Liturgy

As Catholics, we believe that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. This is a rather bold thing to claim, and invites us to prayer and reflection.

St. John Paul II explained, “The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease.”

Adoration Weekly Sign-Up

Out of reverence for Christ, we want to ensure there are always at least two people present in Adoration while the Eucharist is exposed. For this reason, we ask all parishioners to sign up for a weekly time slot.  

Adoration Sign Up

Anyone may attend Adoration at any time. 

Adoration Schedule

Information about Attending

Outside of the scheduled group prayer, the expectation at Adoration is to maintain a respectful silence. Please make sure to exit and enter quietly.

The proper reverence to the Blessed Sacrament is a simple genuflection. A "double genuflection" is not required.

What to do during Adoration? Every person’s relationship with Jesus is different, but here are some recommendations:

• Lectio Divinia: Read scripture, meditate, converse with God about it, application to your life.
• Prayer: Just talk with God. Remember there are four types of prayers (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication)! A prayer journal might help you navigate your thoughts.
• Devotions: Liturgy of the Hours / Divine Office, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, "Jesus" Prayer, Seven Sorrows of Mary, etc.
• Holy Study: find a religious book that deepens your understanding of Christ or His Church. Lives of the Saints and books written by saints are good here.
• There are several resources on the small bookshelf next to the tabernacle. Feel free to borrow them.

Thank you and we hope to see you in Adoration!

Click to access the detailed instructions on procedures.

If you cannot serve as scheduled, please request a substitute before Friday at noon on the scheduling program. Also notify [email protected], especially if you discover you need a substitute after noon on Friday. Thanks! Access the scheduler here.

Q&A:

What if there’s Precious Blood remaining?

Consume it at at the altar or from your place around the altar. If the amount is too great, ask one of the other ministers or the priest/deacon to consume it. 

What if something spills?

If a consecrated host is dropped, consume it or hold it to consume later. If any of the Precious Blood is spilled, blot with the purificator (the one you are holding and/or there may be an extra on the altar and more are in the sacristy in a marked drawer. If too much to blot, just cover with the purificatory. Clean up space with water after Mass. Call on the sacristan if you need assistance.

What should I wear? Is there a dress code?

Use common sense. The Eucharist should get all the attention, and the minister should get none. Appropriate clothes do not mean “formal” dress. Avoid tight or revealing clothing, baseball caps, and T-shirts with statements, especially rival schools, or political parties.

What if people come forward with arms crossed on their chest/ask for a blessing?

Keep it simple. You might lay the heel of your palm on a child’s head and say “May God bless you,” or make a wordless Sign of the Cross over their head. Do not touch anyone with the fingers of your distributing hand so as not to contaminate the Eucharist.

Downloadable Version of Hospitality Guidelines

HOSPITALITY MINISTER GUIDELINES

Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish and Catholic Student Center

November 1, 2021 (reviewed 10/2023)

Hospitality Ministers serve on behalf of the parish community.  They make people feel welcome and comfortable.  It is a service to the community undertaken by those whose faith calls them beyond themselves to “be for others.” 

Always smile and be inviting, as if you are hosting guests at your own home.

• Arrive at the church at least 30 minutes before the scheduled liturgy.  Wear your nametag or a generic “hospitality” nametag from the hospitality closet.
• Make sure that the Story Wall light (switch in east balcony), the light under the balcony (pillar near the stairwell) in the Gathering Space and under the north catwalk and south balcony are turned on.
• Place the collection baskets before the liturgy begins (as many as needed) under the pew/chair closest to the main aisle nearest the altar.
• Position yourselves at all locations where people are entering the worship space.  You may be outside when the weather permits.  Remain in your greeting area until after the “Glory to God” is sung or until the First Reading is proclaimed.
• Help people find seating when necessary.
• You may need to help move a chair, so that a person in a wheelchair can sit among the assembly.  Be familiar with routes that are handicap accessible.
• Be ready at the conclusion of the Prayers of the Faithful (General Intercessions) to begin the collection.  Hand-out the collection baskets from the center aisle, beginning with the rows closest to the altar.  Assist the movement of the baskets as needed.  A hospitality minister needs to go to the balcony immediately to begin collection up there when people are present.  If needed, you may use the long-handled baskets to reach individuals in the balcony.

Note – on the north side, please assist the collection basket from the main worship space to the area that was the chapel.

• Once the baskets have reached the back on both sides (the south side needs to wait for the collection from the balcony to come down), quickly combine the contents into one basket.  A minister then brings that one basket to the sanctuary and places it underneath the altar.
• The other ministers return the empty baskets to their place under the front seating.
• As the song of sending begins, move to the Gathering Space and position yourselves at the exits.  Prepare the carts for the song books.
• Take a stack of bulletins from the hospitality closet and hand them out as people are leaving.

