Preparation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

29. The Sacerdotal Vestments

1. “He (the high-priest Simon) shone forth in his day as the morning star amid lowering clouds, and as the moon with the fulness of her beauty. And as the sun in his glory, so did he shine in the temple of God. And as the rainbow shedding its light in the brilliant clouds, and as the blooming of roses in the spring time, and as the lilies on the banks near the waters, and as the sweet frankincense on the summer air. As a bright fire, and frankincense aflame. As a massy vessel of gold, adorned with precious stones. As an olive-tree budding forth, and a cypress-tree rearing itself on high, like unto such was he, when he put on the robe of glory and was clothed with the perfection of power. When he went up to the holy altar, he honored the vesture of holiness” (Ecclus. 50, 6–12). With these inspired words Jesus, the son of Sirach, depicts the appearance which the high-priest of the Old Law presented to the eyes of the people, when he entered the sanctuary in his festal attire. Now, if God even in the Old Law, which was but a weak figure of the wonderful mysteries of the New Covenant, prescribed such beautiful, such rich garments for the liturgical functions, “that Aaron and his sons shall use them when they go into the tabernacle of the testimony, or when they approach to the altar to minister in the sanctuary, lest being guilty of iniquity they die” (Exod. 28, 43); how much more is it the Lord’s will, that His beloved Spouse (Holy Church) should appear at the altar robed in magnificence and splendor, whenever she celebrates that adorable Sacrifice and spreads the Table of the Lord whereat even here below, in this country of her exile, is had a foretaste of those joys which she is to enjoy forever in her heavenly country with the Lamb!

To the believing eye and mind it would appear as a desecration of what is most holy, an outrage against the Divine Mysteries for one to attempt to offer the Holy Sacrifice at the altar in the ordinary everyday dress. The holiness of the house of God and the altar, the sublimity of the Sacrificial action¹²⁹129Pertinet ad splendorem et decorem cujusvis sacri ministerii, et praesertim tanti sacrificii, ut non fiat tantum veste vulgari et communi, sed ut ipso exteriori apparatu et sacris indumentis indicetur, actionem illam non esse communem et vulgarem, sed sacram. Etenim si absque sacris indumentis communi modo et vulgari fieret, vilesceret quodammodo, praesertim apud homines rudes et sensibiles, qui non facile distinguunt pretiosum a vili; igitur ad decorem et debitum honorem hujus sacrificii conveniens fuit institutio sacrarum vestium (Suarez disp. 83, sect. 2, n. 2). and the dignity of the Christian priesthood demand for the celebration of the Mass special and venerable vestments, altogether distinct from the ordinary dress. Since a distinction in garment at the sacred functions—especially at the Holy Sacrifice—is so necessary, and founded in the nature of things and is, moreover, most appropriate, both the Old Law and the New Law prescribe a special clothing in their liturgy. The Council of Trent declares, that the use of vestments in Holy Church rests on “Apostolic prescription and tradition.” This is, indeed, to be understood as follows. In the primitive ages of Christianity, the apparel for Divine Worship did not differ from the clothing of ordinary life;¹³⁰130Patres nostri in illis quoad formam vestibus sacram celebrarunt Liturgiam, quibus per quinque saecula et reliqui laici in imperio Romano et longiori tempore clerici in foro erant induti. Unice dabant operam Antistites, ut vestes liturgicae candidiores, nitidiores ac tandem pretiosiores essent vestibus communibus et usitatis; ut venustiores tantum Romanorum, Graecorum et Orientalium habitus, iique maxima ex parte talares adhiberentur ad sacrificium, prout illius dignitas omnino exigebat (Krazer Sect. 3, art. 5, cap. 2, § 139). but it was distinguished from the profane clothing in being as rich and as beautiful as possible, and in being allowed to be worn only at the celebration of the Divine Mysteries.¹³¹131The prohibition of Pope Stephen I. (†257), to wear church apparel in civic life (Instituit, ut sacerdotes et diaconi nusquam sacris vestibus nisi in ecclesia uterentur—Breviar. Rom. lect. 9, 2. Aug.), is only a renewed inculcation of an ancient custom then overlooked by some ecclesiastics. “Neither in the East nor in the West did the liturgical vestments differ altogether from those used at that epoch in ordinary life, still less were they different from the patriarchal clothing as to form, as is indicated by the similarity of names. On the other hand, from all investigations we are to draw a two-fold conclusion. First, that not every garment, nor every change of form consequent upon the decay of discipline, was employed in the liturgy; but certain definite garments appropriate to the holy functions and of a most befitting form were selected. Secondly, that these garments served for divine service alone, and were therefore richly adorned” (Jakob, Die Kunst im Dienste der Kirche, p. 321). In the course of time and gradually the most complete and striking difference arose between the liturgical and civilian dress. The more ancient forms were preserved up to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. From this epoch regard for tradition greatly decreased, and the clear understanding of the object and symbolism of ecclesiastical vestments was lost; the Church authorities left the manufacture of these articles to the prevailing industrialism and to individual tastes; and the oft-repeated decrees of the Church were inadequate to counteract the decadence. Hence it came to pass that in many places the vestments destined for Divine Worship answered as little to the requirements of the liturgy as to those of art. Above all, the liturgical vestments should be restored to their flowing, folded and ample form. A general return to more worthy forms cannot be effected by an imitation (according to fancy) of ancient patterns prevalent at various periods, but only by once more following the ordinances of the Church.

The form of the church vestments should be those that have been traditional and in general use; therefore, those of the West should be Roman in form. Only with permission of the Pope is a change allowable.¹³²132S. R. C. 21. Aug. 1863. — Cf. Pastoralblatt für die Diöcese Ermland, Jahrgang 1875, S. 95. If, for instance, we would wish to introduce again the so-called gothic form of chasubles, the Holy See, that is, the Sacred Congregation of Rites, must be informed of this design, together with the reasons therefor. In the making of vestments excellent and appropriate patterns should be insisted on, that is, smallness, stiffness and deformity should be avoided.

With regard to the material of the vestments, the amice and alb must be of linen. — Silk and woolen cinctures corresponding to the color of the day are permitted; but the Church justly prefers them to be of white linen.¹³³133An sacerdotes in sacrificio Missae uti possint cingulo serico? Resp.: Congruentius uti cingulo lineo (S. R. C. 22. Jan. 1701). — Posse uti cingulo coloris paramentorum (8. Jun. 1709). — Nihil obstare, quominus cingula lanea adhiberi possint (23. Dec. 1862). — White cinctures are always liturgical, and for practical reasons we are always recommended to use them, although it is necessary to have them more frequently washed than colored cinctures; for the changing of cinctures is thereby avoided, if, for example, after a Requiem Mass another function is to be performed (benedictio mulieris, churching of women, &c.), when the use of a black cincture would be out of place and inappropriate. — It is not allowed to have on the lower hem or on the sleeves of the alb transparent lace showing a colored foundation.¹³⁴134S. R. C. 17. Aug. 1833. — Yet it appears (as may be seen even in Rome) that, in consequence of a contrary custom, at least on the sleeves a colored ornament may be suffered under a transparent lace. Cfr. Patroni tratt. 2, lezion. 5, n. 44. — Such a violet ornament is conceded to bishops, and a red one to cardinals. Cfr. Stella, Instit. liturg. p. 52. — For the vestments themselves,¹³⁵135To the sacred vestments, which in the rubrics are usually called sacra indumenta, sacra paramenta, or simply paramenta (that is, vestments), in a stricter sense belong the chasuble, the cope, the stole, the maniple, the dalmatic, the tunicella and the humeral-veil. Whoever is robed in one or more of these vestments, is called in the rubrics really and simply paratus. In a more comprehensive sense, however, the amice, alb and cincture are also included in the sacra paramenta. — Cf. Bourbon, Introd. aux cérém. rom. p. 113. that is, for vestments corresponding to the liturgical colors, among which chasuble, stole and maniple are reckoned, no particular material is prescribed. But all common material is forbidden, such as is worn in everyday life; for example, linen and cotton, also a material that is half linen and half cotton (cotton cambric);¹³⁶136S. R. C. 22. Sept. 1837. finally, wool. A sort of material also is forbidden in which fine threads of glass (vitrum in filamenta subtilissima redactum) are substituted for threads of gold or silver (as glass brocade).¹³⁷137S. R. C. 11. Sept. 1847. — The reason for this prohibition lies not only in the danger of glass (as glass threads easily break into small splinters and might fall into the chalice), but also and principally in consideration of the little value of glass (vilitas materiae). Cf. S. R. C. 14. Jul. 1141. Therefore, trimmings made of glass beads are forbidden, as well as those made of fine spun glass thread. However, that material is not prohibited in which the long threads are of cotton (or even of linen or wool) and the cross threads are of silk.¹³⁸138S. R. C. 23. Mart. 1835; 23. Mart. 1882. The fabrics, (especially those of gold, silver and silk) of which the chasuble, stole and maniple should be made, are, therefore, more precious than the materials found in garments worn in daily life.

All that is precious belongs to the Lord and should serve to promote His glory; therefore, the Church would have not only rich vessels, but also handsome vestments for the service of the altar. The richness and the value of the sacred vestments betoken and awaken due reverence for Divine service, and set forth before the faithful the incomprehensible grandeur and holiness of the mysteries of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. — Vestments for Divine worship become sacred in a special manner by reason of the blessing of the Church imparted to them, and of their religious symbolical meaning.

