Dear Parishioners,
Over the past several years, our altar server vestments have begun to show their age. Buttons are breaking, cinctures are fraying, and some of the pectoral crosses are in need of repair or replacement. Recognizing this need, members of our Parish Council generously came forward to help fund new vestments for our altar servers, ensuring that this important ministry is both well-supported and fittingly attired for service at the altar.
Now, some may wonder: “Why do vestments matter at Mass?” To answer this question, we can turn to Sacred Scripture, which offers insight into the importance of priestly vesture in divine worship. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, we find descriptions of the garments used in sacred worship on earth and in the heavenly liturgy. Examples include Exodus 28:40–43, Leviticus 8:6–13, Zechariah 3:3–5, and Revelation 19:8. Across salvation history, clothing has carried deep symbolic and spiritual significance, especially in the context of worship and one’s relationship with God.
We understand this principle in everyday life as well, especially those of us in the workforce. When I first began teaching, I remember a mentor once telling me, “You show pride in the duties and responsibilities entrusted to you by the way you dress.” The same principle holds true at Mass: what we wear communicates something about who we are and what we are doing. Priests and deacons, for example, do not approach the altar in ordinary attire, but vest in garments that signify their sacred role in the celebration of the Mass. In a similar way, altar servers are vested because they are not merely volunteers in a casual sense; they are entrusted with a unique and reverent role in the liturgy as servants of the altar. Next to the priest and deacon, no one comes as close to the altar as an altar server. What a privilege and responsibility for our young people!
Beginning next weekend, you will notice new altar server vestments in black and white. These colors were chosen not only for their traditional simplicity, but also for their rich spiritual symbolism:
• Black can remind us of humility and self-offering—dying to self in order to serve Christ—and also of our witness to the Kingdom that is not yet fully revealed.
• White signifies purity of heart, obedience to Christ, the light of the Gospel, and our hope in the Resurrection. Think, for example, of how we have seen the priest and deacon vested in white throughout the Easter season as the Church rejoices in the Risen Lord for fifty days.
We are deeply grateful to all who made these new vestments possible through their generosity. Please also join me in thanking and praying for our altar servers, who serve the Lord and His Church with reverence and dedication.
And if you are interested in becoming an altar server—parents, godparents, and grandparents, this is your cue to give our young people a gentle nudge—please contact Molly Bellmont in the Parish Office at mollybellmont@nativitybloomington.org.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Bill Duffert