22 Monday Jul 2019
Posted in Faith
Two articles I stumbled across today that our high-church readers may enjoy:
http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2006/07/on-origins-and-development-of.html#.XTWU0HtrzIU
My personal view is that I prefer medieval vestments from an aesthetic viewpoint; I leave theological judgments on the matter to those who are more learned than I.
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You might be interested, perhaps, in what I wrote in a booklet some 22 years ago to explain more fully the Sacrifice of the Mass to adult parishioners who were not well catechized at the time:
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Vestments are also a sign of the holy office of the priest and ultimately the Holiness of God. It was God Who established the priesthood of Aaron and Who commanded Aaron concerning vestments to be worn when entering the Holy of holies within the Temple. Likewise, the Church recognizes the significance of special liturgical clothing when its priests administer the sacraments of their office. We will now go into the significance of some of the vestments.
The amice (not always worn anymore) is a piece of white linen that covers the priest’s shoulders. The vesting prayer that was traditionally used was, “Place, O Lord, on my head the helmet of salvation, that I may overcome the assaults of the devil.” When putting it on, the priest would let the amice rest on his head for a moment before placing it on his shoulders.
The alb is a white tunic which covers the entire body not unlike the tunics that were used by the Jewish priests.63 The priest’s vesting prayer was “Purify me, O Lord, from all stain and cleanse my heart, that washed in the Blood of the Lamb, I may enjoy eternal delights.”
The cincture is the cord which fastens the alb at the waist. Again, you should note that this was also one of the vestments of the Jewish priest. The vesting prayer: “Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and quench in my heart the fire of concupiscence, that the virtue of continence and chastity may remain in me.”
The stole is the long silk band that rests around the neck and was crossed over the breast of the priest (crossing not necessary now) but worn without crossing by the bishops. It is the most valued of all the vestments because it is the symbol of the authority of the Church. In this functional regard, the stole resembles the ‘rational of justice’ worn by the high priests in the Old Testament though in look and design the ‘rational’ was probably more like a square vestment worn over the breast and embroidered with 12 stones (for the 12 tribes of Israel). It was attached to the ‘ephod’ which resembled the pallium (white wool shoulder cloth) worn by the Pope and the archbishops. The ephod and the pallium also designated the wearer’s authority and his right to the teaching office. The vesting prayer for the stole was: “Restore to me, O Lord, the state of immortality which was lost to me by my first parents, and although unworthy to approach Thy sacred mysteries, grant me nevertheless eternal joy.” It is worn only during priestly ministry, though the Pope may wear it at any time.
The uppermost vestment is the chasuble. The vesting prayer was, “O Lord, Who hast said, ‘My yoke is sweet and my burden light,’ grant that I may carry it so as to obtain Thy grace.”
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I, like the author, am not too concerned with what form the ancient vestments take as long as they bring to mind the ancientness of our Rites. What I am concerned about is what he fails to mention in his articles which is the disfavor of traditional materials used in these vestments and the personal choices some individuals take with the vestments they are going to use at the altar. The new polyester reminds me of the age of polyester jumpsuits compared to the vestments of old. It contributes to the loss of our collective “anamnesis” or “remembering” of our patrimony and the ancient forms from which we grew. It is as if we simply opted to oust all of it out that window to the world which was opened at the Second Vatican Council.
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My concern is with traditional national custom and manliness, the latter of which he raises in the second article, and the former he alludes to when mentioning Anglo-Catholicism.
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True. But then wouldn’t that go away if we cleaned house of those who are effeminate or even effete in any way?
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Indeed, it is more important to purge the clergy than purge the vestments. Nevertheless, the clothing presents a certain image to outsiders. If I were a Catholic, I would be concerned with the impression Catholicism makes on the English.
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I am more concerned that we don’t make the history of the vestments more widely known. Education is the cure for made up fantasies concerning ritual dress. Even the Catholics don’t know this stuff. The only people taught this are the clerics it seems and they have proven themselves to be less than reliable in sharing their hidden knowledge with the world.
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In general, across the denominations, there seems to be a general paucity of Old Testament knowledge among the laity, which may be contributing to specific issues in Catholicism. You need to know the Old Testament, because the New generally assumes that you already do. That is why, for example, Saint Paul’s Epistles make little sense to people who only read the New Testament.
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That is absolutely true, Nick. Its like the modern high schoolers that have no idea where the vegetables in the supermarket come from and no respect for the farmer that actually grows them. Nobody connects the dots anymore.
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As you say, there is a loss of those links and of historical perspective. This in turn leads to instability and anxiety. People need to be properly rooted.
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Yes there are many areas that need a thorough plowing and few who are disposed to this work. Hard to get properly rooted when the fields are not tilled when they are planted.
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Yes…I wonder how my own life would have been if I had been employed to teach OT and related matters…oh well.
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There is no doubt that the OT enriches the NT so our faith is impoverished by its neglect.
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Of course it doesn’t help that anti-traditionalist architecture and interior design is used in various parishes.
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Indeed hideousness created as art and function can never created the proper attitude of reverence and awe. It is simply a reflection of the society that we live in that has lost its appreciation of beauty and eternal values built into our very being. We deny ourselves for the sake of being “hip” and “with it” according to the whims of this world.
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It represents an awful extreme and repudiation of tradition. It is one thing for Baptists like me to use simple structures (though even then there are Baptist churches that are beautiful), but it is odd in a Catholic setting, especially when there are compromise positions, such as churches with gothic arches but plain walls, excepting in the sanctuary.
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Vestments. Jesus said…it is finished, and the veil was rent from top to bottom. We can now all approach the throne ourselfs with no need of an intercessor. Jesus is our high priest. The Levite were the only priests befor the cross. Levites and only Levites. Anyone who calls himself a priest of the almighty god of Moses is a thief and a liar. And the sheep will not hear their voice. The people who follow them will follow them to the sides of the pit, where there will be gnawing of tongues for pain.
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