Vocations & Girl-Altar Boys

[J_G]

In the end, we have to ask ourselves, are we letting just anybody serve the mass, male and female? The NO is very easy to serve; in fact, I would not put the task beyond a well-trained monkey. That said, is it too easy to serve the NO mass, and are people of both genders who aren’t very dedicated being allowed to serve merely because they are capable?

I generally believe that the office of altar server is reserved for young men, but I’d rather have a pious girl than an ignorant or hypocritical boy.

Very good point. i would agree that the altar server should be reserved for young men, but i too would rather have a pious girl than (i have seen this in my diocese’s tv mass) protestant boys. Perhaps vocations that spring from altar serving come from reverent altar serving (and everything that goes with reverent altar serving), rather than if girls are allowed to serve.

 

[Generic_Man]

I am an altar boy, and here are my thoughts on Altar Girls.

There is simply nothing wrong with it. I understand the whole thing about altar serving leading to priesthood but all this time I’ve never wanted to become a priest because it never seemed like my calling. I served because I want to serve God. Girls can do that too.

 

[GeorgiaCatholic]

Just to add a point of fact, the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia allows and actively uses girl altar servers. Savannah is number three in the U.S. in vocations to the priesthood. More often than not the servers for a given mass are groups of siblings so there is usually a good mix of boys and girls. We also have many who serve up to and through high school age. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the number of families in my parish in particular who don’t contracept either. We have 2 young families with 12 children, 1 with eleven and many in the 6 - 8 range. Maybe living as a good example is the best road to many vocations.

 

[anamchara]

Just to add a point of fact, the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia allows and actively uses girl altar servers. Savannah is number three in the U.S. in vocations to the priesthood. More often than not the servers for a given mass are groups of siblings so there is usually a good mix of boys and girls. We also have many who serve up to and through high school age. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the number of families in my parish in particular who don’t contracept either. We have 2 young families with 12 children, 1 with eleven and many in the 6 - 8 range. Maybe living as a good example is the best road to many vocations.

And what a perfect example that you’ve given. I truly believe this is the answer.

 

[johnnydigit]

i say “no” to girl altar servers, unless in an emergency. it is taking away possible opportunities to inspire boys in a time when we need them most. there are many graces going on up there, and it’s a shame if a boy were to think, “oh never mind, they seem to be ok up there… they don’t need me… it wouldn’t make a difference anyways…” leave it open, and he may have the courage to step up one day.

the altar server is a very special role and there are a lot of things going on up there that many can’t see. it is like the role of a “mini-priest” so i don’t think it’s the place to worry about participation, diversity, freedom, necessity, or other political stuff; i’m talking about the mystical office of the priesthood and the spiritual graces and stuff going on between the priest/Mass/server.

it’s like a kind of pre-seminary. keep the girls out. there are plenty of other places they can learn theology. there are plenty of other things girls can do to participate in Mass.

just like a Father and his son, or a Knight and his squire, let them have their special time together. this can be one of the most important, if not the most important, roles taking form - the person standing in the place of Christ.

 

[Leeta]

But look at Christ the King a parish in the Diocese of Lansing where the pastor forbids altar girls- --15 seminarians from that parish are studying for the priesthood! The pastor attributes it to love and reverence for the Holy Eucharist and no altar girls! I believe that there used to be altar girls, but that the current pastor stopped it when he came. In fact, this parish was on the agenda to be discussed at the bishops’ conference in order to look at why there are so many seminarians! The pastor doubts though that the bishops’ are willing to implement these measures.

Someone else who works for an archdiocese attributes the fear of the bishops towards stopping altar girls to the fact that the older bishops don’t know how to relate to women and don’t know how to relate when some women are angry and critical of them.

 

[Jared123]

But look at Christ the King a parish in the Diocese of Lansing where the pastor forbids altar girls- --15 seminarians from that parish are studying for the priesthood! The pastor attributes it to love and reverence for the Holy Eucharist and no altar girls! I believe that there used to be altar girls, but that the current pastor stopped it when he came. In fact, this parish was on the agenda to be discussed at the bishops’ conference in order to look at why there are so many seminarians! The pastor doubts though that the bishops’ are willing to implement these measures.

