Altar servers honored at Mass as they prove to be sign of hope

It came as a sign of hope for the Church and a sign of gratitude for those who serve the Church. As 51 people received their Altar Server Awards, they commented that their dedication was for their love of God and His people.

The March 1 ceremony at St. Joseph Cathedral welcomed those who carry incense, candles and crosses to the altar; present the Roman Missal at Mass; and dress the altar.

“I congratulate each and every one of our altar servers who are depended upon so much and keep us straight when we’re up here on the altar,” said Bishop Michael W. Fisher at the opening of the Mass.

Father David Baker, director of Vocations for the Diocese of Buffalo, delivered the homily with eagerness and excitement.

“Boys and girls, altar servers, anytime you put on that robe and step out onto the altar you are fulfilling the command of Jesus. ‘Let the children come to me. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.’ The Church belongs to you. … We mean we want active participating ministering in the Church. Thank you for doing that and doing it so well,” he told the awardees. “You are a sign of hope for us.”

“Pilgrims of Hope,” he explained, is the theme of Jubilee 2025. A jubilee year happens every 25 years in the Catholic Church and is marked by acts of mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation.

“You are pilgrims of hope moving into the future with a sense of hope. God is going to provide something good for me on the other side,” Father Baker said.

Covering much ground in his homily, Father Baker used waterfalls as a metaphor for the cascading verses of St. Paul and a certain Jedi master.

“Yoda, talks this way in his famous soliloquy. ‘Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering.’ He didn’t come up with that on his own. He got it from St. Paul who also, many times in his life, speaks in this cascading phrase. Yoda’s ends in suffering and doesn’t know what to do. Paul knows what to do with suffering. And in Romans 5:5, he says, ‘Suffering leads to endurance, and endurance into proven character, and proven character into hope, and hope does not disappoint.’ Cascades like a waterfall and lands on firm solid rock that hope does not disappoint.”

He shared how he suffered in middle school when he was bullied for his intellect and good grades.

“Because I was good in school I got picked on. You may have noticed this, boys and girls, our world has this twisted sense that when you do something good they push you away because a lot of people are lazy. They don’t want to do good things. When you do good things, it makes them feel guilty, so they’ll pick on you,” he said. “It was only in church that I found this abiding peace. I felt so calm there and nobody bothered me. It didn’t matter what I looked like in church, so I was accepted there.”

He told the others to let their proven character turn into hope for them. He then put in a plug for vocations (Buffalovocations.org).

“Maybe you want to feel that (abiding peace) for the rest of your life,” he said. “I invite you to discover a future full of hope that will never disappoint you.” 

Bishop Fisher blessed the medals before placing them around each recipient’s neck, asking that “they may be reminded of the call each of us has in our lives as disciples to bear witness to Christ” as they wear them.

Although usually a position for teenagers, three adults also received the award.

David Duengfelder, has been serving for 58 years, ever since he was a 10 year old at St. Mary of the Lake Parish in Hamburg. This is his second Altar Server Award.

Now at St. John the Baptist in Boston, what keeps him involved? “My faith. I believe in God and I believe in the Church, and I hope it lasts,” he said. “I enjoy it. It’s the best seat in the house. You never have to fight for a pew. I believe it’s worthwhile. I believe in God and where better to serve Him than from the altar.”

In South Buffalo, the entire Kulik family pitches in for the 11:30 a.m. Mass at Holy Family. Mother Erica Kulik has been a lector since high school. When her parents became ill, she and husband, Mark, took a course on eucharistic ministry to bring Communion to them. Now children Alexa and Mark make up a team of altar servers.

“I enjoy seeing everybody and helping out my priests,” said Alexa, 19. “I enjoy doing it with (my brother) mostly. It’s nice to do it with him every weekend.”

Mark, 16, credits his big sister with leading him to a world of service.

“She inspired me to take part in it, and I always wanted to do it when I saw her doing it. So once I was old enough to do it, I joined her. We’ve done it ever since.”

The kids were nominated by their pastor, Father Bill Quinlivan.

“They are very faithful,” Father Quinlivan said. “The whole family serves in some capacity at that Mass. It’s a great example to the rest of the parish to see a whole family serving.”