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tradcathconvert
Guest
Great post. At our TLM, where I am in charge of the altar boys, there is a crib sheet next to each server just in case he needs it. My guess is that the more experienced boys don’t actually need it.
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T
TrueLight
Guest
I see. It’s something I never noticed. Quite beautiful actually.
K
kylemoreland
Guest
For those who serve or have served in the past:
How does one become a server?
I signed up one Sunday during 4th grade.
How long have you been serving?
Seven Years.
Do you serve in the OF or EF?
OF, never been to an EF mass.
What do you most like about serving?
Being in the sanctuary during mass, helps me focus more and feel “needed” during mass.
Do you have a set time to practice? How often?
No, I’ve served thousands of masses. I pretty much have everything down.
Do you get nervous?
Not usually.
What is the primary thought in your mind while serving?
Praying, staying focused, performing duties assigned to me
Has serving helped you in your spiritual life?
Most definitely.
Has serving helped foster in you, or a server you know, the desire to become a priest?
Most definitely.
Thanks for being patient with my curiosity.
P
ProVobis
Guest
It’s a little bit of a tongue twister and it takes a little bit of practice:
S. Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium de manibus
Soo-shee’pee-ott Doh’mee-noose sah-kree-fee’chee-oom day mah’nee-boose
tuis ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui,
too’eese / odd lou-dem ett gloh’ree-ahm noh’mee-neese soo’ee /
ad utilitatem quoque nostram,
ahd oo-tee-lee-tah’tem quoh’quay noh’strahm, /
totiusque Ecclesiae suae sanctae.
tohd-see-oos’kway ay-clay’see-ay soo’ay sahnk’tay
theholymass.com/part7.htm
In the Latin OF, the congregation is encouraged to respond.
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TheMc
Guest
Nope. After the gospel, exchange goes something like this:Corki said:
Deacon: Come forward those to be ordained.
Deaon: FULL NAME
*Person: *Present
[Repeat the indented part for each man]
Presenter of the Candidates (a priest, usually vocation director, or seminary rector): Most Reverend Father, holy mother church asks you to ordain this man these men].
Bishop: Have you found him them] to be worthy?
Presenter of the Candidates: After …*… and inquiry among the christian people, they have been found worthy.
Bishop: Relying on the help of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, and we choose these men, our brothers, for the Deaconate priesthood].
All: Thanks be to God.
[Homily]*
J
joe_cool
Guest
Just ask.
About a year now.
OF.
Two things. One, I love serving our Lord… and this is one way to do it. Two… I’m discerning a vocation, and it gives me a bit of a taste… assisting the priest.
The woman that trained me… we just figured out what was convenient… she told me we could practice as often as we wanted until I was ready… then she’d have me serve a few times with help… and then I could serve alone.
Oh yeah. Truth be told, once I accidentally dropped the glass stopper that goes in one of the cruets… smashed all over the floor. I was mortified… could not regain my composure the rest of that Mass try as I might.
Before Mass I ask Him to help me serve perfectly, and invisibly. During Mass… the same things go through my mind as when I’m not serving which is to say not much… I watch Father like a hawk, and I do what I’m supposed to… but I really don’t do much in the way of thinking.
Yah.
It’s helped, I think.
Hope I was able to help.Thanks for being patient with my curiosity.
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TrueLight
Guest
I was speaking to an EF altar server yesterday and I asked him if it is easy to focus on the mass while serving.
This is what he said:
– sometimes he gets so into the mass he misses a cue
– he prefers the low mass because the chant can be distracting
– it is awesome to see what is happening on the altar
So my question is, do servers sometimes find it hard to remain in a prayerful spirit when you also have to make sure you are doing the right things?
Note, he did not say he has a hard time remaining in a prayerful spirit, but I am wondering about your experiences.
This is what he said:
– sometimes he gets so into the mass he misses a cue
– he prefers the low mass because the chant can be distracting
– it is awesome to see what is happening on the altar
So my question is, do servers sometimes find it hard to remain in a prayerful spirit when you also have to make sure you are doing the right things?
Note, he did not say he has a hard time remaining in a prayerful spirit, but I am wondering about your experiences.
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TheMc
Guest
I can relate very much to this young man’s experiences. I also find it easier to pray at Mass during quiet Masses (ones similar to Low Masses, but in the OF). I don’t find the chant making it difficult to pray. However, if the chant isn’t done well, it can make it more difficult. I’m really blessed to have a brilliant choir director who has studied chant extensively. He is quite possibly one of the best in the nation
On more solemn occasions, I’m usually in charge of servers, so I have more to “do,” which makes it sometimes harder to pray, but you just keep in mind that in doing this, you are helping others to pray, and you just make your role your prayer, similar to how you make your work your prayer.
