At the Second Vatican Council, the liturgy was identified as the “summit towards which the activity of the church is directed; it is also the source from which all its power flows. For the goal of apostolic endeavor is that all who are made children of God by faith and Baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of his church, to take part in the sacrifice and to eat the Lord’s Supper” (Sacrosanctum Consilium, 10). While most people think of Mass as being equivalent to liturgy, there is actually a variety of liturgical worship within the Catholic Church. Most commonly, we gather as a community to celebrate Sunday Mass together. This is the primary opportunity for the faithful to hear the Word of God in the scriptures and to share in the Lord’s Supper.
We are blessed to have several ministers assist with the various aspects of our liturgies. We invite you to learn more about the various liturgical ministries available at St. Bernard Catholic Parish. Ministers currently serving can access their schedule by clicking on the Liturgical Minister Schedule box.
MSP is a software package used by St. Bernard to schedule over 200 ministers in various positions of service vital to the smooth functioning of liturgies. It encompass all ministries in the areas of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Musicians, Lectors, Altar Servers, Hospitality (Ushers & Greeters), Sacristans, Teachers for Children’s Liturgy, Hospitality Ministers, Media Technicians (Sound and Screen).
Each volunteer is assigned a unique username and password. When a minister clicks on the MSP graphic below, he/she is taken directly to the sign-in page. After entering the unique sign-in information, the minister can access his/her personal profile which includes dates the minister is unavailable to serve and liturgies for which the minister may want to volunteer.
MSP also allows ministers to request a substitute for a particular liturgy when a conflict occurs. Through e-mail, the system notifies other volunteers, who are qualified for that specific ministry, that a substitute is needed for a particular liturgy.
The readings for the Mass are available to all of us, so we can prepare ahead of time for Sunday Mass. However, daily Mass readings allow us to listen and study God’s word on a regular basis, even if we do not attend daily Mass. Several resources are available to find the Daily Mass Readings. We list them in the bulletin each week, but some prefer to subscribe to published resources such as the Word Among Us or Give Us This Day. At St. Bernard, we offer an annual subscription to Give Us This Day, renewable every summer. If you would like to receive this resource, please contact our parish office at 920-739-0331. The Daily Mass Readings are also available on the USCCB Daily Readings web page.
St. Bernard provides opportunities for families, children, and teens to participate in some of the ministerial roles for weekend Masses three times a year. Youth are welcome to volunteer as Greeters, Ushers, Altar Servers, Readers, and Musicians. However, in order to be an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, the young person must be confirmed. Adult family members are also welcome to help in these roles.