2. All the vestments for Mass (cincture included) must be blessed before being used.¹³⁹139Vestimenta ecclesiastica, quibus Domino ministratur, et sacrata debent esse et honesta (Cap. 42. de consecr. dist. 1). From the circumstance that the blessing of the vestments for divine worship is mentioned for the first time in the fourth century, it in nowise follows that it was not previously practised; whether at that epoch it was already obligatory or merely optional, is immaterial. This blessing is reserved to the bishop. The bishops may only in virtue of an apostolic indult, generally granted to them by the so-called Quinquennial-Faculties, delegate priests (whether they hold an ecclesiastical dignity or not) to bless the vestments and the other necessary articles for the Holy Sacrifice (S. R. C. 16. Mai. 1744). — But the delegated priest may not use the formula of blessing specially reserved to the bishop in the Roman Pontifical, but he must take the ordinary formula to be found in the Missal. Religious superiors, as a rule, have also the privilege of blessing vestments, but only for their own churches and convents (S. R. C. 13. Mart. 1632). Whether vestments, that is, all objects in general used for divine service, when made of material forbidden by the Church, can validly be blessed, is disputed. This blessing of the vestments has, in all probability, been in practice since the first ages; nowadays it is strictly enjoined, and is to be done by a bishop or a priest especially empowered thereto. — By this blessing (benedictio constitutiva) the altar-vestments are in a special manner consecrated to God and His service, that is, they become sacred things (res sacrae), and should be regarded and treated with reverence. — This blessing is retained as long as the vestments preserve their original shape and are suitable for use.¹⁴⁰140The sacred vestments lose their blessing, when they are so torn or so worn out as to be unsuitable for divine service, and when another vestment is made out of them, v. g., an amice out of an alb. When they are mended, the blessing is lost only in case such a part of it is separated from it as to render it unfit for use, v. g., if an arm were taken out of an alb. Worn out vestments and those no longer fit for divine service, should not be put to profane uses, but be burned, and the ashes are to be thrown into the Sacrarium.¹⁴¹141Vasa sacra et vestimenta sacerdotalia nolite negotiari aut tabernario (pawnbroker) in pignus dare (Pontif. Roman. Ordo ad Synodum). — The blessing is imparted to the vestments by means of prayer, the sign of the cross and sprinkling with holy water, and, at the same time, special graces are invoked for the wearers of the blessed garments; for the Church petitions not only, that the Lord may “with the dew of His grace and abundant blessing cleanse, sanctify and consecrate these sacerdotal vestments, to the end that they may become fit for the service of God and the holy mysteries,” but also that the priests “robed in them may be protected against all the assaults or temptations of the evil spirits, and may exercise the holy mysteries devoutly, fervently and worthily, persevere in God’s service, remain subject to God in peace and devotion—and appear before the face of God holy, immaculate, without reproach and obtain the assistance of Divine mercy.”

3. The sacred vestments enjoy another religious feature by means of the mystic-symbolical (mysterious) meaning which the Church ascribes to them, and which should be ascribed to them in the meaning of the Church.¹⁴²142Quis ignorat, necesse esse, ut in publicum prodiens munerique et ministerio venerando vacans non solum vestiatur, verum et modeste et decore vestiatur. En itaque causam naturalem et physicam vestium, quibus presbyteri in obeundis sacris muneribus induuntur. Verum postquam sanctae matri Ecclesiae placuit, singularem illis usum assignare, formamque praescribere easque alio quam ministerii tempore adhibere vetuit, ac denique easdem certarum ceremoniarum pompa tradere, particularibusque precibus benedicere incepit, profecto tanquam res sacrae ac symbolicae considerandae sunt. At ridiculus sane mihi foret ille, qui rejectis omnibus symbolicis et mysticis significationibus hic solum causas naturales physicas et necessitatis reperiri contenderet, universosque mysticos conceptus debiles ac inanes judicaret (Languet, De vero Ecclesiae sensu circa sacrarum caerimoniarum usum § 33). In the Divine worship, in the service of God there is nothing merely exterior: all is figurative and expressive of the interior, there all is “spirit and life”. The Church endeavors, namely, to spiritualize and transform, so to speak, corporeal things by means of higher, supernatural relations, in order to direct the observing, reflecting mind of the faithful to what is invisible, divine and eternal. — This is also the case with the liturgical vestments, which thus acquire the significance and virtue of a picture; for they indicate not only in general the majesty of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, but they express, in a special way, manifold mysteries that excite and nourish devotion. The sacred vestments are full of salutary instruction and admonition for all that will comprehend their meaning and attend to their language. Even if they were not originally introduced on account of this symbolism, the Church afterward justly ascribed to them a higher and mystical meaning, inasmuch as she made use, for example, of the name and origin, the color and destination, the usage and form, as well as the method and manner of putting on and wearing the vestments, in order to express mysteries of the life of Christ and of faith, and moral admonitions.¹⁴³143De indumentis sacerdotalibus... diligenter considerandum est, quid in moribus sacerdotum significet illa varietas vestium, quid fulgor auri, quid nitor gemmarum, cum nihil ibi debeat esse ratione carens, sed forma sanctitatis et omnium imago virtutum. Sicut enim bona domus in ipso vestibulo agnoscitur, sic Christi sacerdos cultu sacrarum vestium ostendit exterius, qualis apud se esse debeat interius... In ornamentis... et sublimitas sacerdotii commendatur et sacerdotum casta dignitas significatur, quatenus per exteriorem habitum discant quales intra se debeant esse, qui vices illius veri summique Pontificis gerant, in quo fuit omnis plenitudo virtutum, quam profitentur exteriora ornamenta membrorum (Ivon. Carnot. Serm. 3). The symbolical conception and meaning of the liturgical vestments is, therefore, fully justified and established.¹⁴⁴144Ex vestibus omnibus recte compositis resultat gravis quidam et decens ornatus sacerdotis ad sacrificandum accedentis, quod in hujusmodi vestimentis primum omnium considerari debuit; nam hoc est veluti primum fundamentum et litteralis ratio horum indumentorum. Sed ultra hoc habent haec omnia optimas et sacras significationes, tum in ordine ad mores, tum in ordine ad Christi passionem (Suarez disp. 82, sect. 2, n. 3). This symbolism, in general, is twofold—namely, allegorical and moral.¹⁴⁵145Singulis vestibus liturgicis significatio mystica inest; quatenus his Christi repraesentatur passio et ejusdem designantur virtutes, quibus exornari sacerdotem par est, ut dum munere Christi personam gerit, moribus etiam similitudinem Christi referat, pleneque Christum indutus, in Christum veluti transformatus videatur. Ideo duplicem significationem vestes sacrae exhibent, quae quidem praeprimis ministris, sed etiam populo bene perspecta esse deberet, nempe allegoricam, quae respicit Christi passionem, et moralem, quae spectat virtutes sacerdotales (Müller, Theol. mor., l. 3, tit. 1, § 31).

The Eucharistic Sacrifice is the living representation and mystical renewal of the Sacrifice of the Cross; accordingly, the vestments have reference to the different garments with which Christ was clothed in His passion, or to the instruments of torture wherewith He was tormented and reviled. — The vestments for the Mass recall to mind different scenes in the passion of our Lord. This difference of course here exists, that the vestment which serves to adorn the celebrant as a garment of honor and joy, was once the cause of most bitter confusion and keenest suffering to our crucified Saviour.¹⁴⁶146Here also the words of Cardinal Toledo find their application. Among the reasons for the institution of the Sacrifice of the Mass he gives in the fourth place the following: ut Christus ostenderet unionem amoris indissolubilem, quam habet cum sua Ecclesia. Una enim caro fit sponsi et sponsae; unde Christus voluit idem poculum, quod in cruce gustaverat, Ecclesiae dare; sed sub specie altera et incruentum ac suave, tota amaritudine sibi reservata (In Summ. theol. s. Thom., enarrat. De sacrif. Miss. controv. 1, art. 3). This allegorical interpretation of the sacred vestments is not expressed in the prayers of the Church; therefore, in considering this subject we must have recourse to the opinion of liturgical and ascetical authors, who differ more or less in their views. The most generally accepted allegorical explanation of the sacerdotal vestments for Mass is the following. — The amice may remind us of the shameful veiling of the eyes and face of Jesus by the Jews, who at the same time struck Him on the head and in the face, saying derisively: “Prophesy to us, Christ, who struck Thee?” and uttering many other blasphemies against Him. — The alb reminds us that Jesus Christ, the Eternal Wisdom, was clothed in mockery as a fool in a white garment by Herod and his court. — The cincture recalls the cords with p. 279which our Lord was bound, when taken captive by the soldiers in the garden of olives, in order to drag Him to the slaughter as a lamb not opening His mouth, and also the ropes which tied His innocent all-powerful hands to the pillar at the scourging, and, finally, the thongs wherewith His immaculate flesh was scourged and torn amid frightful torture. — The maniple refers to the fetters with which the hands of our Lord, as those of a malefactor, were bound. — The stole indicates the heavy burden of the Cross, which the exhausted Victim voluntarily and patiently carried on the way to His crucifixion. — The chasuble brings to our mind the purple robe of mockery wherewith the soldiers, after they had crowned Him with thorns, covered the mangled body of Jesus, reviling His regal dignity by kneeling in mockery before Him. Viewed in this light, the sacerdotal vestments recall to us in what manner the Saviour on His “way” to glory drank from “the torrent”, that is, from the bitter flood of sufferings, labors and humiliations (Ps. 109, 7); in putting them on or when beholding them, we should awaken most ardent sentiments of love, compassion, sorrow, gratitude, hope, amazement, resignation and compunction.¹⁴⁷147Cum haec indumenta signa sint eorum, quae Christus pro nobis perpessus est, varii actus a sacerdote, dum illis induitur, eliciendi sunt, amoris, doloris, gratitudinis et intensissimi desiderii ejus patientiam et humilitatem imitandi in doloribus, afflictionibus, opprobriis aliisque adversitatibus sustinendis (Bona, Tract. ascet. de Missa, c. 5, § 2).

