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Women Serving During Mass


qfnol31

Do you think women should serve, EMs, Alter Servers, Lectors, etc?  

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PLEASE DO NOT BE MEAN TO WOMEN! I LOVE THEM! (Actually, I should be very nice because I may marry one one day, and my mommy's a woman!!) :D ;)

I've heard that many places and a few dioceses do not care for women serving during Mass.

I personally think they should have the men serve on them and shouldn't have to be reduced to serving themselves. ^_^ Like my mom, she does enough for me as it is that for her to have to serve anymore would kill me. :(

LoL, while I believe all of that I've just said, I also believe that helping out in Mass is a great thing. I'm curious to see what your dioceses have said and things.

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I have no problem with it.

I think altar servers are meant to give young boys an insight into the priesthood. So boys would be preferable when it comes to altar serving...but aside from that, the old sanctuary rules no longer apply so nothing should bar women from helping out at mass. They just can't be ordained, that's all.

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popestpiusx

My thoughts on women in the santuary serving liturgical roles are no secret. Interestinly my wife belives the exct same thing I do. Just for the sake of clarity, and because this is a different thread than the other that we debated this issue I'll give my opinion. Perhaps the best way to put it is to quote from a great Irish drinking song. So in answer to the question of whether women should serve a liturgical role I say 'No, Nay, Never,...No, nay, never, no more."

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I agree with L5. servers should be boys, but aside from that, i don't have any problems with women doing stuff at mass.

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If the Pope says it's OK, then I will accept it. I did not accept it prior to Rome's OK. In fact, at my old parish (which disobeyed Rome at the time), I would write on my contribution check that I was reducing my contribution to $1 to penalize their disobedience. And when I moved to my present location, I checked the local parish to see if they allowed altar girls; since I saw none, I felt it was a safe parish to move to.

And for those who can't stomach altar girls now even though Rome has allowed them, think about this: maybe there wouldn't be a need for altar girls if more boys stepped up for the role.

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cmotherofpirl

[quote name='popestpiusx' date='Apr 7 2004, 07:31 AM'] My thoughts on women in the santuary serving liturgical roles are no secret. Interestinly my wife belives the exct same thing I do. Just for the sake of clarity, and because this is a different thread than the other that we debated this issue I'll give my opinion. Perhaps the best way to put it is to quote from a great Irish drinking song. So in answer to the question of whether women should serve a liturgical role I say 'No, Nay, Never,...No, nay, never, no more." [/quote]
You mean you have a problem with women doing the readings and prayer intentions?

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I don't have a problem with it at all. My mom has been a Eucharistic Minister for over 20 years now. Besides serving at Mass on Sunday, she also brings Communion to the homebound and people in the hospital who ortherwise would not be able to receive. My 12 year old neice is also an altar server in our parish, and out of a parish with about 100 altar servers half of them are girls!

I guess what we really need to do is keep praying for vocations, because there is such a huge shortage of priests in our country that the only alternative is to have EM's and such assisting at Mass.

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I said maybe. It has to to case by case and only when really needed with the alter servers. But the rest, let them read.

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[quote name='L5' date='Apr 7 2004, 06:15 AM'] I have no problem with it.

I think altar servers are meant to give young boys an insight into the priesthood. So boys would be preferable when it comes to altar serving...but aside from that, the old sanctuary rules no longer apply so nothing should bar women from helping out at mass. They just can't be ordained, that's all. [/quote]
I agree with this. I'm not for girl altar servers but don't see anything against the other two ministries. Of course I'm not for the currenty over-use of extra-ordinary Eucharistic Ministers either.

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DemonSlayer

I'm not really concerned with it, I don't think it really makes much difference these days.

Edited by DemonSlayer
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[quote name='Norseman82' date='Apr 7 2004, 07:19 AM'] And for those who can't stomach altar girls now even though Rome has allowed them, think about this: maybe there wouldn't be a need for altar girls if more boys stepped up for the role. [/quote]

That's a very good point! As the mother of a son, I feel that boys (and men too in many ways) are ignored and actually persectued in our society these days. :o I think that boys should be given first choice when it comes to altar serving.

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popestpiusx

[quote name='Norseman82' date='Apr 7 2004, 08:19 AM'] If the Pope says it's OK, then I will accept it. I did not accept it prior to Rome's OK. In fact, at my old parish (which disobeyed Rome at the time), I would write on my contribution check that I was reducing my contribution to $1 to penalize their disobedience. And when I moved to my present location, I checked the local parish to see if they allowed altar girls; since I saw none, I felt it was a safe parish to move to.

And for those who can't stomach altar girls now even though Rome has allowed them, think about this: maybe there wouldn't be a need for altar girls if more boys stepped up for the role. [/quote]
Two points:
1)Even though Rome has allowed it, it is not required. No bishop has to allow it. and even if a given bishop allows it, no priest can be forced to allow it in his parish. This shows that there is still something about it that is not quite right. Even if it is allowed, the preference (for myriad reasons) is still for boys.
Two diocese in the US still do not allow girls and in the diocese that do allow it, more and more priests are starting to see the wisdom of restricting service at the altar to boys alone. There is nothing disobedient about questioning the prudence of the decision to allow girls to serve.

2)There were plenty of boys at the altar before girls were allowed to do it. The lack of boys now is a symptom of the decision to allow girls rather than girls being allowed because there were not eough boys.

And as a side note: One of the many many benefits of attending almost exclusively, the Tridentine Mass or Eastern Rites is that in neither of them are girls allowed to serve at the altar.

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popestpiusx

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='Apr 7 2004, 08:22 AM'] You mean you have a problem with women doing the readings and prayer intentions? [/quote]
This is debatable. In general I am, but I really find it to be more minor than the rest of the stuff.

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Regarding altar servers: I always thought the rule was if there was a shortage of boys able to serve, then it was ok to let girls fill in the gaps. I am completly ok with that. In my old church (which I still frequent) I have never seen a girl serve. However, in another parish in my community which I also frequent, it's been years since I've seen a boy serving. I know there are young boys in that parish but I have to wonder why they are either not motivated to serve or are not given the opportunity.

Regarding the other ministies: I have no problem, but I do think Eucharistic ministers on a whole need to be limited. At my parish of about 200 families, we have 5 of them at Mass: 1 for the Body of Christ, and 4 for the Precious Blood. I think that's a little crazy.

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popestpiusx

As far as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist are concerned I am opposed to them regardless of sex. Laymen do not have consecrated hands. They have no right to touch the Consecrated Host. So this is not a matter of male or female. I must add though that there certainly are legitimate exceptions to this, but not what is the common practice today.

Because out of reverence towards this sacrament, nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for touching this sacrament." - ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, Summa Theologica

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