Someone else who works for an archdiocese attributes the fear of the bishops towards stopping altar girls to the fact that the older bishops don’t know how to relate to women and don’t know how to relate when some women are angry and critical of them.

I have much respect for a pastor who stops using altar girls. He will come under intense fire from a few, but most of the parishioners will more than likely repsect this move. And as cited above vocations will increase.
I have been away for a couple weeks so I haven’t been able to read this thread. But will make this comment. Of course there will be vocations from parishes that have altar girls, but how many is the question. One person posted that 7 vocations came from her diocese or parish and they use altar girls. Wonderful, but who’s to say there wasn’t 17 vocations and 10 boys didn’t hear there calling because they didn’t serve mass because there was a girl in his place at the altar.
I also find it interesting that some want to say that there is just as many priest today as there was 50 years ago. This is a joke. I would say that 90% of dioceses in the U.S. are in a real vocation crisis. Young men are simply not going to the seminary. If I have time I will do the research and cite sources showing the decline in vocations. We can give opinions all day long, but I encourage my pro-altar girl friends to start citing sources. I have been watching a little bit of EWTN lately and still haven’t ever seen an altar girl at a mass where the Pope is present.

 

[Angel_Bradford]

Most of the priests I know came from large families who encouraged vocations to the priesthood and religious life and prayed the Rosary together as a family weekly.

Maybe that’s what is missing.

 

[spellinggirl]

They are correctly called “altar servers” nowadays, for either gender. Yes, I think female altar servers help. I am one, and I think that serving God MIGHT help with vocations to the priesthood for boys or being a nun for girls. Of course, altar serving does not automatically mean you are a priest or nun.

I have no desire to become a nun, but starting altar serving brought me closer to God than ever before. I love altar serving!

P.S. Generic Man said it better than I can! Kudos!

 

[vocatio]

This is a new development since I left and returned to the Church. I can deal with it, but absolutely do not like it. There are far too many boys available for this and teachers in the Catholic school aren’t distributing it evenly between the genders. In fact, they have been assigning more girls during the special masses than the boys. This should NEVER happen. These boys are looking at becoming priests in theory. That is sho should actually be there. Our pastor even snapped at the teachers one day because they only had one boy assigned for serving. I find this extremely scandalous, shameful for the Catholic women not to recognize this, and particularly Catholic School Teachers!!! It’s so misguided. The girls could have been lecturns. There are places they can serve appropriate for them. I’ve gotten to the point where I can handle altar girls, but this just seems like a sneak to try to encourage the concept of women priests. How are boys going to really consider the priesthood if we don’t encourage them or even urge them to serve? Ranting over … this is my reaction to the Easter Vigil Mass. 3 girls and 1 boy. My son would have loved to serve and was available as was another boy that I believe will also become a priest one day, like my son most probably. So, I think we’re shooting ourself in the foot. If this encourages anything, it will be a married priesthood, which I’m not against. But celebate priests are preferred once you get a taste of the splitting of attention between a pastor and his church and family needs.

 

[Lepanto]

I’m still waiting to read the of the thinking behind those who voted:

“YES, Girl Altar Boys, Help Vocations To The Priesthood!”

 

[snhs]

They are correctly called “altar servers” nowadays, for either gender. Yes, I think female altar servers help. I am one, and I think that serving God MIGHT help with vocations to the priesthood for boys or being a nun for girls. Of course, altar serving does not automatically mean you are a priest or nun.

I think the correct term is Altar servers only when referring to a mixed group. I still use Altar boys/girls as appropriate and I think most people still do.