In a moral sense the vestments designate the different virtues with which the celebrant should be clothed and adorned after the example of the invisible High Priest, Jesus Christ, whom he represents at the altar. This meaning of the vestments is expressed in the liturgy in a manifold way, and it can, therefore, be surely ascertained from the words with which they are bestowed at the ordination, and taken off at the degradation, as well as from the prayers the celebrant has to recite when putting them on before Mass. Accordingly, it will here be shown more minutely what moral lessons and admonitions are inculcated according to the spirit of the Church by the six vestments used by the priest at Mass; namely the amice, alb, cincture, maniple, stole and chasuble.

a) The amice¹⁴⁸148Amictus from amicio (amb and jacio) = to throw around, to envelop. Se amicire and amiciri was the identical word for throwing about or putting on the outer garment, while induere was employed for the putting on of a garment and vesture for clothing the body. Hence amictus = the throwing around of a garment; meton. the cloak = the garment serving as a cloak, the outer robe; transferred to head-wrap. Rarer designations: humerale, superhumerale = shoulder covering. In the Ord. Rom. the name anaboladium (ἀναβολάδιον, to throw about the shoulders,—cfr. Ital. Gen. 49, 11) in corrupt forms (anabolajum, anagolajum, ambolagium, anagolai, anagolagi) is often used. is put on first.¹⁴⁹149According to the most ancient Ord. Rom. the amice was put on after the alb and cincture,—until about the twelfth century. Amalarius, however, mentions the present practice in the ninth century. Amictus est primum vestimentum nostrum, quo collum undique cingimus (De eccles. offic. l. 2, c. 17). It is a linen envelop which p. 280covers, in the first place, the head, then the neck and shoulders; in the middle of it a cross is wrought, which is to be kissed in putting it on and taking it off.¹⁵⁰150Missal. Rom. Rit. celebr. Miss. tit. 1, n. 3. — This kiss is prescribed both for the putting on and the taking off of the maniple and stole, and is to be regarded as a mark of reverence (actus reverentialis) toward these vestments blessed for divine service, to which a cross is affixed. — The amice has been in use since about the eighth century; it appears that up to that date Mass was celebrated with neck uncovered.¹⁵¹151Si vetusta documenta, si priscas picturas, si antiqua vitra consulamus, sacerdotes usque ad saeculum VII. et VIII. nonnisi nudo in collo conspicimus (Krazer Sect. III, art. 6, c. 1, § 162). At any rate already in the twelfth century the amice covered not only the neck and shoulders, but also the head; however, at the beginning of Mass it was allowed to fall back upon the shoulders, and it is still done in some Orders of monks.¹⁵²152Honorius of Autun († 1120) writes (Gemma animae l. 1, c. 201), that the priest covers with the amice caput et collum et humeros. The rite at the ordination of subdeacons reminds us of this practice, when the bishop covers the head of the ordained with the amice; and also the manner of putting it on, when, according to the directions of the rubrics, the amice is first placed on the head and thence drawn down to the neck and put over the shoulders.

One meaning of the amice rests on the ancient custom of covering the head with it, and on the circumstance that in remembrance thereof the amice must still be placed on the head, before it is put on the neck and shoulders. The meaning of this rite is explained by the Church herself in the prayer which is to be recited by the celebrant when he puts on the amice: “Place, O Lord, on my head the helmet of salvation, that I may overcome the assaults of Satan.”¹⁵³153Impone, Domine, capiti meo galeam salutis (= impart to me the victorious hope of securing salvation, that is, heaven), ad expugnandos diabolicos incursus. The bishop prays: Pone, Domine, galeam salutis in capite meo ad expugnandas omnes diabolicas fraudes: inimicorum omnium versutias superando (Missale Roman.). — Already in Tertullian (De veland. virgin. c. 15) we meet a passage relative to these prayers: Pura virginitas . . . confugit ad velamen capitis, quasi ad galeam contra tentationes. The question arises, what is to be understood by this helmet of salvation (galea salutis), with which the priest at the altar should be armed against the attacks of Satan. The expression is taken from Holy Scripture, which also contains its meaning. When the Apostle St. Paul exhorts Christians to put on the armor of God, to resist the attacks of Satan, he urges them “to take unto them the helmet of salvation” (galeam salutis assumite—Ephes. 6, 17).¹⁵⁴154Quaenam est haec galea? Dico “galeam salutis”, i. e. galeam, quae est ipsa salus. Galea ergo militis Christiani est salus allata a Christo et sperata a Christianis, h. e. spes salutis: ita enim se explicat Apostolus I. Thessal. 5, 8. Ecce spem salutis vocat galeam. Sicut enim galea principem corporis partem, puta caput ipsum, a quo cetera membra totusque homo pendet, tuetur et communit, ita spes salutis et gloriae coelestis ac immortalis servat et communit caput, i. e. hominis cogitationes, fines et intentiones. Spes ergo quasi galea caput nostrum symbolicum, puta finem et intentionem, armat et communit: primo, quia facit, ut ultimus noster finis et intentio sit Deus, fruitio Dei, salus et beatitudo aeterna, eoque refert omnes alios nostros fines et intentiones ac consequenter reliqua omnia cogitata, dicta et facta nostra; secundo, quia facit, ut homo cogitans bona illa immensa, quae consecuturum se sperat, alias omnes cogitationes a diabolo suggestas repellat, hacque cogitatione et spe ardua quaevis aggrediatur et animose cum hoste confligat, proponens sibi gloriam illam speratam, quae victorem manet (Cornel. a Lapid. i. h. l.). p. 281In another place he says Christians should “be sober, having on the breast-plate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation” (induti loricam fidei et charitatis et galeam spem salutis—1 Thess. 5, 8). The protecting helmet¹⁵⁵155Helmet, old German helm = covering, protector, from old G. helan = to conceal, to cover, to hide; Greek περικεφαλαία, a covering that envelops the entire head. and, consequently, the amice also which covers the head in a similar manner, are accordingly symbolical of Christian hope; for “hope” in the goods of grace and glory acquired and promised to us by Christ is a powerful weapon of protection against “our adversary the devil who, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5, 8). Truly, the supernatural virtue of hope is our protection and shield in combat against all the enemies of salvation! “They that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as the eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isa. 40, 31). These words are the most beautiful triumphal hymn of hope. Before the goal is reached, natural strength exhausts and wears out itself—helplessly breaks down. On the contrary, they that trust in the Lord, instead of growing weary, gain fresh strength, and strive in their eagle flight to reach the loftiest and most difficult goal: Their firmness and courage remaining undaunted in every circumstance of life.¹⁵⁶156Cf. Knabenbauer, S. J., Erklärung des Propheten Isaias a. a. O. The contemplation of heaven, the hope of a better life, the longing for the eternal goods and joys, confidence in the blood of Christ and in the strength of grace—in short, genuine Christian hope elevates the soul above all that is earthly and perishable, fills the heart with joyful enthusiasm, strengthens and animates the will to resist valiantly and perseveringly all the attacks of the devil, as well as all the seductions and the threats of the world. — Hope unto “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not, reserved in heaven for us” (1 Peter 1, 4) is our sheet-anchor of safety on the stormy sea of life, lifts us up to behold with unfailing eye the grand and glorious destiny that awaits us hereafter, “and amid the manifold vicissitudes of this life ever inclines our hearts where true joys are to be found,” assisting us “so to pass on through temporal goods that we may not forfeit those which are eternal”—ut sic transeamus per bona temporalia, ut non amittamus aeterna (Orat. Eccl.). Hope in the eternal and blessed life to come is a precious treasure in the heart of the Christian, of which the world cannot rob him; by means of this hope he feels happy and strong amid all kinds of sufferings, combats and tribulations. Joyful in his hope, he exclaims: “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid? My enemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen. If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident!” (Ps. 26, 1–3.) Unshaken in faith and all confident in God, animated with every hope of his salvation, he will “walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and trample under foot the lion and the dragon” (Ps. 90, 13). — Therefore, lively hope, firm confidence in God is that armor of protection which the priest prays for in putting on the amice, that he may victoriously overcome all the attacks and temptations of the Evil One—especially during Mass. — Such a petition is most appropriate before beginning Holy Mass.¹⁵⁷157Cfr. De Ponte, De Christian. homin. perfectione IV, tr. 2, cap. 10, § 1. Although the devil is ever lying in wait for man to destroy or at least to weaken in him the life of faith and hope, yet it is more particularly at the time of the Holy Sacrifice that he seeks to confuse the soul by all manner of suggestions and distractions, in order to rob her of devotion and of the fruits of the Sacrifice. The amice now admonishes the priest to arm and to prepare himself to encounter this danger. — Therefore, this great and firm confidence with which he should approach the altar, is a means of attracting to himself an abundance of graces and blessings from the inexhaustible ocean of the Divine Goodness. Finally, unwavering confidence is necessary for the priest to enable him, a poor sinner, to venture to ascend the altar and to hold in his hands and receive into his heart the Most Holy, in whose presence the angels and archangels are filled with awe.

Originally the amice was intended to cover the bareness of the neck and to preserve the voice clear so as to enable it properly to sing the praises of God.¹⁵⁸158Adverterunt Antistites, non raro ex denudato collo raucedinem contrahere sacerdotem, ita ut libera voce Dei laudes personare non valeret, unde collum cooperire sive amicire coeperunt (Krazer l. c.). With regard to this circumstance, the Church, in the second place, considers the amice also as a symbol of self-control over one’s speech, in which is comprised, in a certain sense, the sum of mortification. — At the ordination of the subdeacon, the bishop says to him: “Receive the amice, by which the restraint of the tongue is signified.”¹⁵⁹159Accipe amictum, per quem designatur castigatio vocis (Pontif. Rom. De ordinat. Subdiac.). — Quia vocem tuam non castigasti, ideo amictum a te auferimus (Pontif. Rom. Degradat. ab ordine Subdiac.). The putting on of the amice contains, therefore, the symbolical warning to the priest to take this resolution: “I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue!” — Custodiam vias meas, ut non delinquam in lingua mea (Ps. 38, 2). And indeed, in order not to sin with the tongue, one must attend to all his ways, that is, order and regulate by mortification his whole conduct, both his interior and exterior life, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12, 34). Words are the expression of the hidden life of the soul; he only can control his tongue who perfectly controls his interior. Therefore, the Apostle St. James sees in the guarding and bridling of the tongue not only something very difficult, but, moreover, a sign of great perfection; for he writes: “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man” (James 3, 2).¹⁶⁰160Non excessisse in verbo signum est magnae custodiae cordis, magnae sapientiae mentis, magnae perfectionis interioris (Dion. Carthus. l. c.). And yet “Who does not offend by his tongue?” — Quis est, qui non deliquerit in lingua sua? (Eccl. 10, 17.) To master our tongue, we must at the proper time practise a silence holy and pleasing to God, we must be intent on recollection of mind and live in God’s presence. “It is good to await in silence the salvation of God”—Bonum est, praestolari cum silentio salutare Dei (Lam. 3, 26). And on the other hand, he who would lead an interior life, a life hidden with Christ in God, and would become a spiritual man, a man of prayer, must, above all, bridle his tongue, avoid talkativeness, speak more with God than with men.

