ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Praised be Jesus Christ!

To my brother priests, consecrated religious, parents, teachers and chaperones and to all of you altar servers, welcome to our Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. How good it is to be with you once again for this Annual Altar Servers Mass! And how splendid the view is from up here! To see so many of you, altar servers gathered together in one place is quite a sight indeed, and it is good to be with you here today at this Holy Mass.

We have just heard, dear friends, a beautiful account from Saint Mark’s Gospel—an account that describes a remarkable scene and a beautiful miracle of grace, a story of forgiveness and service, of healing and love. We heard about a day that the people gathered with Jesus would never forget, a dramatic day on which they witnessed something entirely new, something they had never heard or seen before. Let us try to imagine the scene.

We are told that people had heard Jesus was at home, and so they started coming to see Him. A great crowd of people was gathered, some of the crowd had seen Jesus before and others were hoping to see Him for the first time. Four of the people decided to bring with them a paralyzed man, hoping that Jesus would heal him. It took great effort to bring this paralyzed man to Jesus. First, they had to carry him. Then they had to get him through the thick crowd. In doing that, they realized they could not get close enough to Jesus so they decided to carry this man up to the roof! Imagine the energy and care that that involved! Once on the roof, they had to break the roof open, and finally after much work, they were able to lower the man down to see Jesus. Imagine that scene, quite an event in itself, all in an effort to help this one man to see Jesus!

It is at this point in the Gospel, that we see Jesus work a wonderful miracle and do something that only He can do. First, he forgives the man’s sins. Jesus declares, "Child, your sins are forgiven." Then, He heals him of his handicap. He looks at the man with love and says, "Rise, pick up your mat and go home." The man did just that and we are told that the crowd was astounded, for they had witnessed a miracle, and as Saint Mark tells us, "They glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this’." They had witnessed a miracle of mercy, healing and love.

For some of you, today, you too are witnessing something you have never seen before. This may be, for many of you, your first time in this Cathedral, a crowded Cathedral, filled with people who want to see Jesus. This alone is quite a sight. But there is more. For just as Jesus did on that day in Capernaum, today Jesus desires to do something new for us. And He does! Jesus comes to us today, He speaks His word of mercy and love, and brings us new healing and grace. How good it is to be here with Jesus!

For Altar Servers, it is in a very special way that Jesus is present to you. For it is primarily at the Altar, where you serve, that Jesus comes to you and works His greatest miracle in today’s world. It is at the altar that Jesus meets his people, thousands of people from all over the world, each and every day in the Eucharist. It is there at the altar that Jesus offers Himself, as forgiveness, as healing, as food, empowering us to serve Him with reverence, attention and love. As altar servers, then, you are very much like the four men in this gospel. For like them, you serve others and, in serving, you get to be close to Jesus, you get to bring yourselves and others to Jesus with great attention and love. Such a service is a great gift and a tremendous privilege. For having served at the altar, you too like the four men in the Gospel can go out and tell others the wonderful things that God has done for his people, how He gives Himself to them both in His Word and in the Eucharist. Yes, friends, as we are gathered together here today at Mass, we are very much like the people in the Gospel, for we get to see wonderful things, new things, miracles of grace as we serve Jesus.

In today’s world, it is often difficult to see new things, but even new things quickly grow old. We seem to have so many things, and yet it is easy to grow bored, and tired in life. But young servers, do not be fooled. And do not worry, for Jesus saves us from all that is old, boring and tired. In fact, he offers us a remedy for such things, just as he did for the people in this Gospel. We heard God’s word today, spoken to us also through Isaiah the prophet who told the people who had grown old and bored: "Remember not the things of the past, things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert, I make a way." Jesus is that Way! And He is with us today.

In just three short days, from now, dear friends, we will begin something new. We will begin the holy season of Lent. Lent is a time when we remember in a special way Jesus being tempted for forty days in the desert. It is a time when Jesus is making a new way for us. It is a time when many people will make a way for Jesus. In just a few days, many people will come to Jesus and renew their "yes" to Him. They will be marked with Ashes and will enter into a special season of grace, with good intentions, sacrifice and prayer. Altar Servers, what a wonderful opportunity Lent is to grow close to Jesus. To renew your "yes" to Jesus, to serve Him well! We have a wonderful new grace, a new opportunity right before us.

This Lent, as you serve at the altar and you see so many people coming close to Jesus, may I ask of you a very special intention? I ask you to ask the Holy Spirit to help you to be like the men in today’s Gospel. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to know how Jesus wants you to serve Him. You can even ask that question to Jesus directly, just say, "Jesus, how do you want me to serve you today and in the future?" What an important question that is and I am certain that you will hear an answer. For Jesus loves to answer that question! Just try it and find out. Wouldn’t it be great if every altar server here today, indeed all our altar servers throughout our Archdiocese, would ask that question of Jesus and make that his or her prayer for each day of Lent? Let us make it a Lenten resolution. What beautiful graces that prayer will bring to you, as you ask Jesus how He wants you to serve Him. Through that prayer you will find great grace and even discover your particular vocation.

Young people, Jesus has a very special love in His heart for each and every one of you. He loves you and He wants to use you to bring His love to others. On behalf of your pastors and the other priests, I thank you for serving Jesus at the altar as altar servers and for bringing His love to others. I thank your parents and priests for helping you to be faithful to your commitments. As we proceed now to meet Jesus at the Altar, let us give Him thanks, let us praise His glory and like the people in today’s Gospel, let us glorify God who makes all things new. Amen.