But even then, one trick I’ve learned is that you just have to find little moments to pray during the Mass. You may be busy handling 15 servers, but every once and a while, you are able to just really take in the beauty and goodness of the liturgy and of the Lord. During the canon is a great example. Once you get past the first few sentences, and everything is in place. I can just stand there and pray. It’s great. I agree that occasionally, I do miss cues, but it usually works out. The pure joy that you occasionally receive when assisting at a reverent and prayerful Mass is amazing. It only happens once and a while, but it’s awesome.
For example, one Mass I was MC, and doing the bells. We got to the consecration, and I was really “into it.” It got to the consecration of the precious body, the priest finished, elevated the host. I was still deep in prayer. Here’s what went through my head in the first 2 seconds of the elevation:
- Me: Lord Jesus, you are so great. Thank you for coming here, so that I can recieve you in a few moments…
- [no bells ring]
- [still no bells ring, thurifer just goes ahead without the bells]
- me: Hmm… who is doing the bells? Who did I assign that to? [glancing around]
- me: duh!! That was me!
- [Rings bells with embarrassed look on face]
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TrueLight
Guest
What a delightful post! It’s good to see you posting again.I can relate very much to this young man’s experiences. I also find it easier to pray at Mass during quiet Masses (ones similar to Low Masses, but in the OF). I don’t find the chant making it difficult to pray. However, if the chant isn’t done well, it can make it more difficult. I’m really blessed to have a brilliant choir director who has studied chant extensively. He is quite possibly one of the best in the nation
On more solemn occasions, I’m usually in charge of servers, so I have more to “do,” which makes it sometimes harder to pray, but you just keep in mind that in doing this, you are helping others to pray, and you just make your role your prayer, similar to how you make your work your prayer.
But even then, one trick I’ve learned is that you just have to find little moments to pray during the Mass. You may be busy handling 15 servers, but every once and a while, you are able to just really take in the beauty and goodness of the liturgy and of the Lord. During the canon is a great example. Once you get past the first few sentences, and everything is in place. I can just stand there and pray. It’s great. I agree that occasionally, I do miss cues, but it usually works out. The pure joy that you occasionally receive when assisting at a reverent and prayerful Mass is amazing. It only happens once and a while, but it’s awesome.
For example, one Mass I was MC, and doing the bells. We got to the consecration, and I was really “into it.” It got to the consecration of the precious body, the priest finished, elevated the host. I was still deep in prayer. Here’s what went through my head in the first 2 seconds of the elevation:
Yeah, I got a couple comments about it after…
- Me: Lord Jesus, you are so great. Thank you for coming here, so that I can recieve you in a few moments…
- [no bells ring]
- [still no bells ring, thurifer just goes ahead without the bells]
- me: Hmm… who is doing the bells? Who did I assign that to? [glancing around]
- me: duh!! That was me!
- [Rings bells with embarrassed look on face]
A
Aramis
Guest
As an alter server in the late 70’s and through the 80’s, I found it easiest to remain prayerful when there was music. The use of music reminded me of where I was, and what I was doing.
I found the Dominican low mass to be more utilitarian than prayerful; not in any way irreverent, just minimalist and functional.
I likewise found the modern Missal, when done in it’s equivalent of the low mass (no singing, shortest forms of those prayers with options, and no homily) to be less so. But it still never resonated for me.
The modern Roman Missal, when well done with much music, is prayerful for me. But that’s not terribly common; most priests seem to prefer not to be chanting the mass, and not to sing the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Agnus Dei, etc.; neither english nor latin.
Especially, while serving, the music helped me remember to pray, and not just serve. It made it easier to remember the parts of the mass. It made it easier not to rush (and in a Dominican run parish, rushing was confession-worthy).
These are small parts of why I went Byzantine. It’s all sung, save the prayer before communion (at least in the Russian and Ruthenian use). And, being in a state where Russian Orthodox is almost as common as Catholics, it’s not a major stand-out-from-the-crowd to be Byzantine Catholic.
I found the Dominican low mass to be more utilitarian than prayerful; not in any way irreverent, just minimalist and functional.
I likewise found the modern Missal, when done in it’s equivalent of the low mass (no singing, shortest forms of those prayers with options, and no homily) to be less so. But it still never resonated for me.