These two meanings of the amice mutually complete each other, since they are united to one another as means and object. Both are expressed in the words of the Psalmist, who says of the devout man, that “he shall sit solitary and hold his peace: because he has taken it up upon himself”—Sedebit solitarius et tacebit, quia levavit super se (Lam. 3, 28). The interior life, which is secluded and silent, quiet and mortified, disposes man to forget the outside world, to look up to God with the pure eyes of faith, to elevate his heart and mind, by the virtue of hope, to heavenly things and desires. Only that priest is able worthily to celebrate the Adorable Sacrifice, who is not immersed in the business and turmoil of the world, who is neither distracted nor dissipated in mind, but is recollected in himself and in God, who does not cling to the earth, but rises upward on the wings of hope. — As soon, therefore, as the priest has put the amice on his head, neck and shoulders, he should close up all entrance to everything foreign, preserve a holy silence and a profound recollection, carefully guard his eyes, with a reverent deportment approach the altar, and perform his sacred functions, as the mystical language of the amice admonishes him to do.¹⁶¹161Obiter etiam monentur sacerdotes, a momento, quo amictum sibi imponunt, debere maximam, quam possint, modestiam oculorum servare, cum e sacristia exeunt et redeunt ad eam, et multo adhuc majorem, quamdiu sunt apud ipsum altare, ut eos semper demissos habeant neque huc illucve convertant nisi quantum necesse est ut videant quod faciunt, nec aliud quidquam aspiciant, ne eis eveniat, quod Jeremias conqueritur, dicens: “Oculus meus depraedatus est animam meam” et “mors ascendit per fenestras,” quae subtrahit attentionem ac devotionem cordis (De Ponte, l. c.). — Amictus significat, oportere mentem in aeternae dumtaxat salutis rerumque coelestium consideratione fixam habere, ab omnibus curis rerum caducarum amotam, et contra quoscunque hostium incursus spe et fiducia in Deum tamquam galea salutari communitam (Bona, Tract. ascet. de Missa c. 5, § 2).

b) After the Amice comes the Alb.¹⁶²162The ordinary names for this vestment refer chiefly to its color, material, size: alba sc. vestis = a white garment; linea sc. tunica = a tunic of linen or flax; talaris sc. tunica (ποδήρης) = a long garment, reaching to the ankles; camisia = a linen covering, worn next to the body, a shirt (Ital. camicia, from cama = a short, low bed). — Linea dalmatica, quam dicimus Albam (Ord. Rom. III, n. 6). — Sequitur poderis, quae vulgo Alba dicitur (Pseudo-Alcuin. De divin. offic. c. 39). — Postea (sc. post amictum) camisiam induimus, quam Albam vocamus (Amal. De eccl. offic. l. 2, c. 18). — Poderis est sacerdotalis linea, corpori adstricta usque ad pedes descendens, unde et nuncupatur. Haec vulgo camisia vocatur (S. Isidor. Hisp. Etymolog. l. 19, c. 21). — Formerly the Friars Minor also wore the alb, which, however, was somewhat shorter and from which later on proceeded the superpelliceum and rochettum. Albas gerere, esse in albis, esse albati—these expressions were often applied to the clerics, and imply that they perform liturgical functions (cfr. Du Saussay, Panopl. sacerdot. p. 1, l. 2). In the first ages of Christianity the alb, then a garment worn in ordinary life, was adopted into the divine service; mention of it is made for the first time in the fourth century (in the 41. Canon of the alleged Fourth Synod of Carthage 398) as a particular liturgical garment. From the beginning down to the present time it has been a wide white linen robe full of folds, reaching down to the feet and covering the whole body.¹⁶³163In the Middle Age the amice, alb and cincture were frequently made of silk, as well as richly ornamented with gold and silver. Already from the ninth century it became customary to put precious decorations on the edge of the alb. As a rule, on the different hems of the alb one or several stripes were sewed (clavus or lorum, hence Albae monolores, dilores etc.) of purple or gold material or of colored silk embroidery. — In place of these decorations on the edge of the alb, different kinds of lace have been substituted since the sixteenth century, principally the beautiful, strong and durable Belgium laces, and afterward all manner of imitations of them, down to the objectionable tulle and cotton lace. — Another ornamentation of the alb was for a long time (from the eleventh until the seventeenth century) the so-called parura or paratura (from parare = to adorn). The parura were colored adornments about one foot in length, sewed on four points of the alb (in front, at the back and on both sides) and on the amice. These five decorations, being generally red, answered as symbols of the five wounds of our Lord (hence they were also called plagae or plagulae). — Both the stripes on the hem and the parura were merely sewed on, so that in washing they could easily be removed. If lace is used on the hem, care should be taken, that it be handsome, rich, durable and not too wide, as it should always be regarded only as a mere accessory. (Cf. Hefele, Beiträge II, 172 &c.) — The principal symbolical meaning of the alb, based on its color and material, is easily recognized and, moreover, clearly expressed in the prayer which the priest recites when putting it on: “Purify me, O Lord, from all stain and cleanse my heart, that washed in the Blood of the Lamb I may enjoy eternal delights.”¹⁶⁴164Dealba me, Domine, et munda cor meum, ut in sanguine Agni dealbatus gaudiis perfruar sempiternis.—p. 285Accordingly, the alb is a symbol of that spotless innocence and perfect purity with which the priest should appear at the altar, that he may be accounted worthy to partake with the blessed who are clothed in snow-white garments, in the never-ending joy and felicity of the heavenly nuptial feast. For they only who have washed their robes white in the Blood of the Lamb, stand “before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple” (Apoc. 7, 14, 15). And the Saviour says: “He that shall overcome shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels” (Apoc. 3, 5). Holy Scripture itself looks upon white linen as emblematic of sanctity; for of the transfigured Spouse of Christ (the glorious Church), who is called to the eternal nuptials of the Lamb, it is said: “And it is granted to her that she should clothe herself with fine linen glittering and white. For the fine linen are the justifications (justificationes) of the saints” (Apoc. 19, 8).¹⁶⁵165Byssus repraesentat purissimam et innocentissimam conversationem Sanctorum, quae in tribulatione et persecutione magis enitescit et resplendet, perinde ac byssus, h. e. linum praestantissimum injuria, i. e. maceratione, tunsione, carminatione semper melius, puta purius, candidius et splendidius evadit (Cornel. a Lapid. i. h. l.).

With regard to this symbolism the following points of resemblance deserve special notice. Linen does not naturally possess its brilliant whiteness, but acquires it chiefly by being washed and bleached in the rain and sun. Is not this the case with the whiteness and brilliancy of purity of life?¹⁶⁶166Hunc candorem et pulchritudinem sacerdotes non ex seipsis habent, sed ex gratia et misericordia Dei propter Christi merita, sicut illi Sancti, de quibus in Apocalypsi (7, 14) dicitur, “quod lavissent stolas suas et dealbassent illas in sanguine Agni.” Qui sanguis applicatur per sacramenta et exercitia bonorum operum, lavando animas a culpis ac dealbando eas splendore praestantium virtutum. Et cum Agnus ipse sanguinem suum effuderit ingentibus cruciatibus, ut eo lavaremur ac dealbaremur, aequum est, nos quoque aliquem sustinere laborem et mortificationem, sine qua candor ille et pulchritudo non obtinetur. Ac propterea Alba est linea et alba, quae multis lotionibus et percussionibus ad suum pervenit candorem, ut intelligatur, etiam animae candorem obtinendum esse laboriosis et poenam aliquam afferentibus operibus, lacrymis, orationibus et mortificationibus. Horum omnium merito meminerit sacerdos, cum ipsam Albam induit (De Ponte l. c. § 2). Brilliantly white, that is, perfectly pure, chaste and holy does the soul become only by many austerities, much self-denial and mortification, also only by the heavenly dew and bright rays of grace.¹⁶⁷167Tunica byssina est quae graece ποδήρης, i. e. talaris appellatur, quia a collo usque ad talos extenditur. . . . Haec ob speciem candoris nomen Albae sortitur, quo munditiam significat ministrorum Dei. . . . Caro hominis munditiam quam ex natura non habet, studio bono adnitente acquirit per gratiam, ut secundum Apostolum minister Christi corpus suum castiget et in servitutem redigat (1 Cor. 9), quemadmodum byssus vel linum candorem, quem ex natura non habet, per studium et industriam multis tunsionibus et quasi quadam vexatione attritum acquirit (Hugo de S. Vict. De Sacram. l. 2, p. 4, c. 2). In the form of a servant, p. 286amid untold hardships, by a bloody sweat the Son of God acquired for us the jewel of holiness; He shed all His blood to cleanse us from sin; therefore, it is but just, that we should endeavor by prayer and tears, by works of penance and self-denial, to preserve unspotted or to regain the perfect purity, innocence and beauty of the soul. No labor should be deemed too difficult, no struggle too painful, no sacrifice too great to cleanse ourselves more and more “in the blood of the Lamb,” until our soul becomes “more spotless than the snow, whiter than milk, fairer than the sapphire” (Lam. 4, 7). For “blessed are they that wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, that they may have a right to the tree of life (that is, to the Beatific Vision of God), and enter in by the gates into the (heavenly) city” (Apoc. 22, 14).

