The Irish standard., 1895-07-06
tHE ALTAR BoY IS CONSIDERED
sssllsv :Ars We. to Get, sTra,n and Keen
Our Altar kervlo 20 2'''--
5sSssfS, Answered. 4ss /. ~

4 boys of good character, well behaved ana
8 hecprous, are allowed to wear the seutane
4 and the surplice-which are the distinc-
B tive dress of clergy--to serve at the altar.
we call the hpys who are chosen for this
office Mass-servers, altar-boys or AGO
.iytes. We should never forget that the
eAame acolyte is, rightly speaking, applied
h only to the fourth and highest OF the min
or orders--next to subdiaconate. Ihe
spr6per Official duties Of an acolyte are TO
lsesve the wine and water during the holy
tuacriflee, to remove the missal atsLow
] Mass, to carry the candles at the Gospel
sso;fthe High Mass, and generally to assist
the sacred ministers. Hence young boys
s1hossn for this office should endeavor TO
.uaintain high standard Of conduct, 50 as
not to be altogether unworthy Of SO great
dignity. The Saints estaemedtnts office
90 highly that they compared it to that Of
the angels who minister invisibly at the
altar whenever the Blessed Sacrament Is
present.
All this ought to be realized by the boys
| themselves as well as by their parents.
The altar should not only feel proud and
happy to see their boys on the altar, but
they ought TO show the most Jealous re-
gard forssos great dignity. They ought
to watch over the young acolyte ana see
that he ever conducts himself SO as TO- WIN
h tfre respect and edifcation of all who be-
Mold him at the altar. Much depends on
the parents, who, if they be really per.
suAdedaof the greatness OF the dignity O.
4, this holy service, will easily and WITHOUT
an effort be able to impress the same sen
.timents upon their children. out OF t9f
abundance Of the heart the mouth speah-
xath. Where your trea sure is, there also
& YOUR heart shall be-" Such parents Will
often sneak of the altar; remind their boy
Of his turn to serve; call him early on
these great and happy mornings When ne
a to serve at the altar Of God; see that MS
e,arDlice is always spotiessly clean, that
i the soutane and slippers are duly repaired
or cleaned. Those parents VINO are NOT
N the habit of attending daily Mass VIII
z make an effort to go as often as possible
during the week when our WHINE VI
sJohnny'' is to serve.
Then the boy will appreciate the hoiiol
whichahe sees is so much thought 81 py Tue
priest, SO much spoken OF by fathsf anu
10 be proud to fulfil Long ago IN old ire
q land q medical doctor used to tell with
fnrch pardonable pride, how he was one
hay In chfrch, seated in the gallery walt
,nnr for Mass. The priest came out OF the
Vestry aad standing at the altar rails ASK
Sd. sIs there any one here that can sefVe
Mass?" The doctor held up his right hana
"Thank YOU. doctor" exclaimed the
nrdest. and down came the doctor from
the gallery to the body Of the church, up
through which he marched with heau
erect. an inch taller than usual, until ne
= reached the foot Of the altar, Where oooh
In hand with much fear and trepioa. 11l
he went through his sacred duty: HIS
little boys listening to this story again anu
again longed themselves to be one aay
allowed to serve Mass. They botn say
Mass now for they are priests.
d Well now to our question, How are W. w.,
Ia get. train, and keep our altar services!
Tot ia begin in our schools by supposlng
that every boy is to- be an altar server I'M
Tess he disqualifies himself by bad con-
Anct # we suppose this we shall natural
~ teach all the boys the answering az
y Mass. 1t is good to do this from the COM
mAucen1ent. as we let the boy leave sehool
without learning these responses, very
hrhbably they will never be learned cor
q rectly. Even the girls in the nun S
schools ought to learn the responses, as
they may have occasion to make use OF
their knowledge, when. for example, tnere
3 rs no male who can serve. In such a case
the church allows a woman to answer,
h though she is never allowed to serve the
Mass. II this alone were done think we
should have less difficulty III finding ana
{ keeping sufac:ency Of altar boys; ana we
should confer boon upon Catholics at
s out stations who are often distracted at
& Mass, when the priest has no one to re-
spond. Let all children learn the an-
Il. swerirlg at Mass, along with their cate
chism, and let no boy or girl, get the first q
prize who cannot say the responses clearly
and distinctly by heart. &.
The next step will be to select from
our schools the boys who have made
their confession, and who can pass an
examination in"the rudiments Of the
..oatechtsnts and in the answering at
Mass Out of these let us choose those
who have good report for conduct and
Spiety, and form them into a society, or
= bows guild When this society is once
established, the admission of new mem
& !. bers might be arranged by election on
the .balloting system Boys often know
8 better than the masters themselves who
among them is fit, or not fit, to enter
such n society, The ballot prevents any
thing like tales bearing, and if it be I'M
pressed or the voters. before proceeding
to ballot, that5they are bound to act hon
orably. fairly, and in the sight of God
Il showing neither fear nor favor. think
The boys will be found worthy of the
trust confided to them, and the society
will work better than if all the members
were to be nominated by the teachers Oh
priests.
s.s3s The Rev. Father Cullen is about te
q. establish such society in our midst. Il
Il ia called the Sodality OF st. John Berch-
y mans In this sodality the boys could
&. be trained and kept in the service o.
q the altar. Candidates, or aspirants
I would. be required to know the answering
IS of the Mass, to have a recommendation
Isl from the teacher and from their parents
ss25 az to have some such credentials.
AS to the working Of the sodal lily, ths
~ following extracts from the rules and OBJ
b S aserpations Of the Mass Servers Man.
u.s. uaI;;, and observations from the Sodal
N aity Manua will give an idea ~
] First M Great beeOmin gness OF contlucl
81 and smo1esty Of dress Is to be- observed
sss by the sassoeiat ISL on all oecas u
81 speak flier,
nsi geTs ake hnEr
B
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