T minus seven hours and a half hours...

The programs are at Fed Ex Office being printed now!!! I'm going to sleep for a few hours now.

I needed to clarify that the Seraphim not serving tonight don't have to be there until 6:15-6:30 pm. We'll hopefully have a small space in the front rows for the families of our servers. Some are asking why we have these seats reserved. First, there might be standing room only tonight...who knows how many are really going to show up. Second, I want all the servers and their families to get an upfront view of what's going on because they will be involved in it eventually. Third, because I can. :)

Last minute checklist:

• If serving, be there by 5:45 PM dressed and ready to go.
• Please be sure to eat well beforehand and bring snacks if necessary. I don't need servers fainting in the middle of this one.
• I will need assistance in the last half-hour because I have alot to do and I won't be able to direct traffic so I'm counting on the servers, families, and staff. (I've even called in Carol Kuhn.)
• Please prepare yourself with all of your soul. Family rosaries are a great way to do this. Meditation on Sacred Scripture that will be read is another good way.
• Last but not least, we've spent months preparing...it's in God's hands now...it'll be fine.

Dads and moms, I might need a camera operator, a choir helper, a first-aid go-to person, a babysitter and who knows what else...just in case anyone wants to help out. :)

Off the Cuff training time today

I will be meeting today with the Macks after the 6:00 pm Mass at St. Ann's to go over the changes at Communion. Anyone interested is more than welcome to go over some last minute details. We'll start once the Mass ends and finish up by 7:15pm. (There might be Seminarians there as well, but there's no guarantee.)

Missa Canata Home Stretch

Hello all,

Sorry for the major delays in posting. I'm moving on a lot of things. Here's the basics for right now:

• All servers meet at St. Ann's at 5:45pm to set up and go through a 20 minute run-through.
• There will not be any dinner or post-Mass happenings due to the need to simplify at this time. (Expect a party in the near future for all the hard work we've put in!)
• Due to the seminarians and priests attending, I'll need to have time to prepare them for their rubrics prior to the start of Mass, so I'll need help getting ready so that I have time for them.
• There has been a major change for Communion for Ac's, Th, and Bb. No changes for Tb's. More info on that later.
• Stay tuned today. More info to come.

Happy Mother's Day

A special thank you to all of the mothers of our servers. As Mary received Jesus, so did our mother's receive us. Let us thank the Lord for our mothers who, in doing God's will, guide, serve, teach, protect, love, pray, and sacrifice for the sake for us. So we pray for the mothers:

Debbie, Vicki, Shannon, Marla, Amber, Danielle, Amy, Amie, Theresa, Elizabeth, Lisette, and Kathy.

Ave María, grátia plena, Dóminus tecum; benedícta to in muliéribus, et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Jesus. Sancta María, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatóribus, nunc et in hora mortis, nostræ. Amen.

Dig into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

There are many times during the Mass when I catch my mind wandering, and I realize that I need to focus on what's going on and why it's happening. I like to refer back to the testimony of Catalina of Bolivia on the Mass. Catalina is a visionary and a interlocutor, someone who receives messages from another and provides them to the public. In this case, Catalina claims to receive messages from our Blessed Mother.

While the Church has not formally recognized Catalina as a true visionary, in 2000, Fr. Daniel Gagnon of the Archdiocese of Mexico's Commission for the Doctrine of Faith has stated that,

"I DO NOT FIND ANYTHING AGAINST THE FAITH OR THE CUSTOMS OF THE CHURCH. IT IS NOT MY FUNCTION TO CONFIRM ITS SUPERNATURAL CHARACTER; NEVERTHELESS, I RECOMMEND IT FOR ITS SPIRITUAL INSPIRATION."

Because of the copyright I will link to the article, and I highly recommend this for the servers because it provides some spiritual insight into how they serve at the altar. Moreover Catalina takes a lot of the doctrine that we cover in the training and presents it in a new "light."

Let me know what you think.

Photo Credit: Martin Beek, Lawrence OP

Training Recap 5/8/09

Again...we had a great training session. This was an extra session where mostly Cherubim and some Seraphim showed up to put on some finishing touches for the run-through on Monday with Fr. Reid and the Schola.

Afterwards we went up to the cry room and worked on the testing for the Missa Cantata. The only official positions up to this point are the following:

• Luke Bruck - Boat Bearer (by the way, Luke deftly handled the Boat Bearer test receiving questions read aloud from the other servers. - afterwards many of the servers remarked that one day they'll want to be Boat Bearer when he becomes a thurifer.)
• Joseph Yellico - Torch Bearer
• Sam Dehority - Torch Bearer

Congrats to Seraphim Sam and Joseph Y. for making it through the testing with only having been to one or two Missa Cantata practices. Greaty job!

More on results from the other positions to come. Next training session is Monday May 11th. Seraphim go from 4:15 to 5:45 and finish out the Low Mass. Cherubim, Sam Dehority, and Joseph Yellico will go from 6 - 8 pm for the full Missa Cantata run through.

Keep it up everyone! All of the servers have been doing an awesome job studying, training, and serving the Lord. Thanks to all of the parents for their hard work in helping this ministry exist. Thanks to everyone for their prayers for our serving ministry. Without God we would not be here.

Training Recap - 5/4/09

Great afternoon for training today.

The Seraphim made it all the way to the Post Communion Prayers. Next Monday we'll finally finish out the Low Mass. Seraphim can expect their Low Mass test on May 18th. The results of that test will help determine the order of who begins serving with Fr. Reid and the other servers.

May 18th will also be the last day of the division of the two groups. No longer will we have Cherubim and Seraphim until the next newbie class comes in, which won't be until next year. Repeat: after May 18th all servers will be in one group which will usually meet from 4:15 to 5:45 pm on Mondays.

The Cherubim who showed up tonight along with some of the Seraphim took the Torch Bearer test, and the concensus was that it was difficult. 32 fill in the blank questions that were extremely picky comprised the test. The results showed that serving the Missa Cantata will be very demanding. Then we covered a lot of ground with a great run through of the Missa Cantata.

Upcoming events:

• This Friday, May 8th we'll have another Missa Cantata training session from 5 - 7 pm. The first half will be in the Sanctuary doing a Missa Cantata run-through. The second half will be testing which will occur in classrooms 1 and 2 upstairs. All Cherubim need to be there. Any Seraphim interested in serving as Torch Bearers need to be there as well.


• Monday May 11th the Seraphim who are not in the Missa Cantata will attend practice from 4:45 to 5:45. Then from 6 - 8 pm the rest of the servers will participate in a live rehearsal of the Missa Cantata. Terese and the schola as well as Fr. Reid will be in attendance for this rehearsal. We need to be on the ball for this which is why the tests will be this Friday.


• Monday May 18th practice will have the last separated practices with the Seraphim going from 4:15 to 6:15 pm. Cherubim will be there from 5:45 to 7:30 pm. Terese Rowe will be instructing again from 5:45 to 6:15pm, which is why the times are extended.


• Thursday May 21st 7:00 pm is the start time for the Missa Cantata. All servers (Cherubim and Seraphim) need to present no later than 6:15 pm dressed and ready to help out.

This is going to be an awesome Mass. Keep up the good work!

Pic Credit: Jim the Photographer