Polish AltarBoys and Lectors, Jasna Gora 2005

In the Year of Our Lord 2005 I traveled to Poland for the Polish Altar boys and lectors pilgrimage to Jasna Gora. Now that is a lot of Altar boys(no girls ha ha) and a lot of them are instituted lectors (see the ministry does exist).

Here is a close up of just as few. Now you may say there are Girls in the photo, well are Polish families just suppose to travel cross country and leave the girls at home? Now most of the servers (including me) were wearing our mass vestments, it was truly a sight to behold to see so many servers in all there different vestments.

Now you probably gathered that it was an open air mass (how on earth could you fit so many servers in a church?!), Natural they had to have an important celebrant, well they had 2 bishops and about 100 priests!. There was even a Scout guard protecting an image of Our Lady of Jasna Gora!.

You can see the army of con-celebrants file down for communion. Now they are all not wearing chasubles because even a great monastery such as Jasna Gora does not have that many chasubles! Also in the photo you can see a priest has found a creative sway to avoid the heat, a hanky, I'd personal get a biretta or an amice hood.

Now where was I in all this? Well I was right there.

Just yesterday I celebrated my 15th Birthday, I happy look back on my past 8 years of serving God at his Holy Altar. To serve at the Altar of God is the greatest honor and privilege you can give a boy.

Introibo ad altare Dei.

R: Ad deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.

P: Judica me Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab homine iniquo et doloso erue me.

R: Quia tu es Deus fortitudo mea: quare me repulisti, et quare tristis incedo, dum affligit me inimicus?

P: Emitte lucem tuam, et veritatem tuam: ipsa me deduxerunt, et adduxerunt in montem sanctum tuum, et in tabernacula tua.

R: Et introibo ad altare Dei: ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.

P: Confitebor tibi in cithara Deus, Deus meus: quare tristis es anima mea, et quare conturbas me?

R: Spera in Deo, quoniam adhuc confitebor illi: salutare vultus mei, et Deus meus.

P: Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritu Sancto.

R: Sicut erat in principio et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

P: Introibo ad altare Dei.

R: Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.

P: Adjutorium nostrum + in nomine Domini.

R: Qui fecit coelum et terram.

My Favorite psalm, the psalm all servers should know off by heart.