It might well help in both cases, although we had far more nuns and vocations to them before Altar girls were allowed, just as we had more Priests and vocations to the Priesthood before Altar girls were allowed. The problem I think a lot of people have is that if you are encouraging them to serve in the same way i.e. doing the same things/tasks, wearing the same type of outer garment for Mass etc. It also implies that they should serve in the same way and the logical conclusion of that, mainly for left wing feminists, is allowing women to be Priests which is completely against the teachings of the Church and the will of Our Lord.

 

[spellinggirl]

I think the correct term is Altar servers only when referring to a mixed group. I still use Altar boys/girls as appropriate and I think most people still do.

It might well help in both cases, although we had far more nuns and vocations to them before Altar girls were allowed, just as we had more Priests and vocations to the Priesthood before Altar girls were allowed. The problem I think a lot of people have is that if you are encouraging them to serve in the same way i.e. doing the same things/tasks, wearing the same type of outer garment for Mass etc. It also implies that they should serve in the same way and the logical conclusion of that, mainly for left wing feminists, is allowing women to be Priests which is completely against the teachings of the Church and the will of Our Lord.

Girls who are altar servers do NOT imply that women should be priests. Altar servers are not priests, nor are they required to grow up to become priests. I do not think there should be female priests. I altar serve because it is the way I choose to serve God. I am not a left wing feminist, and altar serving is not my way of saying I want women to be priests.

I will not deny that altar servers do many things a priest does, but we claim no authority in the church. That authority lies with the priest, bishops, deacons, the pope, and God Himself.

 

[1234]

Here’s a question:

Are any dioceses short of altar boys so that if they’re going to have servers, they would have to recruit either adults or altar girls?

Is an altar boy shortage a problem in anyone’s diocese?

 

[snhs]

Girls who are altar servers do NOT imply that women should be priests. Altar servers are not priests, nor are they required to grow up to become priests. I do not think there should be female priests. I altar serve because it is the way I choose to serve God. I am not a left wing feminist, and altar serving is not my way of saying I want women to be priests.

I will not deny that altar servers do many things a priest does, but we claim no authority in the church. That authority lies with the priest, bishops, deacons, the pope, and God Himself.

I didn’t say you were nor did I say that it was a valid implication. The point I was making was the reason some people are opposed to Altar girls is because others will use it as a precedent to argue for female Priests etc. Remember that Altar Servers are only used when there are insufficient acolytes to serve while whoever carries the Processional Crucifix is carrying out one of the duties of a subdeacon. That doesn’t mean obviously that Altar boys/girls are the same as instituted Acolytes/subdeacons but if such people are willing to completely disregard Church teachings the exact classification isn’t going to make much difference to them if they were even aware of it in the first place. Part of the reason I’m in favour of retaining the Altar boy/girl distinction is that it is a elementary way of acknowledging those differences.

We don’t actually do many, if any, of the things a Priest does (in a liturgical sense). Although depending on how the Priest organises the Servers we can have a degree of authority e.g. as a head Altar Server/M.C. etc, albeit derived from the Priest.

 

[kkollwitz]

In April I posted a bit on this at my blog:

"Some observations about my 2,000-household parish regarding vocations:

We have had a boys-only corps of altar servers for at least the last 10 years; currently there are 49 servers, ranging from 6th grade through college. To have ten at the 11am Solemn Mass is not unusual.

We had one ordination in 2005.

We had another in 2007.

We currently have two seminarians.

Two of our college-age men (including my youngest son) will live in the diocesan discernment house next Fall. That’s 2 out of a total of 8 for the whole diocese.

And of course there are also highschool-age servers who are explicitly considering vocations; one of our senior servers plans to go straight from highschool into the seminary.

I do not suggest a direct cause-and-effect here; nonetheless, the boys-only approach has a positive influence on vocations, and is a critical part of an overall conscious intent in the parish to nurture them."

I’ll add that both of my daughters understand and support this.

 

[ChemicalBean]

Didn’t vote. If proper, non-biased terminology was used (try “female altar servers”), I would have voted the third option, “no effect”.

 

[The_Professor]

I more often than not served with girls and am considering a vocation. The fact that there were girl altar servers had no effect on me either way. Altar serving was something I always wanted to do.