The spotless white alb, therefore, daily admonishes the priest so to live, to watch and pray, that he may each time approach the holy altar with a pure mind, with an unblemished heart, with an untrammelled spirit, with holy joy and a secret longing. To ascend the mountain of the Lord and to stand in the holy place, where even the heavenly spirits tremble, the priest must be “innocent in hands and clean of heart” (Ps. 23, 3–4), “holy in body and in spirit” (1 Cor. 7, 34); then will he receive at the altar most abundant blessings from the Lord and mercy from God his Saviour (Ps. 23, 5). Therefore, should he earnestly and indefatigably strive by exercises of piety and works of charity, by self-denial and a penitential spirit, by watchfulness and humility to persevere and advance in the grace of God, to make progress in virtue and holiness, and purify his heart more and more not only from sin, but also from worldly, faulty and dangerous inclinations and attachments.¹⁶⁸168Non sufficit Omnipotenti laus et honor oris, nisi ex sinceritate et devotione prodeat mentis virtuosisque actibus decoretur. Si igitur, o sacerdos, sapienter attendas, quanta sit hujus excellentia, sanctitas ac dignitas sacramenti, confestim fateberis, te non posse cor tuum sufficienter ad ejus susceptionem disponere neque pro suscepta communione satis posse regratiari; etiamsi mille vixeris annis et die ac nocte sine interruptione ac cessatione totis viribus te praeparares ad celebrandum et gratias ageres pro susceptione ac collatione muneris tanti. Quid itaque restat, nisi ut omne quod tibi in his possibile est facias et tamen nihil condignum te fecisse recognoscas per respectum ad incomparabilem excellentiam sacramenti. . . . Cum ergo quotidie aut frequenter sis celebrans, oportet te indesinenter omni hora die ac nocte esse sollicitum, providum ac ferventem, ne quid culpae inveniatur in te, per quam indignus aut minus dignus ad celebrandum existas, aut ingratus seu minus gratus de beneficiis tantis. Erubesce mente non pura, corde frigido, sine reverentia, sanctitate et fervore ad Sancta Sanctorum accedere, fonti infinitae munditiae te unire, Unigenitum Dei suscipere, Deum ac judicem tuum sine debita veneratione tractare; imo quo frequentius celebras, eo devotius magisque timorate, reverenter et amorose te habere satage. Jugiter ergo dic tibi ipsi in corde tuo: Ecce hodie aut in brevi Deo celebrabis propitio, aut celebrasti: ubi est praeparatio et gratiarum actio tua? ubi profectus et fructus tanti mysterii? (Dion. Carth. De sacram. altar. art. 15.)

c) The cincture,¹⁶⁹169In Holy Scripture and in ecclesiastical language the words cingulum—balteus—zona (ζώνη) are employed without distinction to designate a girth or girdle, fastened around the waist in order to hold together flowing garments, thereby facilitating movement and activity. that is, the girdle, is necessary to gather up the long and broad alb, that it may be fitted closely to the body.¹⁷⁰170Alba sine zona vel cingulo commode et decenter gestari nequit, unde rituales scriptores etiam vetustissimi zonam cum alba et amictu inseparabili recensione conjunxerunt (De Saussay, P. 1, l. 3, c. 6). — The cincture should be tied around the loins,¹⁷¹171Exhinc cingulo cingitur, quod in Lege balteus, apud Graecos zona dicitur. Per cingulum, quod circa lumbos praecingitur et, alba ne diffluat et gressum impediat, adstringitur, mentis custodia accipitur, qua luxuria restringitur (Honor. August. Gemma animae l. 1, c. 203). for by this act is expressed its higher and symbolical meaning, which is evident from the prayer recited by the priest while tying the alb about the body: “Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and extinguish in my loins the fires of concupiscence, that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide within me.”¹⁷²172Praecinge me, Domine, cingulo puritatis, et extingue in lumbis meis humorem libidinis: ut maneat in me virtus continentiae et castitatis. — Cingulum puritatis = grant me the grace and virtue of crushing all carnal emotions, symbolized by the girdle, that is, by girding the loins, so as to maintain purity of heart, that is, to preserve it inviolate.

To gird one’s self or the loins is a figurative expression often repeated in Holy Scripture (Luke 12, 15—Eph. 6, 14), and the saying has a manifold signification.

Laborers, warriors, pilgrims were wont to gird themselves in order to gather up their loose, wide garments and hold them securely. They were then freer in their movements, more at ease and, consequently, the better prepared for labor,¹⁷³173Cinctio opera significat: tunc enim se quisque cingit, cum operaturus est (S. August. Enarr. in Ps. 92, n. 3). battle or travel. Now, the Christian life is justly represented as a time of labor, of combat, of pilgrimage. — “The life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his days are like the days of a hireling. As a servant longeth for the shade, and as the hireling for the end of his work” (Job 7, 1–2). The Christian is “a laborer in the vineyard of the Lord, where he must bear the heat and burden of the day,” in order to gain an eternal reward (Matt. 20). — He must, therefore, “as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, please Him to whom he hath engaged himself, and must strive for the mastery” (2 Tim. 2, 4–5), that he may be victorious over Satan, the world and the flesh. — Finally, he is also upon earth as “a stranger and pilgrim” (1 Peter 2, 11), having here no permanent abode, but traveling onward to his true, eternal home in the next world. A frivolous, distracted and worldly mind is as great an encumbrance to the Christian laborer, combatant and pilgrim, as would be to the earthly a loose and wide garment; p. 288therefore, as St. Peter says, the Christian must “have the loins of his mind girt up” (1 Peter 1, 13),¹⁷⁴174Lumbi mentis sunt voluntas seu affectus et intellectus, ex quibus procedunt cogitationes malae et desideria prava. Lumbi vero carnis sunt, ex quibus prodeunt carnales concupiscentiae et opera impudica: et utrique lumbi sunt praecingendi, i. e. coarctandi ab illicitis cogitationibus et operibus. Cinctorium primorum est divinae legis meditatio assidua, quae fit per studium sacrae Scripturae; cinctorium secundorum est justitia, quae fit per rigorem disciplinae: et ita per primum fluxus cogitationum et desideriorum inutilium reprimitur in mente; per secundum fluxus concupiscentiarum carnalium et operum restringitur in carne (Ludolph. de Saxon. Vita I. Chr. P. 2, c. 47, n. 1). that is, he must recollect himself and keep safeguarded all the faculties of his mind for the business and combat of salvation, to enable him also to persevere in his painful and dangerous pilgrimage through this vale of tears to his true country in heaven. To gird one’s self means, therefore, to arm one’s self; the girding of the loins (praecinctio lumborum) is a sign of preparation and readiness for combat, as much as of manly strength.

In as far as the loins are considered as the principal seat of sexual desires, the girding of them symbolizes especially the subjugation of the flesh by mortification and self-denial. For precisely in the crucifixion of the rebellious flesh, in the bridling of the sensual appetites, the spiritual vigor and manliness of the Christian laborer, combatant and pilgrim are proved in the most striking manner. — As a stranger and pilgrim, whose true home is with his Father in heaven, the Christian must lead a heavenly life on earth; he must not suffer himself to be immersed in the base things of an earthly life, nor be taken up with worldly gratification and enjoyments, but he must with all his energy resist the seductive allurements of earthly desires and passions, in order to preserve the robe of innocence undefiled. The fervent Christian unceasingly mortifies his sensual inclinations, ever walks on with loins girded and with his lamp burning, sober and watchful, in dread of the reckoning to come and in expectation of the blessed hope at the coming of the Lord (Tit. 2, 12–13).

The cincture, therefore, enjoins upon the priest the same virtue for which the Church prays in a Lenten hymn: “Let us tame our body by abstemiousness, that our heart may turn aside from the things that foment evil desires, and may remain undefiled by sin.” Clothed in a white garment and girt about the loins does the priest stand at the altar; for he is to “serve the Lord with a chaste body and please Him with a clean heart.” Virginal chastity is the most precious pearl, the brightest jewel in the crown of sacerdotal virtues.¹⁷⁵175Cingulum jam a primis temporibus in Ecclesiam induxit necessitas, aurum dein et gemmas addidit religio. Ita enim sacras zonas antiquitus fuisse exornatas deprehendimus (Krazer Sect. III, art. 6, cap. 2, § 167). — As formerly the girdle was frequently handsomely made and decorated, it served as an ornament. Herein is found a symbolical allusion to the beauty of virginal purity. Nothing equals in value and dignity a pure soul resplendent with the brilliancy of chastity.¹⁷⁶176Omnis ponderatio non est digna continentis animae (Eccli. 26, 20). — O quam pulchra est casta generatio cum claritate! (Sapient. 4, 1.) Such a soul is an object of delight to heaven and earth; God and His holy angels look down on it with joy. The chaste, pure heart is resplendent in the brightness of the Son of God, rivalling the azure of heaven and the light of the stars, it is fertile in holy thoughts, sentiments and affections; it dwells in the beauty of peace, in the tabernacles of confidence and in wealthy rest (Isa. 32, 18). Holy purity is not only the brilliant, spotless virtue of the soul, but, moreover, the ornament of the body; for it ennobles and transforms this earthly covering of flesh with supernatural and heavenly perfume. It is, therefore, the most beautiful adornment of the priestly heart, which should be all aglow with the fire of divine love. It is for a virginally pure priesthood to offer the all-pure Sacrifice of the virginal body of Jesus Christ; “the Host exhaling the perfume of virginal holiness” (hostia virgineo fragrans odore—Secr. in fest. S. Cathar. Senen.) should also be consecrated and offered, handled and distributed by pure virginal hands. — The delicate and heavenly blossom of purity of heart can be preserved untarnished only amid the thorns of mortification and the renunciation of the world.¹⁷⁷177The purity of the body, this precious fruit of holy baptism and of the Sacrament of the Altar, is the object of many and ardent petitions, which the Church—especially in the hymns of the Office—puts into the mouth of the priest; for example: Absint faces libidinis; ne foeda sit vel lubrica compago nostri corporis; ne corpus adstet sordidum; discedat omne lubricum, phantasma noctis exsulet; sit pura nobis castitas; motus pravos atterat; aufer calorem noxium; carnis terat superbiam; castique, recti ac sobrii vigilate; ne manus oculive peccent lubrici, ne noxa corpus inquinet. The priest who would walk unsullied through the dusty path of this life, must ever have his loins girt, that is, he must live in holy austerity and sobriety, in humble watchfulness and caution, and in constant recollection and devotion. For this he gathers the requisite supernatural strength at the altar; for the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice not merely obliges him to a pure, mortified life, but, at the same time, gives birth to and nourishes within him a life dead to this world. The Sacrifice of the Altar is holy and sanctifying,—therefore, it is the consolation, the joy and the strength of the devout priest. Daily is granted him the inestimable grace of being refreshed with the wheat of the elect and of drinking the wine that springeth forth virgins (Zach. 9, 17).¹⁷⁸178Ulterius pergit cinguli hujus significatio, quod etiam colligat et contineat partes Albae superfluas, ne per terram trahatur aut ministerium impediat. Et hoc nomine significat prudentem et cautam mortificationem non solum in illicitis, sed etiam in licitis, cum non sunt ei, quod tunc fit, accommodata. Sanctitas enim est sicut Alba adeo longa et lata, ut complectatur varia genera cogitationum, affectuum et curarum, et quidem bonarum et sanctarum. At cogitationes et curae, quae in alio tempore et loco bonae sunt, non semper sunt aptae in altari et tempore Missae. Quare opus est, illas praecingere et colligere, ne impediant. Tempus enim illud destinatum est ad orandum et sacrificandum, non autem ad studendum, concionandum aut negotium aliud agendum, quod extra illum locum et tempus esset licitum (De Ponte l. c.).

