Another Milestone in the journey of priestly formation...

This morning at the community Mass at the Pontifical North American College, I, along with 53 of my classmates in Second Theology, were instituted to the Ministry of Acolyte by Bishop Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington.

Seminarians mark our time in formation by different milestones, some of which are small (putting another semester of academic studies in the books, counting down to various seminary events, etc) but other milestones are larger (such as compiling your yearly self-evaluation and then having your evaluation meeting to determine if the faculty will approve you to advance to the next year for instance...)

These "milestones" help the seminarian look forward to the day when, God willing, he is ordained. Milestones such as what my class and I experienced today make ordination day seem that much closer, because (in a broad sense) the Ministry of Acolyte is the "last step" before a man petitions to be ordained to the Transitional Diaconate (clearly he must continue to do well in his studies, engage in the seminary formation process, be approved by the faculty to move onto the next year of theology, and always strive to conform his life to that of the Good Shepherd).

What exactly is an Acolyte though? From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

The Ministry of the Instituted Acolyte and Lector

98. The acolyte is instituted to serve at the altar and to assist the priest and deacon. In particular, it is his responsibility to prepare the altar and the sacred vessels and, if it is necessary, as an extraordinary minister, to distribute the Eucharist to the faithful.[84]

In the ministry of the altar, the acolyte has his own functions (cf. nos. 187-193), which he must perform personally.

The acolyte is a man preparing for Holy Orders, and with the institution to the Ministry of Acolyte comes the responsibility and privilege of assisting the priest/deacon at the altar. With this new responsibility, the realization that "wow, this could be me this time a year or so from now" begins to stir in the seminarians heart and get him "fired up" about his own ordination, God willing.

It's interesting...I've been an altar server numerous times in the past--as a teen, as a youth minister, in pre-theology at St. John's...but when our class had training sessions, I was struck at how surreal it felt to be in the sanctuary helping to prepare the altar. Something about this new role I have assumed made the day of priestly ordination come that much more alive for me!

I want to provide a summary of the Institution itself. The institution is held within the context of the celebration of the Eucharist. After the Gospel, the deacon calls forward those be instituted to the Ministry of Lector. We raise from our seat, respond "present" and then bow to the Bishop instituting us. After this, the Bishop proceeds with his homily. He may choose to give his own, or use a sample one provided by the Church...Bp. Loverde chose to give a great homily about the Transfiguration (Gospel for today's Mass) and how during this season of Lent we, as disciples of Christ, are called to transform our lives, minds and hearts toward Him. After his homily the Mass proceeded as follows:

“Dear sons in Christ: As people chosen for the ministry of acolyte, you will have a special role in the Church's ministry. The summit and source of the Church's life is the Eucharist, which builds up the Christian community and makes it grow. It is your responsibility to assist priests and deacons in carrying out their ministry, and as special ministers to give holy communion to the faithful at the liturgy and to the sick.

Because you are specially called to this ministry, you should strive to live more fully by the Lord's sacrifice and to be molded more perfectly in its likeness. You should seek to understand the deep spiritual meaning of what you do, so that you may offer yourselves daily to God as spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Jesus Christ.

In performing your ministry bear in mind that, as you share the one bread with your brothers and sisters, so you form one body with them. Show a sincere love for Christ's Mystical Body, God's holy

people, and especially for the weak and sick. Be obedient to the commandment which the Lord gave to his Apostles at the Last Supper: "Love one another as I have also loved you."

Then all of those to be instituted to the Ministry of Acolyte go to the center aisle of the Church, and after the Bishop invites the faithful to pray with him for the brothers to be instituted to the Ministry of Acolyte, we kneel and the Bishop prays over us saying:

“God of mercy, through your only Son, you entrusted the bread of life to your Church. Bless + our brothers who have been chosen for the ministry of acolyte. Grant that they may be faithful in the service of your altar and in giving to others the bread of life; may they grow always in faith and love and so build up your Church. We ask this through Christ our Lord.”

After this each candidate goes to the Bishop, who gives him a vessel with the bread to be consecrated, saying:

“Take this vessel of bread for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of His Church.”

Of course, the acolyte’s response to that is a confident “Amen” After this, the Mass continues as usual. Pictures from the event will soon be found at: http://www.pnac.org/gallery/

Lastly, thank you to all of you who pray regularly for me and my brothers in priestly formation. Your prayers, little notes/emails/texts of support, cards remembering our birthdays/other holidays etc are more appreciated than we can ever truly express.

It is a great honor and joy to be studying for the priesthood to one day serve the Church, particularly the faithful in the Archdiocese of Boston, and I pray I may continue well on my journey to the altar to serve you one day as the holiest, healthiest, happiest priest the Lord has called me to be.

Praised be Jesus Christ...now and forever.

--kpl