“In the beginning” Jesus gathered twelve apostles to serve the people.   Those twelve were sent out to establish our universal Church and gathered many more as they spread the good news.  It is in the gathering that we share our faith.  It is in the gathering that we share the Eucharist.  It is in the gathering that we grow in our love and devotion to Jesus Christ.   Preparing for one Holy Sacrifice of the Mass requires many parishioners and untold hours of devotion.   The number and hours served each weekend can vary widely depending on who is available to serve.   Of course, there must be a Priest sometimes a Deacon or an Instituted Acolyte. Before the weekend Masses begin someone must change the altar cloth for each change of season or feast day etc. based on the Ordo book.  This currently falls to our two adult diocesan-trained Instituted Acolytes. 

            In order for the highly organized services to be orchestrated properly a Liturgical Director is needed.  He/she oversees everything, and everyone involved in each Mass.  Before and after Mass two Sacristans must prepare and then clean and put away the sacred vessels and linens.  The unseen devotion of the sacristans to our Lord’s Table are very important to the beauty and solemnity of the Mass.

        At St. Philip our teenage Acolytes, those who have the most experience on the altar, and younger Altar Servers choose whether, or not, they will serve the Mass.   They do not have a schedule to follow, they serve because they care enough to appear in the sacristy in plenty of time to prepare for Mass.   On a given day we might have two to eighteen serving.   This warms the hearts of parishioners who see such devotion to the Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass displayed by children as young as third graders.  Lectors who proclaim the word of God at the Ambo number six, two for each Mass. The Priest (or Deacon with the Priest’s blessing) acting “ in persona Christi”, proclaims the Gospel to the congregation.  After the consecration of the bread and wine, the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion receive the Body or Blood of Christ from the priest and offer them to each communicant.  There may be up to five Extraordinary Ministers needed at each Mass for Holy Communion.

        Our Masses are deeply enriched by music glorifying our Lord.  We join as one to sing his praises through the songs our Music Director has chosen.  The singing of the choir can send us all to heaven with the beauty of the human voice raised in praise of our creator.  This heavenly chorus can number two or three to fifteen at a Mass.  During the summer months’ we may have an Organist or Pianist and a Cantor available who lead us in our responses.  These Choir Members spend two hours on Tuesday nights practicing and an hour before the Mass they sing in to be sure that we are accompanied with beautiful music honoring our God.  

       To be sure that we are all safe and secure in our pews the Ushers are observing the campus to ensure that we are not interrupted in our worship of the Lord.   They also take up the collections that you so generously give to St. Philip, our area poor and the many second collections for the archdiocese.   We always need at least four ushers at each Mass, twelve for the weekend.
When our Nursery is staffed, there are at least two Virtus trained adults and perhaps a teenager who offer their time to caring for the little ones, so their parents may devote their attention to the worship of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.  This is a service to Jesus as well as to the families of St. Philip.

       Each week someone chooses to honor a loved one or deceased family member with the Flowers that grace the altar.  The green flower booklet on the vestibule counter is available for anyone to honor someone living or deceased.  These entries must be noted, the flowers ordered, created, delivered and placed on the altar.  Several more folks, some who are not even parish members, who have contributed time to OUR Mass.

      Each Lent and Christmas season bring more people in who create the beautiful seasonal decorations.  There may be as many as seven Disciples of Jesus and Mary working to be sure that we can appreciate, with all our senses, the solemnity and importance of the season.   Jesus’ altar should always have the best of what we can provide.  This includes flowers, linens, and throughout the liturgical year.

       God permeates the environment in the sanctuary through the beauty of the Altar, crucifix, statues, Stations of the Cross, stained glass Ten Commandments, music, proclamations of the Word and the homily of the priest.

       It is possible for there to be as many as 25 to 30 persons involved at any one Mass and 75 to 90 for the entire weekend serving God and aiding each of us sitting in the pews in expressing our love of the Trinity and our Church.  If we were to add up the number of weekly hours spent by all these people, the total would be staggering! Obviously, our parish Masses need people, loving people of Christ who want to be as close to our Lord as possible in this life.   St. Philip parish needs you!  Consider one of these areas to devote your love and time to.
 
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