The Mass is one of God's greatest gifts. At Mass, God gives Himself to us in the Eucharist. It is the Eucharist that makes the Mass such a great and beautiful gift. The Mass is the unbloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ through which He gives us His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is one of the Seven Sacraments, and therefore, one of the primary channels by which God gives grace to man.

All people present at Mass should show reverence and humility toward God. This is all the more true for the altar servers. How great a privilege it is to be at the altar itself in the service of God. The altar servers are like servants at a great banquet - the Banquet of God.
Throughout the entire Mass, we altar servers must act as though we are serving God Himself, because we are! We should continually be aware of Jesus' presence in the Eucharist, both on the altar and in the tabernacle. One way of communicating this awareness is by genuflecting before the tabernacle, particularly as we prepare for Mass, and as we undress the altar at the conclusion of Mass. Every action of the altar servers at Mass should be firmly grounded, above all, in reverence and humility.

This manual gives instructions to altar servers on how to serve the High Mass at Mater Dei. Through the use of diagrams, it describes the major actions of the various server roles, both for the Mass and for Benediction following Mass. It also provides the Latin responses, which all servers need to eventually learn by heart.

The diagrams show the positions of the priest and servers around the altar, indicating the primary movements and their purpose. The diagrams are made up of picture symbols representing the priest, the different servers, and important objects within the sanctuary. The meanings of these symbols are given in the Diagram Key below. (Note: the designator "MC" is used throughout the manual to denote Master of Ceremonies.)

Latin Pronunciation
The altar server, as is true for any student of Latin, should take care to pronounce the Latin responses at Mass properly. The pronun-ciation rules outlined below are taken from the Liber Usualis.

Note: A Latin Mass Altar Server Audio Training Tape was made by St. Boniface Church in Pittsburgh PA  It can also be downloaded from their website.

Vowels
A as the 'a' in Father (never as in the word can)
E as the 'e' in met (never with the hint of a second sound as in hey)
I as the 'ee' in feet (never as the 'i' in milk)
O as the 'o' in for (never as in go)
U as the 'oo' in moon (never as the 'u' in rust)
Y as the 'ee' in feet (same as I)

Diphthongs
AE as the 'e' in met (same as E)
OE as the 'e' in met (same as E)
AU as the 'ow' in how
AY as the 'ay' in aye

Consonants
C before e, ae, oe, i, y - as the 'ch' in church (ex: caelum = che-loom)
CC before e, ae, oe, i, y - as the 'tch' in match (ex: ecce = et-che)
SC before e, ae, oe, i, y - as the 'sh' in shed
CH as the 'k' in keep
C in all other cases - as the 'k' in keep
G before e, ae, oe, i, y - as the 'g' in generous
GN as the 'n' in new followed by the 'y' in yes (ex: regnum = re-nyoom)
G in all other cases - as the 'g' in gone
H is pronounced like 'k' in two words: nihil & mihi
H in all other cases is silent
J as the 'y' in yes
R before a consonant is slightly rolled
S as the 's' in same
TI before a vowel, but not following S, X or T - as 'tsy' in patsy (ex: gratia = grah-tsee-ah)
TH as the 't' in time (ex: catholicam = kah-to-lee-cahm)
T in all other cases - as the 't' in time
XC before e, ae, oe, i, y - as the 'cksh' in rickshaw
X in all other cases - as the 'x' in fox
Z as the 'd' in day followed by the 'z' in zebra (ex: Nazareth = nah-dzah-ret)