The modern Roman Missal, when well done with much music, is prayerful for me. But that’s not terribly common; most priests seem to prefer not to be chanting the mass, and not to sing the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Agnus Dei, etc.; neither english nor latin.
Especially, while serving, the music helped me remember to pray, and not just serve. It made it easier to remember the parts of the mass. It made it easier not to rush (and in a Dominican run parish, rushing was confession-worthy).
These are small parts of why I went Byzantine. It’s all sung, save the prayer before communion (at least in the Russian and Ruthenian use). And, being in a state where Russian Orthodox is almost as common as Catholics, it’s not a major stand-out-from-the-crowd to be Byzantine Catholic.
P
Padraig1972
Guest
F
freddo
Guest
How does one become a server?
The Catholic paper published a thing from the bishop saying that girls were now welcome to be altar servers. I went to the priest and asked if I could do it, he said of course and I started. Later on they put a sign up sheet at the back of the church, and I think they used to ask the kids if anybody wanted to do it at the schools.
How long have you been serving?
I did it for several years.
Do you serve in the OF or EF?
I don’t know what those anacronyms mean.
What do you most like about serving?
Being a part of the Mass.
Do you have a set time to practice? How often?
Not really.
Do you get nervous?
Don’t remember being so, it seemed very natural.
What is the primary thought in your mind while serving?
There wasn’t really one that I can think of.
Has serving helped you in your spiritual life?
Quite a bit.
Has serving helped foster in you, or a server you know, the desire to become a priest?
I’m female, so it wouldn’t really matter if it did or didn’t. One of the boys I served with is now a priest though.
The Catholic paper published a thing from the bishop saying that girls were now welcome to be altar servers. I went to the priest and asked if I could do it, he said of course and I started. Later on they put a sign up sheet at the back of the church, and I think they used to ask the kids if anybody wanted to do it at the schools.
How long have you been serving?
I did it for several years.
Do you serve in the OF or EF?
I don’t know what those anacronyms mean.
What do you most like about serving?
Being a part of the Mass.
Do you have a set time to practice? How often?
Not really.
Do you get nervous?
Don’t remember being so, it seemed very natural.
What is the primary thought in your mind while serving?
There wasn’t really one that I can think of.
Has serving helped you in your spiritual life?
Quite a bit.
Has serving helped foster in you, or a server you know, the desire to become a priest?
I’m female, so it wouldn’t really matter if it did or didn’t. One of the boys I served with is now a priest though.
T
TheMc
Guest
OF = Ordinary Form = 2003 Missale Romanum (soon to be 2010 Missale Romanum)
Frequently celebrated in the vernacular, frequently celebrated with the priest facing the opposite direction as people
EF = Extraordinary Form = 1962 Missale Romanum
Always in latin, facing in the same direction as the people, leading them in prayer
A
Aramis
Guest
Actually, OF is soon to be the 2010 translation of the 2003 Editio Tercio. It will be the first time since the 1970’s that the US will be using the CURRENT edition in English.
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TheMc
Guest
M
mfrances
Guest
Interesting. Could you (or anyone here) tell me what year/edition of the Missale we in the USA are currently using?
M
MarkThompson
Guest
Someone can correct me if I’m mistaken, but I believe that what we’re currently using is a 1994 update of the 1985 Sacramentary, which was “Revised according to the second typical edition of the Missale Romanum (1975).”
A
Aramis
Guest
Nope. It’s a revision of the translation of the 1st Typical Edition…
The ICEL translation is fundamentally unchanged since 1974 version of the 1969 Missale Romanum, but the USCCB has issued additional versions with rubrical changes as approved by Rome over the years.
Then again, the 2nd typical edition supposedly changed little, so a full revised translation never happened.
The 3rd typical edition changes a few more things things, and the new Translation reflects both the editio tercia and the change in translation modes demanded by Rome.
Refs:
adoremus.org/0304TranslationNorms.html
A
Aeolian
Guest
Two things you should be certain to learn over the course of time is how to properly use incense and sanctus bell(s) while serving at the altar. There are two excellent (and free) booklets available for download at www.Smells.Bells.com I enjoyed reading both of them and I learned a little a long the way.For those who serve or have served in the past:
How does one become a server?
How long have you been serving?
Do you serve in the OF or EF?
What do you most like about serving?
Do you have a set time to practice? How often?
Do you get nervous?
What is the primary thought in your mind while serving?
Has serving helped you in your spiritual life?
Has serving helped foster in you, or a server you know, the desire to become a priest?
Thanks for being patient with my curiosity.
M
MarkThompson
Guest
Do you have a reference for that? Here is my reference.
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