“Serve with joy, and keep saying yes with your lives”

It was a special day for our diocese: 250 altar servers were recognized for their faithfulness. In his homily, Bishop Mario Avilés emphasized the importance of constant service: “A father asks two sons to go to work in the vineyard. One says, ‘I will not,’ but later thinks better and goes. The other says, ‘Yes, sir,’ and never shows up. Which one did the father's will? The one who actually went.” Words are easy, but it is different to “arrive early, remember the words, the book, the bells, the bow, the silence, and to do it Sunday after Sunday, funeral after funeral, wedding after wedding, not for the applause, but because the Father has asked us to work in his vineyard.”
 The Bishop reminded the servers that they stand closer than most people ever do to the mystery that unfolds at the altar. “You remind the assembly by your reverence that something holy is happening when you walk with dignity, when you handle the sacred vessels with fear, and when you keep the interior silence.” 
 
He thanked the parents, catechists, and priests for immersing the young people in this service: “You have given them a place in the heart of the Church. Some of those who serve today will one day be called to the priesthood or consecrated life; others to be holy husbands, wives, parents, and faithful laity.”
 
At the end, he thanked the altar servers again: “Dear altar servers of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, the Church is proud of you, not because you are perfect, but because you are here. Keep saying yes with your lives. Serve with joy. Serve even when no one sees it; learn the names of the vessels. But more than that, learn the name of the one you serve, and know it well.”

 After the beautiful liturgy, Bishop Avilés presented the red cross to those who have served for five years, a plaque to those honored for “outstanding service,” and the purple cross to those serving for ten years or more. After a group photo with all 250 awarded servers, the bishop stayed for individual blessings and pictures.
 
For the servers, it was an important milestone in their lives. Lezlie Valadez from Holy Family Parish in Corpus Christi: “Being an altar server means so much to me – most of all, serving God and growing closer to Him.” Sebastian Molina from St. James in Bishop said, “To me, altar serving is a way to get closer to the Lord and to spread His goodness the best way I can.”