Week 3: Female Altar Servers? Hm...

I started to be an altar server when I was in primary 4. For ordinary Sunday usually only 6 altar servers were needed at that time. So the altar servers were divided into group of 6 and I was 'fortunate' to be the only male in my group, because I got to do all the works that were supposed to be done only by male, it made me work... harder! =p

From the time I was involved in the altar server ministry, there were more female altar servers and it still continues until now. Nowadays, when I attend mass in my parish in Indonesia, it is strange if I don't see female altar servers. It's likely that they are no longer exception, but it has become a norm.

There are three pillars of the Catholic Church; Sacred Scripture, Traditions and Magisterium. Since altar servers cannot be found directly from the Sacred Scripture, we need to find out what Traditions and Magisterium have to say about it.

What did the Magisterium say?
In 1970, Pope Paul VI said in Liturgicae Instaurationes, “In conformity with norms traditional in the Church, women (single, married, religious), whether in churches, homes, convents, schools, or institutions for women, are barred from serving the priest at the altar.” And in 1980, Pope John Paul II stated in Inaestimabile Donum, “There are, of course, various roles that women can perform in the liturgical assembly: these include reading of the Word of God and proclaiming the intentions of the Prayer of the Faithful. Women are not, however, permitted to act as altar servers” (source).

However, the Magisterium has finally approved the female altar servers on July 11, 1992 (source), but why doesn't the Holy Father allow female altar servers in his own diocese of Rome? =p
I'll leave it up to you to guess...

Let's have a look at the history.
In the Old Testament, God created male and female, so they are equal but they are not the same because God created them for different purposes.

In New Testament, Jesus came and chose 12 apostles, all male (btw, the apostles were all male because they represented the Pope, Bishop and Priests today, which is another discussion about why only male can be ordained to the priesthood). Does it mean that God discrimated women?

It's definitely no, because from the very beginning, He specifically chose Mary to be the Mother of Jesus. So we know that a woman is equally important as men and has a part in our salvation history. If you want to see the biblical proof, it's in Genesis 3:15 "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel." This is the only time in the Bible, where it mentioned about the offspring of a woman. We all know that He was referring to Mary.

Men are different from women in their thinking and spiritual growth. They need other men to lead them into the ways of mature manhood, especially on spiritual level. Being an altar server was like a 'right of passage,' a masculine activity that led young men into the closeness of the liturgy that was reserved only for Holy Orders. Just like my little sister who like to act as the mother of her dolls, the role of altar server is a pre-formation and also discernment period for young men to the priesthood.


Some may argue that by becoming altar servers, young women could also discern their vocation
to the religious life. Unfortunately, this is an incorrect view (source).

We do see the religious sisters in retreat house, hospital, old folks home, erm.. on television (Mother Angelica!) doing works of mercy, whereas the religious nuns are cloistered, which mean they stay in their monastery and don't usually meet people, such as the Carmelite nuns. During Mass, usually we only see them sit on the pew, not standing around the altar to assist the celebrant priest. So being an altar server would not help young women in their discernment to the religious life. If the female altar servers are poorly cathecized, soon they may forget their place and aspire to be priests also, which could be a threat to the Church.

Looking back now, I wish that my bishop (in Indonesia) did not allow female altar servers in the first place, because it reduces the importance of being altar servers; to foster vocation to the priesthood. Of course, we didn't get good faith formation also, which was a reason why I didn't know the meaning of becoming an altar server. Back then, altar server was just a trend for students. Well, it's more about getting more friends and It wasn't much about serving God.

Nowadays, I don't see many male altar servers or even young boy sitting on the pew. One of the reason was because "... easier to ask the girls to go to the Church." So, the parents usually encourage the girls to be altar servers and leave the boys at home. I do hope it won't happen in Singapore, because the Catholic Church here is so wonderful. If everyone, male and female, wants to be an altar server... who will do other ministries, such as the Mustard Seed? =)

(Pictures are courtesy of Te Deum Laudamus, Michael Weinberg Photography, Hestoff photography)