d) The maniple¹⁷⁹179The name manipulus (from manus and pleo, therefore, properly a handful, a bundle) came into general use only since the eleventh century, while previously other designations were more in vogue, for example: mantile = a linen cloth, which was actually used for wiping the hands after meals, or often served also as a napkin placed before the breast at table; mappula = a small apron; sudarium = a towel or handkerchief; fanon (fanulus) = cloth, little cloth, in the dictionaries of the Middle Age = hantfan, hantvan. — These names express the original form and use of the maniple. In the beginning it was not an ornament for wear, but a small linen cloth for wiping and cleansing the face and hands. — Quartum mappula s. mantile sacerdotis indumentum est, quod vulgo phanonem vocant, quod ab hoc eorum tunc manibus tenetur, quando missae officium agitur, ut paratos ad ministerium mensae Domini populus conspiciat (Raban. Maur. De Cleric. instit. c. 18). — Mappulae in sinistra manu ferendae (Ord. Rom. VI, n. 1). — The fourth article of the vestments is called the manipula or phanon, that is, a handkerchief which is placed on the left arm (Tewtsch Rational, Kap. 2, n. 5). became gradually since the tenth century an ecclesiastical vestment, which, corresponding in material and color to the stole and chasuble, is worn on the left¹⁸⁰180According to the liturgists of the Middle Age, the maniple symbolizes the penance and sweat of the present life, represented by the left side, namely, the left arm. — The real and natural reason for the constant practice of wearing the maniple on the left arm, is in order that the right arm and the right hand may remain free and undisturbed in the performance of their functions. arm. In the middle part of the maniple there must be a cross, which is to be kissed when vesting and unvesting; it also has usually a cross at each end. The maniple is at present the distinctive garment worn in divine service by the subdeacon,¹⁸¹181As the alb, so likewise the maniple was formerly worn by all clerics and even by unordained monks (in choir). Quamdiu manipulus sudarii vel mappulae loco fuit, tribui necessario debuit omnibus, qui alba induti suam Ecclesiae operam exhibebant. Ast ubi singulare ornamentum evasit manipulus, tunc Subdiaconis ut specialis nota in eorum ordinatione quibusdam in Ecclesiis fuit data, aliis antiquo mori insistentibus (Krazer Sect. III, disquis. 3, c. 1, § 211). who has to cleanse the consecrated vessels, wash the sacred linens and minister at the Holy Sacrifice.

The mystical meaning of the maniple may be taken from some liturgical texts. In putting it on before Mass, the priest says: “May I be worthy to bear the maniple of weeping and sorrow, that with exultation I may receive the reward of labor.”¹⁸²182Merear, Domine, portare manipulum fletus et doloris, ut cum exsultatione recipiam mercedem laboris. The bishop prays: Merear, precor Domine, manipulum portare mente flebili, ut cum exsultatione portionem accipiam cum justis. The bishop presents the maniple to the newly ordained subdeacon with the words: “Receive the maniple, by which the fruit of good works is designated.”¹⁸³183Accipe manipulum, per quem designantur fructus bonorum operum (Pontific. Rom. De ordin. Subd.). Depone manipulum, quia per fructus bonorum operum, quos designat, non expugnasti spirituales insidias inimici (Pontific. Rom. Degrad. ab ordin. Subd.). p. 291The symbolical meaning of the maniple here alluded to is probably based on the circumstance, that originally it served the celebrant to wipe off perspiration and tears during the celebration of Mass, but sprang principally from a passage in the Psalms, in which the word “manipulus” is mentioned in the sense of a sheaf of wheat. — “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going they went and wept, casting their seed; but coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves (manipulos suos).”¹⁸⁴184Qui seminant in lacrimis, i. e. qui modo in luctu poenitentiae seu lacrimis devotionis se ipsos exercent, qui temporales delectationes contemnunt et corde contrito et humiliato Deo ministrant, isti in exsultatione metent bona gratiae in praesenti et fructum gloriae in futuro: “bonorum enim laborum gloriosus est fructus” (Sap. 3, 15). Porro quinque sunt genera lacrimarum: primae lacrimae sunt pro indulgentia propriae culpae et hae mundant a sorde peccati; secundae sunt pro timore futuri judicii et gehennae et istae refrigerant ab ardore concupiscentiae retrahuntque ab omni iniquitate; tertiae sunt pro incolatu praesentis exsilii, quae potant animam sitientem; quartae pro defectibus proximorum et istae impinguant plangentem; quintae sunt pro desiderio patriae, quae animam omni bono fecundant. — Euntes electi Dei per viam vitae praesentis ibant per viam mandatorum Altissimi et flebant mittentes semina sua, h. e. opera meritoria facientes: quae opera dicta sunt semina, quoniam sicut ex semine nascitur fructus, sic ex operibus bonis oritur fructus vitae aeternae, infusio consolationis divinae. Mittunt igitur semina sua, i. e. opera bona ante se mittunt, cumulum meritorum colligunt quem in Christo abscondunt (Matth. 6, 20; Gal. 6, 9). Venientes autem ad Christi tribunal venient cum exsultatione, h. e. cum secura et laeta conscientia, portantes manipulos suos, i. e. opera virtuosa quae collegerunt: “Opera enim illorum sequuntur illos” (Apoc. 14, 13). Dion. Carthus. in Ps. 125, 5–6. Consequently, the maniple symbolizes, on the one hand, penitential tears and grief, the toil and hardships of sowing, the suffering and the combating, the work and labors of this perishable life; on the other, the fruit of good works and sheaves full of merit, as well as the abundant harvest of happiness and joy, of peace and rest reaped in eternity. The thoroughly Christian life and still more the thoroughly priestly life is here below in exile and “upon the banks of the rivers of Babylon” principally in “labor and sorrow” (Ps. 136, 1; 89, 10); and though weeping must go on to the evening of life, yet on the morning of eternity joy and gladness will break forth. “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy, thou hast cut my sack-cloth, and hast compassed me with gladness” (Ps. 29, 12); “for that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4, 17). — The wail of sorrow in sowing will give place to the sounds of the harvest-songs of joy. “He who soweth in blessings, shall also reap of blessings” (2 Cor. 9, 6). Therefore, be indefatigable in sowing the good seed, scatter abroad the seed of good works,—works of love, of penance, of piety, of spiritual and corporal mercy,—sow this seed amid sweat and tears, in storm and showers, in rain and cold: for behold! the day will soon come, when the ears will be p. 292ripe, the sheaves be full and garnered in the granaries of the Heavenly Father; the day that knows no evening, the day of the most gladsome, blessed harvest jubilation, the unspeakably bright day of eternity, that shines on the saints in imperishable splendor! Then the Lord will wipe away all tears; and mourning and crying and sorrow shall be no more (Apoc. 21, 4). Thus the maniple is a symbolical expression of that exalted truth which the Lord expressed in the words: “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5, 5).

Since the maniple denotes “weeping and sorrow,” it is used in Holy Mass, where the Sacrifice of the Cross is renewed and where the sufferings and the cruel and bitter death of Jesus Christ are represented; as a rule, it is not worn outside of the Mass, because no sorrow can compare with the sorrow which Christ endured on the Cross, a sorrow which should penetrate our hearts during Holy Mass.¹⁸⁵185So long as the broad chasuble covered the entire body and also the arms of the celebrant, the mappula was put on last of all the vestments, after the chasuble had been rolled up above the arms (Cfr. Ord. Rom. I, II, III). — Ad extremum sacerdos fanonem in sinistrum brachium ponit, qui et mappula et sudarium vocatur, per quod olim sudor et narium sordes extergebantur. Per hoc poenitentia intelligitur, qua quotidiani excessus labes extergitur. Hoc in sinistro brachio gestatur, quia in praesenti tempore tantum vita nostra poenitentia emundatur (Honor. Augustod. Gemma anim. l. 1, c. 208). — Of this ancient practice the present rubric of the Missal reminds us, which accords to the bishop celebrating (except at Requiem Masses) the distinction of putting the maniple on with greater solemnity at the altar—after the absolutio in the preparatory prayers. There is in this action also a symbolical admonition to the bishop to be a guiding-light to his whole flock by his apostolic labors, sufferings and combats. — Priests and levites wear the maniple out of Mass by way of exception; for example, at functions on Good Friday (but not at the uncovering and adoration of the Cross) and on Holy Saturday. According to a general rule, the ministri sacri wear the maniple whenever they sing the Epistle or Gospel, for instance, at the blessing of the palms,—the deacon wears it at the blessing of bells. To the priest applies the rubric: Dum Celebrans utitur pluviali, semper deponit manipulum (Rubr. gener. Miss. tit. 19, 4). This rule, however, suffers an exception, when the blessing of the Palms takes place without ministri sacri. In this case the celebrant wears the maniple with the cope, but only until after the reading of the Gospel at this blessing. (Cfr. Memoriale Rituum Bened. XIII.)

