By Gerard Chong
Sandakan – Altar servers, God’s small army of young men assisting the priests during Holy Mass in the churches of the Parish. After 2 years of none activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Altar Server Committee organized a recollection from March 31 to April 2, 2023.
With the blessings and approval of the Parish Priest, Fr. Simon Kontou, a total of 50 young boys attended this recollection. The young boys participating in this program are serving as altar servers in the English and Bahasa Malaysia masses. Some are senior altar servers who have served in God’s house for over 7 years while some are students from St Mary’s Youth Hostel and St Peter’s Chapel, Sungai Manila.
On the first day of the recollection, the program began with Station of the Cross followed by daily mass. After mass, Kenny Mark and Clifford Simeon facilitated the ice breaking session to encourage the participants to build and strengthen their relationship with each other. This was followed up with a session on the ‘Expectations of an Altar Server’, moderated by Stephen Simeon.
The second day of the recollection started with the recitation of the Holy Rosary along the Rosary Corridor at Mount Marian followed with Holy Mass. The mass was celebrated in the opened air shed, by Fr. Simon. In his homily, he shared about the great love of Jesus and that because of His great love, He sacrificed himself for the redemption of the world. Fr. Simon also instructed all the boys, “Let us give thanks for His love, and serve Him with love.”
After the mass, Gerard Chong explained about the ‘Liturgical Objects’ used during the celebration of the Holy Mass in the Catechetical Room.
‘Why you are called to serve as an Altar Server’ and ‘Holy Week’ was conducted by Fr Simon in the afternoon session. He explained about the vocation in the Diocese of Sandakan and the liturgy of the Holy Week to prepare the participants as they entered into Paschal Triduum. In the evening, the boys joined the celebration of Palm Sunday in the Cathedral, whilst observing closely the liturgy of the mass.
After the mass, a team building session was conducted by Marshall Owen whereby he explained that the altar servers are a community of God’s children that can serve and grow together in God’s house.
The altar servers’ recollection was indeed successful and have helped the boys understand their roles better in the church.