Are There No More Standards on the Altar?

by Michael Shackleton · August 18, 2016

As an altar server years ago, I learnt how to walk in a neat procession to the altar and back, to genuflect, keep my hands together, all in a prayerful way, and to imitate the priest who was a model of correct deportment and dignity. Today this has gone. Priests and servers drift around the sanctuary – no reverence, no decorum, no consistency. Are there no rules any more?

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal requires that priest and other ministers must appreciate that they are involved in an act of worship that has to be done with dignity and reverence proper to the occasion. Paragraphs 142 to 147 indicate that the servers are there to assist the priest at specific moments in the liturgy.

Aside from this, there is not much particular instruction about how to maintain liturgical decorum.

Around us, much of the social formality of former days has gradually gone. People dress casually and a broader mindedness in thinking and behaviour characterises modern society. Priests and religious dress less uniformly.

This has influenced the way people attend Mass and may explain why the liturgical functions of priest and ministers are frequently not as rigidly drilled as they used to be.

There remains the need for disciplined correctness by liturgical ministers in celebrating the Mass, and some parishes already attend to this through a liturgical committee.

One or more instructors who have experience in altar serving and are familiar with its demands is appointed to train and guide servers and ensure that they do not let down the standards set by the parish.

The instructors teach the servers to understand the spiritual significance of the Mass and its strucure and the importance of their part in it, and know the names and uses of the sacred vessels and vestments. They show them how to genuflect correctly, bow and keep hands together when not assisting the priest and how to deport themselves with precision. They also see that servers dress appropriately for the sanctuary and wear clean shoes.

Where there is no enthusiasm for this sort of thing, you can be sure standards will drop and a rather slovenly liturgical celebration will result. This can be harmful to the parish’s morale and religious formation.

No matter how informally people conduct themselves in secular life, it is the responsibility of priest and parish pastoral council to preserve the unique, uplifting and sacred atmosphere of liturgical worship. Updated from Nov 6, 2011