At the altar the priest should be filled and penetrated with sorrow and compunction, with regret for his own sins and those of others, with grief for the tribulations of the Church, for the loss of so many souls, and with sympathy for the passion of Christ; thence he should daily draw strength to persevere in the labors and trials of life, to bear with cheerfulness all the hardships of his vocation, to overcome all difficulties and obstacles in the practice of good works, so that he may once attain the reward p. 293of eternal joy.¹⁸⁶186Post vitam istam brevissimam boni sacerdotes a Deo gloriosissimam sortientur coronam, ineffabilem jucunditatem, superplenam mensuram, mercedem aeternam, tam de propriis meritis, quam pro meritis gregis sui et omnium, quibus bene agendi causa fuerunt, quorum omnium beatitudo et gloria redundabit copiose et gloriose in eos, si jam debitum sui impleverint officii. Quemadmodum enim hi, qui aliis causa perditionis sunt, Christo odibilissimi exstant, et durissime ac terribilissime recipientur, judicabuntur ac damnabuntur ab eo, ita et qui aliis sunt causa conversionis ac salutis, amabilissimi Christo consistunt, et jucundissime ac benevolentissime suscipientur ac remunerabuntur ab ipso, tanquam veri sui vicarii, cordiales amici atque cooperatores idonei (Dion. Carthus. De vita Curatorum art. 68). Of this the maniple reminds and admonishes him.¹⁸⁷187Dicere possumus, manipulum significare virtutem zeli, h. e. tristitiam et dolorem de peccatis propriis et alienis, in quantum honori Dei et animarum saluti adversantur, cum sancta quadam contra ea indignatione et ferventi ea disturbandi et expellendi desiderio. Peccata propria dissolvuntur lacrimis, gemitibus et contritionis actibus et poenitudinis, qui disponunt hominem ad hoc sacrificium digne offerendum. Aliena peccata sunt etiam removenda, orando cum lacrimis et sacrificium pro eorum remissione offerendo (De Ponte l. c. § 3).

e) The Stole. In Holy Scripture and universally in ancient times, the stole signified in general every kind of dress, every outfit and adornment of the body with garments, often too, in a limited sense, a magnificent, costly dress, a festal robe, a splendid raiment. Since the ninth century the name stola has been gradually restricted to an article of liturgical vestment, which had been a long time in use previous to that date and had until then borne the name of Orarium.¹⁸⁸188Quintum (vestimentum) est, quod Orarium dicitur, licet hoc quidam Stolam vocent (Raban. Maur. [† 853] De institut. Clericor., l. 1, cap. 19). The ecclesiastical Orarium was originally a small band, a long linen strip, which was loosely suspended from the left shoulder; it was the distinctive badge of the deacon, who served at the Holy Table, and was used to wipe the mouth and face.¹⁸⁹189Orarium is more correctly derived from os = face, mouth, than from orare = to pray, or from ora = a border. Mention is made of the Orarium as a church vestment for the first time about the middle of the fourth century in the Synod of Laodicea. Yet it remained for several centuries more a profane garment. (Cf. Prudent. Peristephan. I, v. 86). Already in the seventh century the Orarium, worn by deacons, priests and bishops—but in different ways,—had only a symbolical character; hence it began to be made of precious material and to be richly adorned.

At the present time the stole is a long silk strip, as wide as the hand, adorned at each end and in the middle with a cross. The stole should be worn only by those who are strictly members of the hierarchy, that is, by deacons, priests and bishops,¹⁹⁰190After the example of the Council of Laodicea (in the fourth century), the use of the stole was always prohibited to clerics in Minor Orders (among whom originally sub-deacons were also included). and then only in cases in which the rubrics prescribe its use, or a lawful custom sanctions or at least tolerates it. Of itself the stole is not a mark of p. 294ecclesiastical jurisdiction, but a sacred decoration to be worn during certain functions.¹⁹¹191Orarium, quod necessitas induxit, brevi singulare Episcoporum, Presbyterorum et Diaconorum evasit ornamentum, dignitatis et jurisdictionis symbolum, coepitque primo coloribus et auro ornari, dein non amplius ex lino, sed ex serico aliaque pretiosa confici materia (Krazer Sect. III, art. 6, cap. 4, § 173). — In consequence of this view the stole was in former times more frequently worn as a mark of spiritual dignity and authority, than is now permitted. According to the present discipline of the Church, the stole may not be worn according to caprice to indicate in the wearer the habitual possession of the potestas ordinis vel jurisdictionis, but, as a rule, it is intended merely to signify the actual use of this power, that is, to accompany the performance of certain liturgical functions. (Cfr. Bourbon, Introduction aux cérém. rom. p. 138–146. — De Conny, Des usages et des abus en matière de cérémonies chap. 6). It is principally intended to be worn when graces and blessings are dispensed; therefore, it is used, for example, at Mass, as well as at all functions which appertain directly to the Eucharist, the source of every grace and blessing, in administering the Sacraments and in performing the Sacramentals. — The deacon, priest and bishop wear the stole each in a peculiarly different way. The deacon places it over the left shoulder and fastens its ends together under the right arm. When the priest is robed in the alb, he places the stole around his neck and ties it with the cincture in the form of a cross¹⁹²192S. R. C. 30. Sept. 1679. According to this decree the right end of the stole must be placed over the left end. — A Spanish Synod held at Braga (675) says: Signum in suo pectore praeparet crucis. on his breast; but if he wears the surplice, the stole is allowed to hang straight down on both sides.¹⁹³193Diaconus habet stolam in sinistro humero in signum, quod applicatur in ministerium in ipsis sacramentis; sed sacerdoti in utroque humero ponitur stola, ut ostendatur quod ei plena potestas dispensandi sacramenta datur, non ut ministro alterius et ideo stola descendit usque ad inferiora (Supplem. q. 40, a. 7). The bishop who already wears a cross on his breast (the pectoral), to distinguish him from the priest,—also wears the two ends of the stole hanging loosely down over the alb.¹⁹⁴194As the praecipuum insigne sacerdotii the stole ever adorned the recipients of the Sacrament of Holy Order (deacons, priests, bishops); but at the same time in order to indicate the varied degree of sacramental power and grace, it was and is at ordination placed on them in different ways. Till about the twelfth century the stole was worn by the deacon over the dalmatic and across the left shoulder, hanging free in front and at the back, as with the Greeks the deacon still wears the ὠράριον. In the twelfth century it became the custom to lay on the deacon at his ordination first the stole and then the dalmatic. — Priests and bishops have always worn the stole in the manner now in use.

The symbolical meaning of the stole may be known from certain ecclesiastical prayers. The bishop gives to the newly ordained deacon the stole in these words: “Receive this shining white stole from the hand of God; fulfil your ministry; for God is powerful to increase His grace in you.”¹⁹⁵195Accipe stolam candidam (= radiant, splendid garment, as a symbol of the sublime service) de manu Dei: adimple ministerium tuum; potens enim est Deus, ut augeat tibi gratiam suam (from God proceeds the office as also the fulness of grace for the office) (De ordinat. Diaconi). While the bishop places the two parts p. 295of the stole in the form of a cross on the new priest, he says: “Take upon you the yoke of the Lord; for His yoke is sweet and His burden light.”¹⁹⁶196Accipe jugum Domini: jugum enim ejus suave est et onus ejus leve (De ordin. Presbyt.). — Signum Domini per hanc stolam turpiter abjecisti, ideoque ipsam a te amovemus, quem inhabilem reddimus ad omne sacerdotale officium exercendum (Degrad. ab ordin. Presbyt.). When vesting for Mass, the priest puts on the stole, saying: “Give me anew, O Lord, the robe of immortality, which I have lost by the prevarication of our first parent, and although I am unworthy to approach Thy Holy Mysteries, may I yet merit eternal joy.”¹⁹⁷197Redde mihi, Domine, stolam immortalitatis, quam perdidi in praevaricatione primi parentis: et quamvis indignus accedo ad tuum sacrum mysterium, merear tamen gaudium sempiternum (Miss. Rom.).

