As a body is one, though it has many parts, and all the
parts
of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether
Jews, or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given
to drink of one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
The word liturgy comes from a very old word meaning “work of the people.” We work together to make our Catholic liturgy a life giving experience for each other. Each one of us has a role to play in making this great prayer of thanks and praise to God. As baptized members of the Body of Christ, we are all members of the royal priesthood and our loving God has bestowed each of us with gifts and talents to share with others.
The altar servers are the assistants to the priest presider. This ministry is open to all ages. Servers hold liturgical items like the cross, candles, or hold the sacramentary or rites book so that the priest can extend his arms in a prayerful posture.
The artisans are the ones who use their creativity to create a prayerful atmosphere.
Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are the lay men and women who are commissioned to distribute the Body and Blood of Christ during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Hospitality ministers are those that greet everyone coming into our worship space. Here at St. Toms they have additional duties like taking up the collection, bearing candles, helping with the communion procession, and giving the bulletins to the assembly as they are sent out into the world.
Some are called to the ministry of music. While we all need to sing with gusto in our gathering hymn and acclamations of the Mass, others have been gifted with the talent of prayerful voice or pastoral musicianship.
Proclamation of the sacred text of the church is of utmost importance. The reader in the Mass is one who will share with the assembly the words from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Christian Scriptures or give voice to the prayers of the faithful. These readers are the vessels that pour out the word of God spoken long ago yet ever new and alive in our world today.
The sacristans are the dedicated men and women who work behind the scenes
to set up everything that is needed to make our liturgy run smoothly.
They will set out the vessels, books, wine, and bread used for Mass.
They also wash the bowls and cups after the extraordinary ministers of
Holy Communion purify them.
If you feel called to any of these liturgical
ministries, please let me know. My email is bberger@sttoms-purdue.org or
phone 743-4652.