And here’s to you, Mr. Acolyte

On May 18, 2013, along with eight other men in our diocese, Joel petitioned for and received the Ministry of Acolyte. It is one of four formal, liturgical steps toward diaconate ordination. Two years ago these nine men began with the Rite of Candidacy, last summer they received the Ministry of Lector, and now the Ministry of Acolyte. God and bishop-willing, all nine will take part in the Rite of Ordination come August 2014.

One more year, baby!

So what’s an acolyte?  
Per the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), as an acolyte, the deacon candidate 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, serve as an extraordinary minister and distribute the Eucharist. Now most parishes aren’t “staffed” with an instituted acolyte, so lay ministers have been deputed to serve at the altar. 

In {pretty, happy, funny, real} fashion, I proudly share a few photos from the Mass and acolyte installation, all taken with my new iPhone while wrangling an energetic preschooler and a don’t-fence-me-in toddler.

Many thanks to my mom for attending the Mass with us and helping wrangle said kids.

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The St. Ambrose Cathedral hosted the event. It’s always nice to celebrate Mass in this pretty space.

Fun fact: St. Ambrose Parish began in 1851 in a log hut in Fort Des Moines with Mass offered by the first resident priest of Ottumwa. In 1856, one year after the Iowa Legislature voted to move the capitol from Iowa City to a location near the fork of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, the first church, size 40 by 24 feet, was built. Read more of the Cathedral’s history here. 

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Looking good in your alb, babe!

Catholicism 101: An alb is the long white, robe-like vestment worn by all clerics at liturgical celebrations (celebrant, concelebrant, deacon, or acolyte). The alb, from the Latin word alba, meaning “white,” symbolizes purity. As he puts on his alb, he prays: “Purify me, O Lord, and cleanse my heart; that, being made white in the Blood of the Lamb, I may come to eternal joy.”

Aside: how cool if I could lovingly sew him an alb with my own two hands. Yeah, fat chance. 

What a great group of men who’ve become part of our extended family. The only bad thing is the photo is missing two men in formation with us (Tom, we missed you; Tony, where in the heck did you disappear?!) 

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This is where Bishop Pates tells Joel that if he wants to make it to ordination, he needs to reign in his wife. Who, me?!

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I asked Joel to share a few thoughts. He says, “It was powerful, in part, because we were in albs rather than suits. The closer you get to the altar, the more it’s about Jesus and the less it’s about you. That’s kind of what the alb symbolizes. It’s a neutralizing agent that takes the focus off the person and puts it on the role the person is playing in the Mass.”

He continues, “Don’t miss the command to ‘Make your life worthy of your service.’ You hear that loud and clear. It’s a call to allow yourself to be transformed by grace, especially in the last year of formation.” 

Yeah, we’re getting close!

And finally, Joel serving at the altar, now as an acolyte, assisting our bishop, concelebrating priests, and deacons. 

There you have it; another Rite in the books. As always, we humbly ask for and appreciate your prayers and support. While there’s just one more year of formation, it’s going to be an exciting year welcoming another baby to Das Schmidt Haus in October. So yeah, please keep “das prayers” coming.

Linked up to {pretty, happy, funny, real} hosted at Like Mother, Like Daughter.