Sacristan - A Prayerful Ministry

Sacristan – A Prayerful Ministry

Marcelles Amiatu

When Jesus sat down to share the last supper with his disciples, someone would have had to set the table, put bowls out, bake the bread, ensure there were enough cups, pour the wine and then of course clear up at the end of the meal.

In every parish and chaplaincy there are a small number of ministers who carry out this prayerful ministry behind the scenes. It is a ministry that very few sign up for yet it is a ministry that can offer the minister the opportunity to pray and reflect while preparing the sanctuary for the celebration of the church’s liturgies. The word Sacristan comes from the word sacristy which means ‘a place for sacred things ‘. Sacristies came about roughly around the 10th century after churches realized that a cupboard was needed to store all the vestments, chalices, patens and books that were used for Mass. Unlike other ministries of the church such as Ministers of the Word, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and Music Ministers; who all minister in full public view, the ministry of the sacristan is carried out prayerfully, reflecting on each part of the preparation behind the scenes and hours before parishioners start to arrive.

By the 15th century, the church became so obsessed with ordinations and clergy that the council of Trent decided that the ministry of the Sacristan should only be for priests in minor orders. Of course that didn’t last long as priests already had so much on their plates to deal with.

As the years went by the role and responsibilities of the sacristan grew and was no longer for the priests. Parishes instead selected from among themselves one person that was trustworthy and well respected in the community to be the sacristan or ‘porter’ as they came to be known. By this time it was the Sacristan who opened and closed the church doors each day, mopped the floors, maintained the church gardens, decorated the church for weddings, dug graves for funerals as well as preparing everything for the celebration of daily and Sunday Masses.

Fortunately today, the Sacristan does not have to do everything mentioned above as parishes are well looked after by volunteers who faithfully give up their time to mop the floors, clean the gardens and decorate etc... 

Can I be a sacristan? What skills do I need? Anyone who loves to serve and has a deep interest in the Church’s liturgy can be a sacristan.

A sacristan:

• Is moved by beauty to recognize the abiding presence of God.

• Is able to work well with others and dedicated to serving them.

• Is familiar with the liturgical calendar, its seasons and feasts;

• Is well organized and able to maintain good order, often in limited space.

• Is willing to learn all the liturgical books, vessels, vesture, and everything that is used in liturgies.

• Is able to spend time at the church caring for and preparing the material things for liturgy.

The Liturgy Centre has a variety of resources available for both purchase and study to assist parish sacristans in their ministry and spiritual growth. We also have workshops available to parishes and chaplaincies on request. For more information on these workshops contact the staff at the Liturgy Centre.

Gospel Reflection | Third Sunday of Lent

Third Sunday of Lent (B)

4^th March 2018

Marcelles Amiatu

Have you ever wondered what Trade Me would look like if instead of being an online company it was transformed into a warehouse? Or what it would look like if we operated it from the church foyer?

In today’s gospel we read that Jesus was angry with the way that the temple was being run. Instead of the temple being a place of prayer and preaching, Jesus turns up and finds that the leaders were in the foyer with tables exchanging money and selling animals for sacrifices.

This of course angered Jesus that instead of the temple being a place of prayer and worship where the people could come to meet God, they instead turned it into a marketplace where people would come and buy, sell and trade. Instead of being a holy place it was transformed into the equivalent of trade me – just in the temple.

 And so after seeing how angry Jesus was after he stormed in and over turned the tables and threw the money on to the ground –the people stood there and asked “So what are you going to do about it?”

Jesus responds to them and says “Well I’m going to destroy this place and then rebuild it in three days”

Imagine – the shock, surprise and amusement the people must have felt when they heard him say that he was going to rebuild a place that took sixty years to build in three days.

They of course missed what he meant...  

Jesus wasn’t talking about rebuilding the physical temple in three days after destroying it. What Jesus was actually talking about was his Life – Death and Resurrection and what it would mean for us after all that took place.

Jesus himself will become the temple….

After his resurrection people will no longer need to go to the temple just to meet God as they did in Jesus’ time. For Jesus himself will be the temple, a place where we will be able to meet the presence of God and experience the Love and Grace the God has for each and every one of us.

As we continue on this Lenten journey let us be mindful of the invitation to grow more deeply in faith and what we do. So that by accepting the invitation we may draw closer to Christ through our Prayer – Fasting and Charity.  

Gospel Reading | Monday 19th February 2018

+ A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew.

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

The gospel of the Lord.