1. To promote the dignified, devout, and accurate service of the altar in the traditional Roman rite.The website says that the Society is "specifically committed to the traditional Latin liturgy of the Catholic church, in a form no later than that current in 1962" which is a rather good way of putting it.
2. To promote the spiritual formation of altar servers, in the spirit of St Tarcisius, who accepted death rather than allow the profanation of the most holy sacrament.
3. To disseminate information on the correct service of the altar, and arrange from time to time training events for servers.
4. To maintain a list of those who are willing and able to serve at the traditional liturgy, and provide this information to those organizing traditional events, where needed.
This is a very welcome initiative and I am sure that I will have a number of servers in my parish who will be eager to join. The entry requirement of being able to serve Low Mass will be an incentive for new servers to get on and learn to say the responses for Mass.
This morning, my servers were all away - some off on family outings in the lovely weather, and some over at Clapham Park where the Pentecost Vigil was celebrated (certainly "in a form no later than that current in 1962") and one has gone to join the Benedictines at Douai. When we have no servers, one of the ladies will answer the responses from the congregation but today an elderly gentleman saw that I had no server and came up to the altar. I started off a little slowly in case he found difficulty with the responses but his confident and speedy "ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam" let me know that he had not forgotten a thing.
It was quite moving to see him observe all the details of the ceremonies of Low Mass - standing by the altar at the beginning of the Gospel until the name of Jesus was mentioned, for example. I have had to learn all these things from scratch and take lessons from my discreet but highly competent MC, supporting him in gradually perfecting the serving of the boys from the parish. To experience an older server who has not served for some time effortlessly fall into all of these detailed customs spoke powerfully of continuity and the lack of any distraction of having to make things up as we go along or institute worthy (and legitimate) local improvements ad hoc as is the case with trying to "reform the reform".
For the Society of St Tarcisius, I am glad to see that there will be a medal:
It is planned to produce a medal of St Tarcisius, which will be worn on a royal blue ribbon by members of the Society at its events, and also when serving where no objection is raised by the MC or celebrant. If the medal of St Tarcisius is not available, a medal of the Sacred Heart may be substituted.One little request: could this be arranged so that the ribbon (or perhaps a blue cord) be hung around the neck? Faffing around with a medal ribbon and a safety pin would be something we could do without in the case of small boys...
15 comments:
Surely a big problem is the name: pronounced in English Tar-sissy-us!
Society of St. Tarcisius -- how beautiful!!
Your late substitute server reminded me of a story told by one of my friends, Stephen McManus (sadly, RIP in his mid-50s).
Stephen served in the Royal Navy for several years and on one occasion his ship visited Hong Kong and stayed for a fortnight.
Early one morning a Mass was to be celebrated on the Naval base by a visiting cleric and so Stephen, a devout Catholic all his life, made sure he was there.
Before Mass began an officer asked if anybody could help out by serving Mass.
And so it came to pass that Stephen had the pleasure of serving Holy Mass for a cleric with a wholly unholy name: then Archbishop, but later Cardinal Sin!
Mail - rather a "Mike Giggle" comment that! The name ought in any case to be pronounced Tar-CHIS-ioos
Father,
Please look at my blog when you can.
http://catholic-whistleblog.blogspot.com/
If you are OK with it then could you help me in promoting it.
Regards,
Paul
Thank you for mentioning the new Society, Father! Much appreciated.
Please - any of you out there who serve at the altar, or who want to learn, or just support - join our Sodality. We will have more impact if we can recruit a large number of members quickly! See the website or email secretary@saint-tarcisius.org.uk for a membership leaflet and an application form.
Yes, the medal will be on a ribbon around the neck, rather like other organizations with similar purposes, though in royal blue (Queenship of Mary).
Saint Tarcisius
Fidelis usque ad mortem.
At our fortnightly Latin Mass (reluctantly agreed to by our Bishop, who then preached against it and forbade parishes from advertising it in ANY way) our Altar Server must be in his 60s but is still amazingly fluent. As you say, it is quite moving to see him move and give the responses so confidently.
Responding to your point about the ribbon for the medal - I imagine that the thinking behind this is to make membership of the Society of St Tarcisius complementary to membership of the Guild of St Stephen - not a substitute. It would be a pity if we ended up with two alternative (or rival!) societies for altar servers.
One solution might be to go for a woven badge which is sown onto the front of the cotta of Society members - rather like the small cross which the choristers at Westminster Cathedral have on their cottas. The probationers have to wear a plain cotta and only get to wear a cotta with a cross once they have been enrolled by the Cathedral Administrator.
I do agree that pinning a medal on a cotta is not a good idea. I think that such medals are best reserved for something like 25 years service, and then only worn on special occasions.
Paul - done!
Isn't St Tarcisius the patron saint of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion?
What is this business about "rival" societies for altar servers? I supposed that the Guild of St Stephen was defunct. I'm afraid it certainly seems to be so round here.
I'm very pleased to be associated with the Society of St. Tarcisius, which I expect to do much good work.
Well there is no need to see it as a rival society to the Confraternity of St Stephen. Surely it is reasonable to have a society for servers of the old rite.
Patron of Extraordinary Ministers :-) Well St Tarcisius has been hijacked for that cause. Not sure he would agree!
There is a very elderly gentleman who steps in at our parish when the servers have not shown for the earliest Mass, (an all to frequent occurrence, I might add... the lack of commitment and responsibility shown by the PARENTS of servers is a great scandal to their children.)
He is by far our finest server.
If TPTB would recruit him to train and vet the servers rather than the person doing it now we would be far better off.
Perhaps there should be emeritus members of the society.
Just because their knees no longer work, doesn't mean they can't teach where and when the genuflections are performed and WHY they are performed.
(Save the Liturgy, Save the World)
Forgive me, somehow I missed that this was a society only for servers in the EF.
With a single exception, I have never seen an EF Mass where the servers were less than exemplary. (We would never have an EF at my parish, sad to say.)
Save the Liturgy, Save the World!
St Tarcisius could be the patron saint of Extraordinary ministers, but there'd have to be some changes I'm afraid:
1. Extraordinary ministers would have to be male, and admitted to minor orders after proper formation.
2. They would be used only in time of persecution, and when a priest or deacon wasn't available.
3. They would be regularly martyred for their defence of the Blessed Sacrament from the slightest indignity.
Perhaps the Pope should write another Motu Proprio, reforming extraordinary ministers along these lines. I suspect that most traditionally minded Catholics would welcome it fervently.
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