Free Republic

The Video at the bottom of the page was sent to me today and I want to say that I find it beautiful.What makes the video so good is that it inspires a spirituality for the server that includes some of the following encouragement and advisement: That the Mass is mystical, beyond mere human sight, and that the server must learn to be sensitive to what lives beyond ordinary perception and become more spiritually aware.In so doing he should lead others to greater reverence by the example of supreme awareness of the presence of God.He should also, by his reverence...

Vatican may prohibit female alter (sic) service By Michaels, Amanda Published: Tuesday, October 14, 2003Updated: Wednesday, September 12, 2012 11:09   Only nine years after the Vatican gave women permission to serve beside their male counterparts at the altar, a new proposal threatens to force them back into the crowd. On Sept. 23, the Italian Catholic monthly, "Jesus," released advanced text of an article featuring excerpts from a draft document, or directive, written by the Vatican congregations for Divine Worship and the Sacraments and for the Doctrine of the Faith. Distributed on June 5, the document was an expansion on the papal...

Vilshofen: Ministrantinnen prügeln sich ums Weihrauchfass - Bayern - Aktuelles - tz-online.de Things are not what they used to be Altar girls fight in front of the sacristy Vilshofen - charity is actually the great commandment in Christianity. Well yes! But in reality in Vilshofen two altar girls currently show each other anything but love. Who is allowed to swing the censer? This vexed question has made for a storm of trouble with two altar girls who are between the ages of 19 and 20 years Oh no, the two fight! What is it all about? The censer used in worship....

Although most area Catholic churches follow the modern practice of using altar girls, a Norwalk parish recently reverted to a traditional boys-only policy and started a program for girls teaching them to sew, cook and arrange flowers for the altar. The Rev. Greg Markey, pastor of St. Mary Church in Norwalk for three years, said he made the change to help deal with the shortage of priests. Girls who were altar servers before the change was announced last year were permitted to continue. More than 20 girls have signed up for the Handmaids of the Altar since the program began...

For all it's been going on for years now, not everyone agrees with me that using girls (and young women) as altar servers might be worth keeping in the future.

2 August, 2006 VATICAN - MIDDLE EAST "Heart full of sorrow", pope urges prayer and effective action in Middle East At a special audience for ministrants, Benedict XVI condemned the massacre in Qana and the “spilling of innocent blood from whichever part it comes”. He called on 35,000 altar servers to be “witnesses” of nearness to Jesus, and to heed calls to the priesthood. Vatican City (AsiaNews) – With "a heart full of sorrow" and the "chilling images of mangled bodies of so many people, especially children," before his eyes, Benedict XVI appealed once again for prayers "for the dear,...