Fr. Pete Elizardo vested in the black cassock and white surplus of a Master of Ceremonies, assists Bishop Carmody during a recent Mass at the cathedral.

Glorious celebrations of the Mass are meant to inspire and move participants closer to union with the Lord. Yet, one may not often stop to think of all what went into making a liturgical celebration all that it is meant to be. Most may not realize how much is depending on the Master of Ceremonies. He is the man in the background vested in a black cassock and white surplus.

Because prayer involves the lifting up the mind and heart to God, the Church's tradition has always sought to surround the public worship of the community with art forms that can be icons of and avenues of approach to the one who is the source of all that is truly beautiful. Thus the ritual itself is an art form that can contribute to making the service a more complete expression of Faith.

To contribute to the order, decorum, and flow of liturgical movement is at the heart of the ministry of those who serve as Masters of Ceremony, especially on the diocesan level. As their title implies, they are to know and coordinate the ceremony of the Church at worship so those ceremonies move the human heart to a richer sense of the saving work of God active in our midst through the liturgical ritual. As such the Master of Ceremonies must especially be attuned to the demands of a particular liturgical service as well as the needs of the one who presides at that service.

The bishop usually appoints him. The Canonical documents which define the ministry state: "he is to prepare and direct the celebration in close cooperation with the bishop and others responsible for planning its several parts. He should seek to ensure an observance of liturgical laws that is in accord with the true spirit of such laws and those legitimate traditions of the particular Church that have pastoral value."

Father Pete Elizardo serves the Diocese as Master of Ceremonies, and Director of Liturgy.

Just as stained glass, marble altars, carved statues, and the music of Mozart or simple Gregorian chant— are meant to uplift the mind and heart, so also is the ritual of the service, which seeks to celebrate the presence of the Divine in our midst. However, just as hours of work and creative effort must go into the formation of the art and music that supports good public worship, so also there is much work to be done if the ritual of the Church at public worship is to convey the gravity and importance of what we are about at such a moment as the dedication of a church or the ordination of a priest.

If these rites are truly to be sacred and give a sense of the presence of the divine, there is need for "art" in liturgical movement—expressed in the form of decorum, gracefulness, and order.

Whether it was the funeral of Pope John Paul II, ordinations of the new priest of our diocese and the SOLT community, or the Sinton parish family's recent experience of the reparation services at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Sinton, Texas after the assault of the local pastor, the impact of those ceremonies on the human spirit is effected by the solemnity and order of the movement of the celebrant, altar servers, and other ministers.