Liturgy

Contact Elizabeth Hanks at 242-4575, ext. 25 or
email: ehanks@stfoa.org

Mass Times:

Weekday Mass: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday 9:00 am.

Communion Service Wednesday at 9:00 AM

Weekend Mass:
Saturday evening Vigil 5:00 pm.
Sunday morning 8:00 am & 10:00 am
Sunday Life Teen Mass 5:00 pm (October through mid-June).


The Rosary The popularity of the Rosary has been attributed to St. Dominic and the Dominican Order. It grew out of the laity’s desire to have 150 prayers to match the 150 psalms chanted by the monks in monasteries. The Rosary is a scripture-based prayer with the Mysteries centered on the events of Christ’s life. (United States Catholic Catechism for Adults)
Join us during the month of May, after daily Mass, to pray the Rosary as a community.


Upcoming Liturgy Schedule
The Easter Season will continue until Pentecost

May 19th and 20th: Ascension of the Lord

May 26th and 27th:
Pentecost
As is our tradition we ask that you wear red clothing.


Please see the "This Week @ St. Francis" for special Masses


In the celebration of Mass we raise our hearts, minds and voices to God, but we are creatures composed of body as well as spirit and so our prayer is not confined to our minds, hearts and voices, but is expressed by our bodies as well. When our bodies participate in our prayer, we pray with our whole person, as the embodied spirits God created us to be, and this engagement of our entire being in prayer helps us to pray with greater attention.

During Mass we assume different postures: standing, kneeling, sitting, and we are also invited to make a variety of gestures. These postures and gestures are not merely ceremonial. They have profound meaning and, when done with understanding, can enhance our personal participation in Mass. In fact, these actions are the way in which we engage our bodies in the prayer that is the Mass.

Each posture we assume at Mass underlines and reinforces the meaning of the action in which we are taking part at that moment in our worship. Standing is a sign of respect and honor, so we stand as the celebrant who represents Christ enters and leaves the assembly. This posture, from the earliest days of the Church, has been understood as the stance of those who are risen with Christ and seek the things that are above. When we stand for prayer, we assume our full stature before God, not in pride, but in humble gratitude for the marvelous thing God has done in creating and redeeming each one of us. By Baptism we have been given a share in the life of God, and the posture of standing is an acknowledgment of this wonderful gift. We stand for the Gospel, the pinnacle of revelation, the words and deeds of the Lord; and the bishops of the United States have chosen standing as the posture to be observed in this country for the reception of Communion, the sacrament which unites us in the most profound way possible with Christ who, now gloriously risen from the dead, is the cause of our salvation.

The posture of kneeling signified penance in the early Church: the awareness of sin casts us to the ground! So thoroughly was kneeling identified with penance that the early Christians were forbidden to kneel on Sundays and during the Easter Season when the prevailing spirit of the liturgy was that of joy and thanksgiving. In the Middle Ages kneeling came to signify the homage of a vassal to his lord, and more recently this posture has come to signify adoration. It is for this reason that the bishops of this country have chosen the posture of kneeling for the entire Eucharistic Prayer.

Sitting is the posture of listening and meditation, so the congregation sits for the pre-Gospel readings and may also sit for the period of meditation following Communion.

In addition to serving as a vehicle for the prayer of beings composed of body and spirit, the postures and gestures in which we engage at Mass have another very important function. The Church sees in these common postures and gestures both a symbol of the unity of those who have come together to worship and a means of fostering that unity. We are not free to change these postures to suit our own individual piety, for the Church makes it clear that our unity of posture and gesture is an expression of our participation in the one Body formed by the baptized with Christ, our head. When we stand, kneel, sit, bow and sign ourselves in common action, we given unambiguous witness that we are indeed the Body of Christ, united in heart, mind and spirit.

Prayerfully consider being a Eucharistic Minister for the 5:00 PM Saturday Mass, 8:00 AM Sunday Mass, or a Sacristan for the 5:00 PM Sunday Mass. Call Elizabeth for details.

 
Volunteer to become more involved in the life of the parish as a:
Liturgical Minister, Altar server, Acolyte, Sacristan, Lector, Eucharistic Minister, Usher/Greeter, Minister for cleaning the church, Minister for laundering small linens, Environment Minister.
You will need to be a Confirmed Catholic to be a Eucharistic Minister or a Lector. Contact Elizabeth for more information.

Altar Servers and Acolytes serve God and his people by helping the priest during daily and Sunday Mass and other liturgical celebrations throughout the year. Any Catholic child, 7th grade and above may be an Altar Server and any High School student may be an Acolyte.

Care of Linen Ministry: These ministers wash and iron the small linens that are used during the Mass. This includes corporals, purificators and small towels. Linens are taken home after the last Sunday Mass or on Monday morning and returned Tuesday or Wednesday.

Church Cleaning Ministry: These ministers help keep our beautiful church tidy. Only about 30 minutes once a month is required. These volunteers work in teams of two or more, on Friday mornings to prepare for the weekend Masses. Responsibilities include: filling the Holy water, dusting and straightening the books in the pews.

Environment Ministers: Those working on the environment play an important role in the life of the church. They decorate the sanctuary and church for the liturgical seasons and Holy days. Their work reflects and supports the community in prayer and worship.

Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist (Eucharistic Ministers): Lay ministers who help with the distribution of the Eucharist at Mass. To serve as a Eucharistic Minister you need to be Confirmed and actively participating in the Catholic Church’s Liturgical Life on a regular basis.

Lay Presider for Communion Service: The Lay presider prepares a reflection on the readings for the Wednesday Communion service and leads the Communion service.

Lectors proclaim the word of God to the assembly on weekend, weekday and Holy day liturgies. The Lector proclaims the first and second readings from the Sacred Scripture, the general intercessions and the announcements at the end of Mass. You will have a workbook provided to help you prepare for the upcoming readings.

Sacristans are responsible for unlocking and locking the church and setting up for Mass. Set up includes preparation of vessels, hosts and wine. Sacristans are scheduled to perform their duties for all Masses on weekdays, weekends and Holy days on a rotating schedule.

Ushers: The role of the ushers is to take up the collection, see that the Offertory gifts are brought to the altar, pass out the weekly bulletins and assist with other situations that might arise.