Ceremonies Explained for Servers

Bishop Peter J. Elliott is the author of two invaluable books for the celebration of the modern Roman Rite. They are basically the Fortescue of the Ordinary Form.

His Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite and Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year, which in my parish we sometimes call the Red Book and the Green Book, are now to be joined by a third, which we will probably call the Blue Book.

Ceremonies Explained for Servers is now available for pre-order, and its publication date is listed as October 8. It’s described as “the most detailed guide available for servers and those who train and supervise them at the altar”.

And it is.

Full disclosure: I had a minor role in the publication of this volume. This was mostly cajoling, a lot of typing, and a small amount of editing.

In fact, the publication date is two years to the day after I sent my initial letter of inquiry to his excellency. The letter itself was dated to our parish patronal solemnity, that the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

I can happily affirm the seemingly overblown language of the marketing text. This book covers darn near everything that an altar server, and perhaps more importantly, those who train altar servers, will need to know. I wholeheartedly recommend it for all parishes and for all MCs, pastoral assistants for the sacred liturgy, and altar server trainers.

If your parish does not yet have and use the Red and Green Books, with the publication of the Blue Book it’s time to buy all three.