To Serve at God’s Altar
Like all the liturgical ministries that are important to the celebration of Mass, altar serving is a great way for young people to interact with the Sacrament. This week, three altar servers share about their experience serving and how they have changed. If you’re interested in becoming an altar server or another liturgical minister, please contact Sebastian at the parish center or by email: smodarelli@sj.org.
Altar servers help out at the Easter Vigil as people are Baptized.
Before I started altar serving, I did not have the same appreciation of the Holy Mass that I do today. It was hard for me to understand the format of the Mass as well, subsequently making it easy to get distracted during Mass. Altar serving really gave me a better understanding of the Mass. In order to altar serve, I needed to understand what was going on, and being “close to the action” or near the altar gave me a close-up view of the prayers, readings, and the presentation of the gifts. I remember my first-time altar serving. I had not received the traditional training yet, and the only other person serving there was my brother, who had only served once before. I struggled to do the right things, but once I knew what I was doing I became grateful for what was going on. Looking back, I think my favorite Mass to serve was the Easter Vigil. Seeing the pews full, the choir playing behind me, and watching the baptisms and confirmations were great experiences. I would encourage those who have an opportunity to consider becoming altar servers.—Paul Njeru
When we started altar serving in middle school, we did not realize the significance of the Mass to Catholicism. For the recent Lenten season, our mother gave me and my brother a copy of the book: Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn. Reading about his conversion from a Presbyterian Minister to Catholicism and his love for the Eucharist was very eye-opening, helping us realize further the importance and centrality of the Holy Mass in our faith. It is a privilege to be so close to the altar and to participate in the liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist.—John Njeru
Altar serving is a very cool opportunity. You get to be part of the mass. When I was younger, I always got bored at mass. I always wanted to be an altar server so I could be doing something while being at mass. Now that I have had the opportunity to be an altar server, I know it doesn’t just mean carrying a cross or holding some bread and wine. It means serving Jesus. By altar serving you are serving the priest and contributing to the mass. Which means you are serving and honoring Jesus. I have had a very good experience with altar serving. You might be scared you will mess up or do something wrong. Usually when you are altar serving you have a person that has had experience like my sister Lucy. They can help you do the right things. Also Fr. Mahon and Deacon Randy can help you and help direct you. They have helped me when I don’t know what to do. I feel that I am being part of mass and actually doing something to contribute to the liturgy. I feel like I have a job to do and I want to do well. That is actually true because you do have a job and it is to help the priest. You want to do it well because God is our almighty creator and we should serve and honor Him. That is why altar serving is important and a good thing to do.—Vincent Haselkorn