After most people have gone, walk around the worship space, especially the pew area, and collect any items that do not belong and are left behind.  Anything of value should be taken to the sacristy or given to the liturgist or the priest.

• Return the collection baskets to the hospitality closet.
• Turn off the lights after 4:45 Saturday, 10:30 and 7:00 Sunday liturgies.
• Before Mass begins and you are waiting for people to arrive, you can kindly put any loose music supplements back into any song book that may need one in the inside back cover.
• A first-aid kit is in the sacristy.  Also in the sacristy is Narcan for possible opioid overdose.
• A defibrillator is mounted on the wall near the hospitality closet.  Opening the device will alert the 911 system.
• There are two fire extinguishers – one in the hospitality closet and another in the prayer garden pathway, near the dumpster door.

If you are unable to serve on your scheduled time, please request a substitute as soon as possible on the scheduling program.  If it is an emergency, please contact the Director of Worship at [email protected] or call at 515-292-3810 x117.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION AS A LITURGICAL MINISTER.

YOUR MINISTRY IS APPRECIATED AND VALUED.

            Additional Policies:

1. Children of any appropriate age may serve with parents or in an adult-supervised peer group. Young people age 14 and older may serve independently of their families.

2. Please wear appropriate clothing for Mass. Avoid anything the draws undue attention, including political statements or rival schools.

3. If you need a nametag, please contact Shari at the parish office.

ADDENDUM to Hospitality Procedures

Health Emergency Response

If someone feels faint, assist them with water and fresh air. The student lounge is a good place for them to sit to regain their strength. Use a trash can or get them to a restroom if they are feeling nauseous. Water is available from the water fountains near the bathrooms, and from the Bethany room and/or nursery.

If someone passes out, use your judgement about calling 911. When in doubt, do so. Check for pulse and respiration and retrieve the AED from its cabinet, knowing that the alarm will sound when you open the door. This should catch the attention of medical professionals since it is a loud alarm. Use the nearest microphone to ask for medical help from the assembly if no one has noticed the need and responded automatically, and if you or someone helping you cannot identify a medical professional by sight.

In the event that someone throws up, emergency cleaning supplies, including fluid/odor absorbent powder, are in a red bucket in the hospitality closet. Please be as expedient as possible clearing areas in which people need to walk, such as aisles. Usher people around an area if a mess can be contained and finish cleaning up after mass when possible to allow mass to continue as uninterrupted as possible.

Active Shooter Event Response

In the event that someone pulls a gun, yell “Gun! run, hide, fight!” and follow the Run, Hide, Fight protocol for your own safety. Run if you can do so safely. Hide if you are unable to run and can take shelter out of sight of the potential shooter; fight only if it becomes the only option.

Once you are safely out of range of the potential shooter, please help guide others to safety by sending them on foot as far away from the building in as orderly a fashion as possible. Try to clear entrances to allow emergency response vehicles to get as close as possible. Assist anyone who needs assistance to the best of your ability while remaining safe yourself. Pray as you work for those who are in harm’s way.

If you must hide, try to lock and/or block doors, turn off lights and hunker down out of sight of the door. Encourage everyone with you to be silent and pray silently for those who are in immediate danger.

If you must fight, try to coordinate your attack with others so the shooter becomes confused and is unable to respond to all the threats. Once a shooter is disarmed, attempt to neutralize danger without causing further harm to anyone including the shooter.

• US Bishops, Bible & daily readings
• Lector Prep
• The Word on the Web - solid, vetted, numerous web sites on the Word of God
• Link to Scheduler
• Downloadable Version of Procedures

LECTOR GUIDELINES

Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish and Catholic Student Center

November 1, 2021 (reviewed 10/1/2023)

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The Importance of Lectors

Read? I can do that! It can seem like reading at Church is like public reading anywhere, but reading the Scriptures at Mass is unlike any other reading because this text is God’s inspired word.  You are privileged to proclaim to the people God’s word which was delivered from God to a specific group of people in a specific time and culture, yet today those words continue to speak to us, because the author has remained the same.  Every time we as Catholic Christians gather for the Liturgy of the Word, that scripture passage is fulfilled in our hearing (Luke 4:22) because Christ, the eternal Word, continues to speak to our hearts today.

Preparation, proclaiming and praying, but not performing!

Please consult the Lector Workbook as you prepare the Scripture in the week(s) ahead of your scheduled time.

