Pope Gelasius in his ninth letter (chap. 26) to the bishops of Lucania condemned the evil practice which had been introduced of women serving the priest at the celebration of Mass. Since this abuse had spread to the Greeks, Innocent IV strictly forbade it in his letter to the bishop of Tusculum: “Women should not dare to serve at the altar; they should be altogether refused this ministry.” We too have forbidden this practice in the same words in Our oft-repeated constitution Etsi Pastoralis, sect. 6, no. 21. (Part of post at Deo Juvante)
This is going to be a tough one to overcome – especially since there are “Altar-Girl Moms” out there – much like “Soccer Moms” or those parents who beat up coaches if their kids don’t get enough play-time or don’t make the cheer leader squad. The phenomenon is parent driven, and/or female liturgist/DRE inspired.
I do strongly recomend you take a look at the Westminster Cathedral blog. The Cathedral has the best choir in the world and he blog has some wonderful pics:
http://bp0.blogger.com/_fEsxnkwubkc/Rfqn8_MlxfI/AAAAAAAABOg/ErGNznxHXJg/s1600-h/Funeral.jpg
http://bp1.blogger.com/_fEsxnkwubkc/RlpxeZdU1cI/AAAAAAAAB3c/JmmmenzJ-u0/s1600-h/Pope+9.jpg
http://bp2.blogger.com/_fEsxnkwubkc/RklDnngRE3I/AAAAAAAABw0/MAZgRKufF-k/s1600-h/Chaplains.jpg
On the Altar Boy’s note the ‘Boy Bishop tradition is very much still alive. Here are some excellent pic’s of this year:
http://westminstercathedral.blogspot.com/2007/03/bou-bishop-2007.html
One of the greatest advantages to the liberalization of the Tridentine Rite, will be the absolute necessity of men, young old, coming forward to serve. The Motu Proprio is a call to arms…men come forward!
Three of my four sons serve the Tridentine Mass, weekly. One Sunday, we were unable to attend the traditional Mass and had to attend a Novus Ordo Mass, in town. My two eldest children (a son – 13 and a daughter – 17), both refused to receive Holy Communion at that Church. Both said that their anger at the presence of so many women on the altar precluded their ability to receive. That Sunday the only male on the altar was the priest…there were 4 female EMs and two female altar servers. Needless to say, we do everything within our power to stay away from parishes in which women and girls are on the altar. There is a parish in the city in which we attend that only offers the NO Mass (interesting acronym, don’t you think?) but will not allow female servers of any kind.
Now, when I saw the 19th century painting photographed for the first picture of this post, I started wondering where the odd practice with altar boys dressed as Cardinals came from.
Any ideas? From what I’ve heard, the Sacred Congregation of the Rites _never_ gave its permission for such a thing.
Don’t you mean, “altar servers”??? LOL! My parish recently recieved a new pastor who happenes to belong to the Benedictine Order. He is very traditional, and orthodox. The second thing he did when arriving was demolish this ungodly practice. The first was to move the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle back to a high altar!
Antoninus,
They are not dress as Cardinals. They just preferred to wear a red cassock. Officially, the Church has always said that the cassock should be black (because of its meaning), but in France it was popular to allow them to wear red. What you will see in this picture (and other pictures and paintings) is that many times they also look like “canons” because they wear zucchetti, capes and gloves. This was not supposed to be done, either. But in Europe it was somewhat common.
In some parts of France you would see that the main servers (M.C.’s, Thurifer and Acolytes) would wear black and the rest (torch-bearers) would wear red cassocks and extremely short surplices.
I would never allow any of this, if it ever depended on me.
In paintings, it is more common to see Altar boys wearing cassocks. However, the cassock of simple clerics (and altar servers) is black. The only time a purple (*not* red) cassock is (or should be) worn by an Altar server (even today) is when there is a Pontifical Mass and the Bishop or Cardinal needs train-bearers. Pontifical M.C.’s also wear purple cassocks – I think.
The altar girl thing is now deeply entrenched in most parishes, and will be a tough tooth to pull. Same thing with “extraordinary ministers”. etc. There is now a feeling of entitlement. Lil’ Suzy does soccer, softball, and oh yeah she’s an “altar server”. Parents in the suburbs will be in an uproar over disallowing their lil’ princess to do what the boys can do. The Church has allowed a Secular Ideology inimical to it (Gender Egalitarianism) into the Sanctuary. Vocations? When people have to drive 50 miles to find a Priest, then perhaps they will realize what a mistake it was.
