In the catechism, Holy Mother the Church teaches us:
[1145]"'A sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols...'[1146] In human life, signs and symbols occupy an important place. As a being at once body and spirit, man expresses and perceives spiritual realities, through physical signs and symbols.'"
What does it tell you when a priest wear only a stole for mass? Or when he just wear a shabby chasu-alb and a stole when in fact he should be wearing in the following order: an amice that signifies the helmet of salvation, an alb that signifies sanctifying grace, a cincture that represents the virtue of self-mastery, a stole, a sign of ordained office , and a chasuble that covers everything else with charity?
A priest's complete vestments are full of profound signs and symbols and in fact are also accompanied by prayers while vesting. These clothing and prayers remind the priest that he is stepping into the realm of the sacred and not into a profane TV talk show nor a comedy bar. The realm of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is holy and sacred.
Does the picture above invite the congregation to step into the realm of the sacred? Does it in effect give us a sense of Calvary? Speaking in Vatican II terms, does it invite us to join the wedding banquet?
Did Vatican II throw all these things away for the sake of simplicity? Does simplicity equal to symbolic drought?
Our dear priests, please wear your full vestments and wear them properly[!] and recite the prayers while vesting and take it as an opportunity to teach us, your congregation and parishioners the meaning of each clothing.
When you wear your stole over your chasu-alb, over your street clothes, you look more like a clown than a priest and the Holy Sacrifice is no joke! Be dignified as you are offering the Holy Victim, an unblemished Victim, the Holy Bread of eternal life! Be dignified as you are not only a guest but in fact acting in person of the Groom Himself in the wedding banquet!
When you wear your stole over your chasu-alb, over your street clothes, you look more like a clown than a priest and the Holy Sacrifice is no joke! Be dignified as you are offering the Holy Victim, an unblemished Victim, the Holy Bread of eternal life! Be dignified as you are not only a guest but in fact acting in person of the Groom Himself in the wedding banquet!
In case you were not informed or trained in the seminary about properly vesting for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass...from the Vatican Website: Liturgical Vestments and Prayers.
This would have been understandable had this been done after Yolanda swept the sacristy's rooftop, and destroyed the vestments.
ReplyDeleteNow the million dollar question: HOW DOES THE CHURCH CONVINCE HER FLOCK TO DRESS TO THE 9TH ON SUNDAYS, WHEN HER CLERICS CANNOT FOLLOW THEIR OWN LITURGICAL VESTMENT RULES?
I really abhor modern day Catholics going to Mass (very good!) but dressed in pekpek shorts, sandos showing their brassiere straps, minis, maong pants with holes, rubber shoes with gaudy colors... Now, do they do this when they attend a wedding, a party, a debut??? If NOT, then WHY do this when offering the Mass?
And what more if it is the very clergy who are NOT following their proper presbyteral liturgical attires? The very fact that they cannot follow these simple rule shows that they too cannot follow the rubrics. Why? do we still wonder why they invent their own Mass and celebrate it as if already approved by the Vatican?
And the Bottom Line: Light-headedness in seemingly accidental matters like proper dress-up and vestments leads everyone to painless loss of the sense of the sacred. They start to lose the sense that the Church is sacred, they start to talk instead of pray inside it, they offer little attentions to the rites and more to the items they intend "to enjoy" instead of spiritually getting benefit from them like the 'funny homily', 'the gwapo priest, the rhythmic pop songs with less of God in them and more of praise and cheers, the aircon venue, etc...
Isn't this happening already???