Many Catholics attend Mass without understanding the significance of what the priest wears. While this may seem to be a minor detail, it is worthwhile to understand why the priest dresses as he does for Mass in order to develop greater insight and appreciation for the liturgy.
Liturgical vestments emerged from secular Graeco-Roman garb. As time progressed, liturgical vestments became distinct from secular clothing and maintained their important symbolic and theological purposes. St. Jerome asserts, “The Divine religion has one dress in the service of sacred things, another in ordinary intercourse and life.” I will walk you through the vestments of a Roman Catholic priest and deacon, using the vesting prayers from the Ritus Servandus, to help explain the significance of each vestment.
Photo (cropped) courtesy of “Ah, I see you’ve played Knifey-Spoony before!” via Flickr
Amice
“Place upon me, O Lord, the helmet of salvation, that I may overcome the assaults of the devil.” The first vestment donned by a priest and deacon is the amice, a rectangular piece of white linen worn around the neck and shoulders. The cleric kisses the amice in the middle (where the cross is located), taps the amice on their head, and then lets it fall onto his shoulders, making sure to wrap it around and cover their collar. The allusion of the amice to a helmet seems to be rooted in the Medieval use of the amice as a head covering during Mass. While no longer required, the biretta, a square cap with three fins on the top, can also be worn as a head covering.
Alb
“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 alb is then worn over the amice. The alb is a white linen vestment, which flows from the shoulders to the ankles. As indicated by the vesting prayer, the alb symbolizes the pure clothing every Christian receives through Baptism. Accordingly, the alb can be worn by all baptized members of the church
Cincture
“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 abide in me.”
The cincture is a long, thick cord with tassels on the end. Practically, it is used to gird the loose alb in place, while also symbolizing chastity.
Maniple
“May I deserve, O Lord, to bear the maniple of weeping and sorrow in order that I may joyfully reap the reward of my labors.”
The cleric next kisses the cross on the maniple and places it on his left arm. Though it has fallen out of use in the Ordinary Form , the maniple is still worn by the ordained ministers offering Mass in the Extraordinary Form (the Traditional Latin Mass). St. Alphonsus Liguori claims the maniple was used to wipe away the tears of a priest, “for in former times priests wept continually during the celebration of Mass.”
Stole
“Lord, restore the stole of immortality, which I lost through the collusion of our first parents, and, unworthy as I am to approach Thy sacred mysteries, may I yet gain eternal joy.”
The stole is a scarf-like vestment with a cross in the middle of it. The deacon wears the stole diagonally across his body, like a sash, whereas the priest lets the stole hang down from his neck. In the past, the priest would wear the stole across his breast in the form of a cross. In any case, the stole is girded using the cincture. Importantly, the stole symbolizes the authority and dignity of the holy orders.
Dalmatic
“Lord, endow me with the garment of salvation, the vestment of joy, and with the dalmatic of justice ever encompass me.”
The dalmatic is the distinguishing outer vestment of a deacon and is worn over the diagonal stole, as a sign of service to others.
Chasuble
“O Lord, who has said, ‘My yoke is sweet and My burden light,’ grant that I may so carry it as to merit Thy grace.”
The chasuble is the distinguishing outer vestment of a priest, worn during the celebration of the Eucharist. The stole and chasuble are usually of the appropriate color of the liturgical season or specific solemnity/feast day. Originally, the chasuble was a conical poncho, and with time many variations arose, some even resembling a broad scapular. The Bishop expresses the symbolic meaning of the chasuble in the ordination of priests, saying, “Receive the priestly vestment, by which is signified charity.”
Evidently, not a single one of the vestments described is without function or meaning, showing that vestments transcend the mere need to distinguish the priest from the congregation. There are some who are quick to criticize ornate and beautiful vestments as excessive and unbefitting of a vicar of Christ. Such criticism is misguided, however: liturgical vestments, as their respective prayers attest, are a reminder of the priest’s transformation in Christ, when celebrating Mass. Indeed, when a priest celebrates the Mass, the priest acts in persona Christi capitis––in the person of Christ the head. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote on this, as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, saying, “The liturgical attire worn by the priest during the celebration of Holy Mass should, first and foremost, make clear that he is not there as a private person…what is merely private, merely individual, about him should disappear and make way for Christ.” Fittingly, only the best should be offered for the King of kings
Featured Image courtesy of Catholic Church England and Wales via Flickr
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