Latinmass1983, I do think you should avoid such rubricism about the dress for Altar Boys. Putting them in red, purple, with mozzetas and scull-caps is a part of tradition. The rubrics for the old Rite still say the altar boy should kiss the hand of the priest before and after giving him anything – in England and America this has never been done. It is not our tradition. Rubrics are totally secondary to tradition unless the practice concerned has been specifically condemned. Red cassocks are the French and north Italian tradition thus it is right that they should have it. Purple with red cuffs is the English Cathedral tradition thus we have that. You want to see unrubrical but traditional see this:
http://westminstercathedral.blogspot.com/2007/03/bou-bishop-2007.html
Please ignor my first comment Ken88 – I reposted because I thought that it hadn’t worked on the first post.;
I was raised a catholic in the Novus Ordo rite. Although I have seen the most baseless disrespects to the sacredness of the mass, and witness priests and theologians trying to destroy the faith of the Church (a priests once told me that he, one day, got out of bed and in an act of anger and frustration started to hurtle all his theology books out of their shelves and throwing them to the floor), the thing that really changed my whole attitude and opinion of Pope JPII and the conciliar church was the introduction of “altar girls” in the Mass.
I have attended masses said by priests of the theology of liberation, which were actually “political” rallies, but nothing has nauseated me so much as the introduction of altar girls. This was an unforgiving mistake by JPII, because it introduced base politics in the life of the Holy Catholic Church. Since that day, my view of the Catholic Church has changed for ever and I will never excuse the Church for allowing this corrupt practice of the faith to be introduced in the life of the Church, and the sole responsible for this was JPII.
I could have accepted any “experimentation” with the Mass, but the introduction of “altar girls” was something inconceivable to me, something that I will never accept, and something that I will loathe with all my heart. And I have pledged never to attend a mass where the inhumanity of the “modern” church disrespects even woman by making them “altar girls”. This has also me realize the today’s Catholic Church as it really is: a macho group of eunuchs who do not have respect, much less have faith, for anything or anybody.
Dear Christian,
Red cassocks have never been promoted by the Church at all. In fact, the meaning of the black cassock is the reason why all priests wear black cassocks, unless they are higher prelates.
The use of the read cassock was not a “tradition” anywhere, but something that became common. The Church has always given meaning to colors and she reserved some of them for the use of higher prelates such as red and purple. Black was reserved for those who were “simple” clerics – this goes back to when altar servers were clerics.
The kissing of the hand is not prescribed for altar servers. In France it is done because they like it. However, the kissing of the hand is only obligatory at Solemn Masses because only Sacred Ministers (Deacon, Subdeacon, etc) are required to do it (partly to show submission to those in higher orders). Simple altar servers are not required because they are not clerics.
People cannot just do something just because they want to do it. There is a reason why the Church outlines rubrics and privileges. There would not be any point in the Church doing that if they are not to be followed at all. In addition, rubricists do not spend their lives doing research and writing books to educate priests and faithful and then their work is just thrown out the window just like that because no one follows them.
In fact, the Church does say that altar servers should be well instructed in what they are about to do. It does not make sense to have people who are supposed to know what to do when serving Mass, but do not really know (or worse – do not care about) what they are to wear.
Of course, if it were a wedding and the bride were wearing red, then that would *not* be overlooked at all as something “minor”…
Of course, Christian, if you are an M.C. somewhere, you are “welcome” to allow whatever you want, but it would be at your own conscience. [Many moralists did consider not following the rubrics at least a venial sin].
Christian,
Regarding that site, I had seen it before.
I would not allow that, either and it was not a tradition – not a liturgical one at least… and because of that, they could say no any time and they would not have gotten in any trouble at all with Rome.
But if it was allowed, it does not mean that we can excuse other stuff just because *we* like it or it is a lesser fault.
Rubrics do not (or should not) depend on personal taste or preference.
See this wonderful article by Fr. Brian Harrison, OS, on precisely the topic of female “altar boys”:
http://www.rtforum.org/lt/lt88.html
‘The use of the read cassock was not a “tradition” anywhere, but something that became common.’