• Arrive at church at least 20 minutes prior to the start of the liturgy.  Check-in with the Mass Coordinator.
• Review the Lectionary, its page number for the day and the readings.
  • Lector 1 (or Deacon) – is responsible for getting the Book of the Gospels and processing in with it during the entrance procession.  You are responsible for returning it to the sacristy after liturgy.
    • Make a simple bow, with just your head, keeping the Book of the Gospel held-up when you reverence the altar.  Approach the altar up the center part of the south steps.  Place the Book of the Gospels in the clear stand found on the altar.
    • Reverence the altar before and after your proclamation.  Do this on the main floor level and not up at the altar.
    • Move to the ambo while the assembly sits down following the Collect (Opening Prayer).
    • Glance down and make sure that the Lectionary is opened to the correct page, and then look up to make sure that everyone is settled before you begin.
    • It is preferred that you are looking up when announcing the entire title of the reading.
    • Prayerfully proclaim the text (the Lector Workbook and the Director of Worship can aid you with this process).  Enunciate clearly and project your voice.
    • Only read what is on the page, please do not add or eliminate anything in print.
    • Adjust the microphone as needed. 

Note – microphones only project the sound that you give them.  The microphone does not miraculously give your voice a big sound.

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    • Make essential eye contact to as much of the assembly as possible without losing your vocal projection into the microphone.
    • Do not make any unnecessary movement with your body.
    • Pause 2-3 seconds before you say, “The Word of the Lord.”
    • Wait for the assembly to respond before you do anything else.  This means do not move, touch anything or begin pausing until after they say, “Thanks be to God.”
    • Pause again, this time 10-15 seconds, before returning to your seat.

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  • Lector 2 – is responsible for making sure that the Lectionary is put on the ambo.  You are responsible for returning it to the sacristy after liturgy.

    • Most of what was said for Lector 1, also applies for Lector 2, except the following:
    • Move to the ambo at the same time that the psalmist (cantor) moves away from the ambo.
    • After completing the proclamation and the 10-15 seconds of pausing, take the Lectionary with you and place it on the first pew.  Please do not set it on the floor.

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  • Lector 3 – is responsible for making sure that the thin, colored binder containing the intercessions and any announcements is at the ambo prior to the start of the liturgy and returning it back to the sacristy afterwards.  An extra copy of each will be on the sacristy counter.

    • Towards the end of the Creed, please move to the ambo.  You should be at the ambo prior to the presider beginning the introduction prayer for the intercessions.

Note – IF there is a baptism celebrated during the liturgy, there will not be the Creed. 

So be ready for the intercessions following the baptism.

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    • Command a 2-3 second pause at the end of each intercession.  The last intercession requests a ten second pause.
    • Remain standing at the ambo through the conclusion of the prayer for the intercessions.
    • If there are announcements to be made, move to the ambo when the assembly stands for the prayer after communion.

You are proclaiming the Word of God, not only for the Saint Thomas Aquinas community,

but for the whole world to hear and understand, and thus come to Jesus Christ. 

Take adequate time to pray before and after you read,

so that your ministry of the Word will indeed be for the glory of God.

• If you are unable to serve on your scheduled time, please request a substitute as soon as possible on the scheduling program.  If it is an emergency, please contact the Director of Worship at [email protected] .

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION AS A LITURGICAL MINISTER.

YOUR MINISTRY IS APPRECIATED AND VALUED.

Additional Notes:  

• The End of Mass:
  • None of the lectors process at the end of Mass.
  • Lector 2 returns the Lectionary to the sacristy.
  • Lector 1 returns the Book of the Gospels to the sacristy and places it in its box.
• Microphones:
  • Don’t get too close.
  • Adjust the microphone angle at the top or at the base. 
  • The microphone is unidirectional. Point it straight at your mouth.
  • As you move your gaze from left to right, shift your weight on your feet so that your mouth remains pointed at the front of the microphone, not the sides.
• Body Language:
  • Proclaim to everyone.
  • Make essential eye contact, turn your body (not just your head) to look at the worshippers. Turning yourself about 30 degrees to each side will make it look like you are proclaiming to both sides without turning your back on either.
• Use Your Voice:
  • Enunciate clearly.
  • Project your voice.
  • Sound reinforcement works best when you “throw” your voice to the opposite side of the church and allow the system to augment a good projection of sound.
• What to Wear:
  • Use common sense. The Word of God should get all the attention, and the lector should be as transparent as possible.
  • Appropriate clothes do not mean “formal” dress.
  • Avoid clothing that may be a distraction, particularly rival schools, political statements and images or words that might be divisive.

You proclaim the Good News not only for the St Thomas Aquinas community, but for the whole world to hear and understand and thus come to Jesus Christ. Take some time to pray before and after you read so that your ministry of the Word will indeed be for the glory of God. 

