Greetings! The ministry of altar server is open to any young person through high school who has received his/her 1st Holy Communion. Please click HERE to let us know that you would like to serve.
The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ Himself. Extraordinary ministers assist the priest in the distribution of the Eucharist at Masses, take the Eucharist to the homebound, and assist the clergy in other liturgical celebrations, providing nourishment for the spiritual well-being of the members of the assembly and for the development of their relationship with the Lord.
The faithful who are ill are deprived of their rightful and accustomed place in the Eucharistic community. In bringing Communion to them, the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion represents Christ, and manifests faith and charity on behalf of the whole community toward those who cannot be present at the Eucharist.
The Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, teaches us that the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist are to be regarded with the same reverence: “The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord, insofar as she never ceases, particularly in the sacred liturgy, to partake of the bread of life and to offer it to the faithful from the one table of the Word of God and the Body of Christ.” As a lector, a proclaimer of the Word, your ministry helps to facilitate the public prayer of the Church in the Liturgy of the Word. In imparting the Word of the Lord to the assembly, a lector feeds them with the Bread of Life, and provides nourishment for them to continue their life of prayer and to develop further their relationship with the Lord.
The Saint Anthony of Padua Choir has enhanced Liturgical Celebrations at Saint Anthony's Church for decades. Under the direction of Laurence Broderick, the choir has grown to thirty members, and has expanded their repertory to include masterworks from Plainchant to Renaissance polyphony, to Gospel, to Contemporary Christian music. Their remarkable dedication and unyielding Spirit have inspired all who hear them sing.
The Choir rehearses on Tuesday evenings in the Lower Church. Rehearsals begin at 7:30pm. On Sunday mornings, the Choir meets in the Lower Church at 9:30am for a warm-up, and then proceeds to the Main Sanctuary for the 10:30am Mass.
The treasure of sacred music is to be preserved and fostered with great care. Choirs must be diligently promoted, especially in cathedral churches, but bishops and other pastors of souls must be at pains to ensure that, whenever the sacred action is to be celebrated with song, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightly theirs…
- Sacrosanctum Concilium 114
Our ushers serve at all weekend Masses and at other liturgical celebrations at our church. The ushers oversee the proceedings during Mass, take up offertory and special collections, distribute church bulletins, and record attendance. These dedicated individuals play an important role in the lifeblood of our parish, helping to ensure that we have the financial resources to carry out the many functions that constitute the work of our parish and the Church as a whole.