Anything that has been common for hundreds of years is a tradition! I think you may be confusing Tradition and tradition.
The tradition of different coloured cassocks for Altar Boys was almost universal for hundreds of years. Rome was one of only a handful of places where it was not the tradition. See the pic as the heading of this blog – the Altar boys have red cassocks, scull-caps and sashes – as was common in France from the 17th century till the changes of the 1960′s. Did all the saints, bishops and, of course, thousands of martyrs sin by allowing it? Of course not! Traditional liturgy is not about obsessing over rubrics but about being part of a continuation. Furthermore, the rubrics where set down by Rome and until the late 19th Century Rome’s words on non-doctrinal issues where really considered guidelines more than orders from heaven. Do you think the Austrians stopped having several movements in their Mass’ just because Pius X said it was forbidden? No! They knew Pius was striking at the absurd and irreverent music popular in Italian liturgies of the period. He would never attack a legitimate and ancient liturgical tradition like the one in Austria. Cut out the popeolatry – it is that kind of thinking that meant most people who don’t like the New Mass when along with it – treating every Roman announcement as it it where a revelation from God.
PS: Note the Boy bishop ceremony takes place before the Ita Missa est and so does constitute part of the Mass
Christian,
By not being part of the Mass, I meant it was not in the Missal. Sure, anyone can do anythng before the Ite, Missa est and make the worst thing a “part of the Mass.”
And *no,* no papolatry here at all. But you are mistaken when you say that the guidelines from Rome were taken only as a guideline. Why do you think the Roman Rite became the universal right? Was it because it was a guideline? No. Being faithful to the rubrics, far from being idolatry of the person of the Pope, is reverence and respect to the *OFFICE* of the Papacy. [Anything, in order to be a tradition, even of 10000 yrs old, still has to be "accepted" by Rome or decreed by Rome].
As I mentioned before, the Church gave a meaning to the *black* cassock that cannot be given to a cassock of any other color.
The fact that most people in France decided to go with the red cassock does not mean that that is the right way to do it. Sure, it may not be act an of negligence on the part of the altar boys because they wore what they were given and (since they were little) they probably did not know. But with regards to those who knew – knowing comes with responsibilities.
The main reason why France had so many *different* things was because they wanted to *stand* out and were extremely nationalistic – in a way they wanted to be their own Rome. This is why, unlike the Italians, they mainly refused to write in Latin, and when they did, they translated their works into French.
As insignificant as all this may sound, it does matter, especially when we can see what has happened after the New Order of the Mass. NOW, we *can* say that things coming from Rome are considered *only guidelines,* but not in those days. Of course, disobedience is nothing new, either!
Why do you think rubricists criticized French customs? I’m not saying that they should be ridiculed, but “France” many times did cross the limits.
[The neo-Galican movement had something to do with all this, too... and that should give us somewhat of an indication!].
O.K. Last post on this issue – just to give it a little more context, I guess.
Since the color “should not” matter at all, what would you say of an altar server wearing a *blue* surplice? or a black surplice?
[All this applies only to serving the Mass using the traditional Order of the Mass].
1/A bule or black surplice would not be in acordance with any established tradition and so would be wrong.
2/ The Roman Use never became the universal form of the west. Pius V mearly supressed any Uses newer than two hundred years. All other uses where a TRADITION that was to be respected. The ultramontain movement lead mny bishops to forgo thier own Use in favour of the Roman Use. It was, as I said, that kind of thinking that lead to the lack of revolt over the New Mass.
3/ France has been the place where tradition has taken the firmest stance and where the Od Mass is widely said. This certainly has something to do with its tradition of independence. Note that the tradtionalist movement is, and has been for some time now, dead in the water.
On the final note I meant to say the traditionalst movement in Italy.
Most parishes in my diocese (Archdiocese of Philadelphia) do allow boys and girls to serve at Mass, and they don’t even wear cassocks and surplices at all. Instead, altar servers have been wearing (for the past twenty-some years) gray or white “habits” either with or without hoods, and with rope cinctures, in some parishes matching the liturgical colors the priests wear.
Just to let you know, while the article was on Deo Juvante’s blog, I was the author of it.
http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2007/05/history-and-graces-received-from-altar.html
what do you think?