Lector Preparation Method

This method will work in a group rehearsal setting as well as for solo preparation. In the latter case, a journal may be helpful for written reflection.

1. Find a place and time free from distraction, preferably 15 minutes minimum. Set your Scripture passage and be seated in a relaxed way. After a few moments to catch your breath, begin.
2. Read the passage slowly aloud, quietly to yourself. Pause for fifteen to sixty seconds. Perhaps a word, phrase, or an idea will come to mind. Write it down, but don’t try to analyze or justify it in any way.
3. Read the passage a second time, slowly and aloud. Pause again for up to a minute. Maybe your word or phrase will come to your attention again. Maybe something else will. Consider this question: what may God be saying to you in this Scripture passage? Write down one or two sentences.
4. Look over the passage again, reading it aloud again if you wish. What may God be trying to tell the parish through this reading? What message is important for your faith community to hear?
5. Now (and only now) look at the commentary on the passage. Once you have assessed any personal or community message, are you ready to consider the original intent. How does this correspond with your own or your parish needs? How might this affect your presentation of this reading?
6. Once you have considered the three factors: you, your community, the original intent, then you are ready to incorporate them into your proclamation. Find the core idea of the reading that is essential. Build up to that idea when you read aloud. Read the passage aloud once more. See if your partners in rehearsal, or perhaps a friend or spouse, can identify the vital point just from listening to you. As you prepare for the Mass, continue to practice the text once a day, keeping in mind the insights from your reflections. Keep the Bible passage in mind and prayer the upcoming week.

Downloadable Version of Sacristan Guidelines
 

SACRISTAN GUIDELINES

Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish and Catholic Student Center

November 1, 2021; revised October 2, 2023

• Please arrive to church thirty minutes ahead of the scheduled Eucharistic liturgy.
• Wash your hands with soap and water, as necessary.
• Turn the lights on in the worship space when you arrive.
• During the Easter season, through Pentecost Sunday, and when there is a baptism during Eucharist, light the Paschal Candle.  *This candle should be lit during the Easter season before people arrive.
• Put out the parking ramp validation machine and its instructions on the table in the gathering space, and plug it in. 
• Place the Roman Missal on the table beside the presider’s chair.
• Place the clear, Gospel book holder, which is in the credence cabinet, in the center of the altar so that when the Book of Gospel is in it, the book faces north and south.
• Take the large pyx and the small pewter ciborium with the tongs, from inside of the credence cabinet and place them on top of the cabinet.  Make sure that there are low-gluten hosts in the small pewter bowl.
• Keys –
  • The key to the locked cabinet is in the far-left drawer.
  • In the locked cabinet is the tabernacle key on the left side.
• Insert the tabernacle key into the lock of the Tabernacle.  Open it, and estimate the number of consecrated hosts in the ciborium.  Leave the key in the lock, but close the Tabernacle.
• Depending on how many consecrated hosts are in the Tabernacle, estimate the needed amount to set-out in the ciborium for the liturgy.  It is better to over-estimate the amount of people attending Mass, than to run short.  Typically, there are liturgies to follow that will correct the count, if too many are prepared.
• Prepare two chalices, filling each approximately half-full.
  • Hosts – are kept in the lower left cupboard.  Estimate a number of hosts needed for the liturgy, keeping in mind the number already in the Tabernacle and include one presider host.
    • There are 100 hosts in each plastic tube.
  • Wine – is kept in the lower left cupboard as well. 
• Place the ciborium with the unconsecrated hosts, the chalices with the wine, two purificators, a corporal, the uncapped water cruet, finger bowl and towel on the tray and place it inside the credence cabinet.
• Place three empty ciboria (stacked) in the cabinet for the 4:45 and 7:00 p.m. liturgies. Place five empty ciboria (stacked) in the cabinet for the 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. liturgies.
• Remind the hospitality ministers, if necessary, to turn on the Story Wall lights.  The switch is found on the second floor, at the base of stairs leading into the office/library area.
• Double-check that the lectors have taken the Lectionary and the thin colored binder to the ambo. And that Reader 1 (lector) or the Deacon has the Book of the Gospels for the entrance procession.
• Light the altar and ambo candles about ten minutes before the liturgy begins.  Altar servers will do this, if present.
• Be aware of the attendance during the beginning of the liturgy.  Adjust the number of unconsecrated hosts in the ciborium in the credence cabinet according to your calculations, in case more or less is needed as compared to what you set-out.
• Immediately after the concluding prayer to the Prayers of the Faithful (General Intercessions), and everyone sits down, bring the tray from the credence cabinet and place it on the NW corner of the altar.  Note – always approach the altar up the center part of the north steps.
• Remove the Gospel book holder and place it on the bottom shelf of the credence cabinet.
• Bring the empty ciboria to the altar.
• Wash the priest’s hands, and then return the finger bowl, towel and cruet to the tray.  Take the tray and return it back to the credence cabinet.  Altar servers will do the hand washing, if present.
• During the Sign of Peace, sanitize your hands and retrieve the Blessed Sacrament from the Tabernacle and place it on the altar.  You may now return to your seat.
• During the communion procession, be attentive to the communion ministers in case they happen to need anything or need assistance.
• After you receive Eucharist, return the Roman Missal back to the table next to the presider’s chair (Altar servers will do this, if present).  Then bring the tray and the cruet with water to the altar.
• Receive the ciborium with the reserved Blessed Sacrament and return it to the Tabernacle. Note – if the deacon is present, he will do this.
• After the priest purifies the vessels, take the tray with the cruet, corporal, ciboria, chalices, purificators and large pyx to the credence cabinet.
• Immediately take the collection to the safe following the liturgy.  Always have another person accompany you, preferably someone you do not know personally, for example, one of the hospitality ministers.  Put the collection in a small bag.  Bags are found on top of the safe.  Place the bag in the mailbox style slot and close.  Double-check the closure to make sure the money has dropped completely into the safe.  Return any collection baskets back to one of the hospitality ministers or under the pews.
• Properly extinguish all the candles that you lit prior to the beginning of the liturgy.  Altar servers will do this, if present.
• Retrieve all liturgical vessels and linens on the tray from the credence cabinet.
• The same corporal can be used for an entire weekend, unless it is soiled.
• Wash the ciboria with soap and water, and then rinse and dry with a towel.  Wrap the ciboria in their cloths and put away.  Also stack the ciboria with the felt squares in-between each one.
• Wash the chalices with soap and water, and then rinse and dry with a towel.  Put them away.  Hang any damp towels on the bar inside of the cabinet below the sink.
• Return the tabernacle key to the cabinet on its proper hook; lock the cabinet and put the key back in the drawer.
• Return the parking ramp validation machine and its instructions to the sacristy cabinet.  Note – this does not need to be done after the 8:30 a.m. liturgy.
• Turn the lights to the “Night” setting after the 4:45 and 7:00 p.m. liturgies.  Turn the lights off after the 10:30 a.m. liturgy.  Make sure the Story Wall lights are also turned off.
• Double-check the worship space before you leave.

