need to understand just why that law is there.

If one is unable to fully participate in the Mass, by sharing in the faith of the Church, and sharing in receiving the Eucharist, then it’s not proper for that same person to be exercising a public function in that same Mass. This isn’t a matter of “excluding” non-Catholics, it is a matter of preserving the reality that the Mass is an expression of the unity/communion of faith that is the Church. Catholics who are not in good standing are likewise ineligible for this public service within the Mass, for the same reasons.

Having either group of people serving, reading, etc. causes genuine confusion because it obscures the reality that is the unity of the Church. Those who exercise these functions are “setting an example” for the whole community at Mass. That’s not to say we only allow living saints, and it’s not to say that occasionally, an unwise choice might be made (no doubt, we’ll hear some examples…)

Serving at the Mass is not merely a matter of “doing everything the right way” getting the book at exactly the right moment, knowing when to stand or kneel, etc. etc. We can’t reduce it to a mere “function” or “job” We aren’t looking for performers who can get all the details right, we are looking for those who will be praying the Mass in a special way by serving at the Mass. A Catholic who can get all the details right, but isn’t “praying” the Mass shouldn’t be serving either.

Allowing someone who is not Catholic to serve at the Mass sends the wrong message not only to the congregation, but to the individual. In such a case, the Church is essentially saying “it doesn’t matter what you believe, or how much/little of the Catholic faith you subscribe to, you have just as much of a role in the Mass as any Catholic.” If a non-Catholic has a desire to serve or read at Mass, the parish should encourage and foster that desire for service, but should not feel free to exempt itself from the necessary prerequisite that one actually be a Catholic first. As others have said, this desire for service should be seen as an opportunity to continue to welcome that person into the Church. Having non-Catholics as servers sends precisely the opposite message; that membership in the Church isn’t relevant or necessary outside of the Mass either.
 
FrDavid96 said:
cat3gs:

Having either group of people serving, reading, etc. causes genuine confusion because it obscures the reality that is the unity of the Church. Those who exercise these functions are “setting an example” for the whole community at Mass. That’s not to say we only allow living saints, and it’s not to say that occasionally, an unwise choice might be made (no doubt, we’ll hear some examples…)
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This is a fallacy if there ever was one! UNITY of the Church!?!?! This implies that all those who are members of the Christian community ought to be able to serve! You might want to pay attention to the words you yourself use and take them to heart. What you are advocating is a lack of unity.
 
JMJ_coder said:
Say it ain’t so…

My Bishop converted to Catholicism when he was a child in order to join his friends in altar serving - he was attending the Catholic school because it was a better education than the public schools. By just opening the door to non-Catholics without them becoming Catholic just think of all the future Bishops we’re missing out on.
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This case appears to be campfire Catholicism at its worst. “Let’s all just hold hands and sing!” Good grief. Speak to the Pastor. If he does not receive it with a spirit of correction., it is worth taking to the attention of the Bishop.
 
po18guy said:
This case appears to be campfire Catholicism at its worst. “Let’s all just hold hands and sing!” Good grief. Speak to the Pastor. If he does not receive it with a spirit of correction., it is worth taking to the attention of the Bishop.
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Well, maybe I misunderstood it, but I took that post to mean that the future bishop became a Catholic because he wanted to serve Mass, not that he was a server first and that inspired him to join the Church. I could be wrong, though.
 
FrDavid96 said:
Well, maybe I misunderstood it, but I took that post to mean that the future bishop became a Catholic because he wanted to serve Mass, not that he was a server first and that inspired him to join the Church. I could be wrong, though.
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Sola scriptura problem here! I read it to mean that he joined the Catholic Church solely to Altar serve.
 
FrDavid96 said:
cat3gs:

No. It isn’t allowed. As Bro Rich has said, all laypersons who exercise service in the Mass (serving, reading, etc…) must be Catholic, and Catholics in good standing. That’s the liturgical law. Parishes cannot exempt themselves from it. Having said that though, we need to understand just why that law is there.
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The lay reader may be non-Catholic. This is the acceptable way of allowing non-practicing and non-Catholics to participate in weddings & funerals.

I have never read anything official, but I would think a non-Catholic may also serve as usher.

Lux
 
po18guy said:
Sola scriptura problem here! I read it to mean that he joined the Catholic Church solely to Altar serve.
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Wanting to altar serve was the initial impetus for his conversion. But, who really cares what the initial motivation is that you join the Church, what matters is that you are 1) in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church and 2) will with the grace of God grow to the fullness of Christian perfection.

As Father Corapi says about Confession, our motivation for going to this Sacrament should be love of God, but if we can’t muster that, fear of hell isn’t a bad place to begin.

No matter where my Bishop started, he has turned out to be a wonderful Catholic and Bishop who truly loves the Lord God and serves Him faithfully.
 
Lux_et_Tenebrae said:
The lay reader may be non-Catholic. This is the acceptable way of allowing non-practicing and non-Catholics to participate in weddings & funerals.

I have never read anything official, but I would think a non-Catholic may also serve as usher.

Lux
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No. Lay readers must be Catholic.

As for ushers, that depends upon just what the ushers are doing. If their role is truly liturgical, then it would not be acceptable. (and ushering is not a liturgical function anyway).

If their role is purely practical (holding the doors open, guiding people to seats, etc) then of course, they could be anyone within reason.
 
JMJ_coder said:
Wanting to altar serve was the initial impetus for his conversion. But, who really cares what the initial motivation is that you join the Church, what matters is that you are 1) in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church and 2) will with the grace of God grow to the fullness of Christian perfection.

As Father Corapi says about Confession, our motivation for going to this Sacrament should be love of God, but if we can’t muster that, fear of hell isn’t a bad place to begin.

No matter where my Bishop started, he has turned out to be a wonderful Catholic and Bishop who truly loves the Lord God and serves Him faithfully.
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As for “who cares?” I do. If I read your first post correctly, you made a good point. Wanting to serve the Mass was an outward sign of the seeds of a vocation that God planted within him at a young age.

That future bishop was blessed to be surrounded by people who fostered his vocation, and the Church is better off for it.
He turned out to be a “wonderful Catholic” in part, because of where he started. I believe that was the point of your first post, and indeed it was a good point.
 
FrDavid96 said:
No. Lay readers must be Catholic.

As for ushers, that depends upon just what the ushers are doing. If their role is truly liturgical, then it would not be acceptable. (and ushering is not a liturgical function anyway).

If their role is purely practical (holding the doors open, guiding people to seats, etc) then of course, they could be anyone within reason.
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Fr David,

I am sorry. I didn’t mean to contradict you.

What I should have said, is I believe celebrants will sometimes make exceptions for non-catholic readers at weddings , funerals or other Masses where there is a request.

Certainly any commissioned reader must be Catholic. I couldn’t find this documentation. Do you have a reference?

Thanks

Lux
 
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