What I tell my altar servers

From Inside Catholic by Father Dwight Longenecker

Boys and girls, before we get down to particulars, I want you to know why we have altar servers at all. Do the deacons and I need you to bring the bread and the water and wine to the altar? No, we could do that ourselves. Do we need you to carry candles and the cross and hold the book? Not really. The priest is supposed to extend his hands in prayer, so he can't hold the book, but we could just put it on the altar. Do we need you to ring the bell and turn the page and wash our hands? No. We could do all that without you.

You're not really employed to be useful. You're employed to help lead the worship. As long as you understand that, everything else that we teach you will follow. You see, all of us work together to lead the people of God in the worship of God -- it's not just the priest and deacons. I rely on you not just to do those particular jobs. Instead, I rely on you for something far greater and nobler and more beautiful and more true.

Our worship on earth reflects the worship in heaven. What we do here at the holy sacrifice of the Mass is a kind of distant echo of what goes on in heaven. There, the Lamb of God is offered in one timeless and eternal sacrifice. There the saints and angels worship around the throne of the Lamb. In that city there is no sun, moon, or stars, for the Lamb Himself is the light of that city. This altar you see here is a reflection of the altar in heaven. This chalice is a sign of the eternal Precious Blood of the Lamb. This host is, on earth, the sign of the Eternal Bread of heaven. The priest is an icon of Christ the Lord -- and who are you? You represent and reflect on earth the heavenly host.

That's right. I want you to represent the saints and angels.

That's why we have children serve the Mass if we can, because you children remind us adults of what the Lord Jesus said: "Unless you become like a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." So just by being children you remind us what we must be like to become like the saints and angels.

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