If you are unable to serve on your scheduled time, please request a substitute as soon as possible on the scheduling program.  If it is an emergency, please contact the Director of Worship at [email protected] .

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION AS A LITURGICAL MINISTER.

YOUR MINISTRY IS APPRECIATED AND VALUED.

Hospitality ministers serve on behalf of the community. They make people feel welcome and comfortable, from the moment they steer their vehicles into the parking structure. It is a service to the community undertaken by those whose faith calls them beyond themselves to “be for others.”  Be welcoming—smile!

Parking Team personnel may be 8:30 Massgoers staying until the start of 10:30 Mass, or 10:30 attendees.

Before Mass:

1. Arrive 25 minutes before mass begins. Wear your nametag. Check your cell phone with your parking team-mates.

2. Two people work the upper Ash parking lot: one at the entrance, one among the open parking spots.

3. One or two people work the lower Lynn parking: at or near the exit and/or among the parking spaces there.

4. Greet people at the entrances, and monitor when both levels are full. When the parking structure is filled, place the orange “full” cones at the structure entrances.

5. If the parking structure is not filled, and it is 10:30, the Parking Team is free to go to Mass or to go home.

If needed, during Mass:

1. Other HM’s may need assistance seating people in the church, especially if the parking structure filled early.

After Mass:

1. Return the orange cones to the hospitality closet. If you won’t be at STA at the end of Mass, coordinate this duty with someone on the Hospitality Team inside.

Welcome to St. Thomas Aquinas Music Ministry!  Our parish has a strong tradition of music and assembly singing!  

We have four masses each weekend with many people in the mix, including cantors/singers, keyboardist(s) on piano and/or organ, and instrumentalists (flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, etc.).  Our music groups welcome musicians of any age who can hold their own!  We also have Thursday Night Liturgy (TNL) that has a music group comprised of college students that rehearse prior to the liturgy.  

Please contact Zach Gignac, Director of Worship, with any questions or to inquire about getting involved!  

[email protected], 515-292-3810

If you would like to be videographer for STA liturgies, please contact Zach at [email protected]