In comparing the aforesaid texts, we find that the stole has a twofold, a threefold meaning. Inasmuch as it is placed around the neck and rests on the nape of the neck, it symbolizes the yoke and the burden of the service of the sanctuary;¹⁹⁸198Deinde (sacerdos) circumdat collum suum stola, quae et orarium dicitur, per quam obedientia Evangelii intellegitur. Evangelium quippe est suave Domini jugum, obedientia vero lorum; quasi ergo sacerdos ad jugum Christi loris ligatur, dum collum ejus stola circumdatur (Honor. Augustod. Gemma anim. l. 1, c. 204). — Orarium, i. e. stola, dicitur eo quod oratoribus, i. e. praedicatoribus concedatur. Admonet illum, qui illo induitur, ut memor sit, sub jugo Christi, quod leve et suave est, se esse constitutum (Pseudo-Alcuin. De divin. offic. c. 39). — The Fourth Synod of Toledo (633) remarks, that the deacon must wear the Orarium on the left shoulder, propterea quod orat, i. e. praedicat. inasmuch as with the ancients it was a special garment of honor, and inasmuch as it is now with us a sacred ornament, the stole represents also the robe of innocence¹⁹⁹199Per stolam quoque innocentia exprimitur, quae in primo homine amissa, per vitulum saginatum occisum recipitur. Beati qui hanc stolam a criminum labe custodiunt vel maculatam lacrimis lavant, quia illorum potestas est in ligno vitae,—sc. in Christo amissam gloriam possidebunt (Honor. Augustod. l. c., c. 205). — The stole is also considered as a symbol of innocence at the degradation of deacons: Stolam candidam, quam acceperas immaculatam in conspectu Domini perferendam, qui non sic cognito mysterio exemplum conversationis tuae fidelibus praebuisti, ut plebs dicata Christi nomine posset exinde imitationem acquirere, juste a te amovemus, omne diaconatus officium tibi prohibentes. required for the worthy administration of the spiritual office, as well as that garment of glory with which the good and faithful servant will be clothed by the Lord as an eternal reward.²⁰⁰200Stola, praesertim candida et splendida, in Scriptura symbolum est gloriae, immortalitatis ac felicitatis (Cornel. a Lapide in Apocal. 6, 11).

In the first place, the stole is a symbol of the arduous, but at the same time blessed and honorable, ministry exercised in the sanctuary of the Lord. The ecclesiastical administration is a duty to which the ordained members of the hierarchy should perseveringly p. 296devote themselves in order to promote the honor of God and the welfare of the faithful. This service of the Lord, this busy life spent in the care of souls, is a yoke and a burden: a burden which would be terrible for the shoulders of angels even, a burden from which the very saints fled in dread and terror. The faithful performance of the pastoral office, the preaching of the word of God, the celebration and dispensation of the mysteries of salvation, the preservation of discipline and good morals in congregations, the training and direction of the faithful, especially of youth, in the way of salvation, the care of the poor and sick, the preventing or suppression of scandals and dangers from the flock entrusted to one’s care costs much labor and hardship, many sufferings and combats, many exertions and sacrifices (jugum Domini). The yoke, that is, the office of bishop and of priest, is heavier than the ministry of the deacon, therefore, they wear the stole on both shoulders. — But the sacerdotal vocation, with all the labors and responsibilities attaching to the life of a priest, is lightened and sweetened by the mighty grace of the Lord (jugum ejus est suave et onus ejus leve; potens enim est Deus, ut augeat tibi gratiam suam). Whom the Lord chooses as His servant, him He helps to carry the burden; for a precious, a full, an overflowing measure of heavenly grace and consolation, the great and countless graces of his calling, the Lord has in reserve for the priest. He that has a vocation, delights in and loves the duties of his ministry; therefore, it is not an oppressive weight for him, but a light and sweet burden, which he joyfully carries, though it may require on his part much bodily exertion and many spiritual combats. From the bottom of his heart he prays with the Psalmist: “Better, O Lord, is one day in Thy courts above thousands” in the world; “rather would I” be “an abject” unknown and forgotten in the world, than amid abundance and honors “dwell in the tabernacles of sinners.” The sufferings of the priest are great, but equally great, yea, far greater, are his joys. For as the good priest “abounds in the sufferings of Christ, so also through Christ does his comfort abound.” — “I am filled with comfort; I exceedingly abound in all my tribulation,” he says with the Apostle of the Gentiles. — The service of Christ and of His Church is not only the greatest joy, but also the highest honor and distinction for the priest. The service of the altar is the most sublime office, it is the summit and crown of all dignities upon earth. Deo servire regnare est—“To serve God is to reign” in the noblest sense of the word; therefore, the glorious martyr St. Agatha said to the heathen tyrant: “The service of Christ is the highest nobility and consummate freedom”—Summa ingenuitas ista est, in qua servitus Christi comprobatur. Truly, it is sweet to serve God, despising the world! “It is a great honor, a great glory to serve Thee, O Lord, and to despise all things for Thee. For they who willingly subject themselves to Thy most holy service, shall have a great grace. They shall find the most sweet consolation of the Holy Ghost, who for love of Thee have cast away all carnal delight. p. 297They shall gain great freedom of mind, who for Thy name enter upon the narrow way and neglect all worldly care. O pleasant and delightful service of God, which makes a man truly free and holy! O sacred state of religious bondage, which makes men equal to angels, pleasing to God, terrible to the devils, and commendable to all the faithful! O service worthy to be embraced and always to be wished for, which leads to the supreme good and procures a joy that will never end!” (Imit. of Christ.)

The stole reminds us also of the garment of sanctity,²⁰¹201The stola prima (Luke 15, 22), that is, the best and most distinguished garment which the father put on his prodigal son, is a figure of sanctifying grace. in which the priest should serve God and be a shining light to men;—and also of the garment of glory which will eventually be his in reward of his fidelity in the service of God.²⁰²202Sacerdos Stolam induens, detersa vitiorum labe, innocentiae decorem sibi adesse debere praedicat, quo idoneus efficiatur tam sublimi mysterio rite perficiendo, ut deinde inveniatur dignus aeternae gloriae stola indui cum Sanctis illis, qui visi sunt ante thronum Dei stare amicti stolis albis, cujus stolae gloriosae demum obtinendae haec stola sacerdotalis symbolum est atque nota (Clichtoveus, Elucidator. ecclesiastic. l. 3, n. 13). For both—the garment of grace as well as that of glory—constitute the robe of immortality (stola immortalitatis), which Adam forfeited for himself and his descendants, but which now, on account of the blood and merits of Christ, will be restored by God to His humble, obedient servants. Though the priest be frail and wretched, the grace of God renders him capable and worthy of meriting the reward of eternal happiness in the service of the altar and in dispensing the mysteries of Christ. How pure and enlarged must be the heart, how blameless and unselfish the life of the priest, who is placed so high on the candlestick, that he may serve as a model of all that is good, forcibly combat vice and eloquently proclaim the praises of virtue! To feed the entrusted flock by good example and to draw them to Christ, is for him a duty of his state and office.²⁰³203Abundet in eo totius forma virtutis, auctoritas modesta, pudor constans, innocentiae puritas et spiritualis observantia disciplinae. In moribus ejus praecepta tua fulgeant, ut suae castitatis exemplo imitationem sanctam plebs acquirat (Pontif. Rom. De ordin. Diacon.). — Sit odor vitae tuae delectamentum Ecclesiae Christi, ut praedicatione atque exemplo aedifices domum, id est, familiam Dei (Pontif. Rom. De ordin. Presbyt.). To him the admonition of the Apostle applies: “Be thou an example of the faithful, in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in chastity,”²⁰⁴204Exemplum est fidelium in verbo, in conversatione, in caritate, in fide, in castitate (1 Tim. 4, 12). and “in all things show thyself an example of good works.”²⁰⁵205In omnibus teipsum praebe exemplum bonorum operum (Tit. 2, 7). The priest will exercise his sublime and perilous office with so much the greater success and blessings, the more virtuous he is, the more perfectly he walks before and leads the faithful in the way of holiness. — If he carefully preserves until death the robe of grace and holiness, which he lost p. 298through Adam, but triumphantly regained through Christ, it will be to him a pledge of a blessed and glorious immortality. Great, greater than words can tell, is the reward laid up in heaven for the zealous shepherd of souls. When Christ, the Prince of Pastors, shall appear in glory, the good priest “shall receive a never-fading crown of righteousness” (1 Peter 5, 4). For “then they that are enlightened shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that instruct many to justice, as stars for all eternity.” From the highest heavens our glorified Saviour addresses to the zealous priest in the midst of his sufferings and labors these consoling words: “I know thy works and thy labor and thy patience and how thou canst not bear them that are evil . . . and hast not fainted. — Because thou hast kept the word of thy patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation. . . . Behold, I come quickly, hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more, and I will write upon him the name of my God. — I know thy tribulation and thy poverty, but thou art rich. . . . Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. . . . Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.” (Apoc. 2, 3; 3, 10–11; 2, 9–10).

f) The principal vestment of the celebrant is the chasuble (casula, planeta).²⁰⁶206This vestment had its origin in the Roman paenula (Greek, φαινόλης, φελόνης). It was a circular, closed over-garment, worn especially when travelling, as well as in the city during cold and inclement weather. In the first ten centuries after Christ it is frequently mentioned by the name of casula and planeta as a garment of ordinary life. These two names designate the original use of the chasuble: casula (= a small hut, from casa, a little house) refers to its size and width,—planeta, m. (πλανήτης = sidus errans, stella erratica, wandering star) to its moveableness. — From the wide, flowing appearance of this garment two historic usages are explained, which are still prescribed by the rubrics: the way and mode of taking off during divine service the planeta plicata, and the custom at the Elevation (cum ss. Sacramentum elevatur—Cerem. Episc. l. 1, c. 9, n. 5;—l. 2, c. 8, n. 69) of raising up a little the edge of the chasuble. Originally the chasuble was an outer garment which fell about the priest and completely enveloped him. The chasuble had an opening in the middle by which it was allowed to come down on the shoulders. As these cloak- and bell-shaped²⁰⁷207Septimum sacerdotale indumentum est, quod casulam vocant; dicta est autem per diminutionem a casa, eo quod totum hominem tegat quasi minor casa, hanc Graeci planetam, πλανήτην, vocant (because the border, so to speak, trails about). Haec supremum omnium indumentorum est, et cetera omnia interius per suum munimen tegit et servat (Raban. Maur. De Instit. Cleric. l. 1, c. 21). chasubles had much about them which was inconvenient, they began in the eleventh century to shorten or open them at both sides for a freer use of the arms, and this alteration gave the form of the so-called Gothic chasubles, which were still common in the sixteenth century. Although from this period more and more was cut away from the chasuble, it yet remained up to the eighteenth century p. 299tolerably long and full of folds, but alas! since that time the vestment has been replaced by a chasuble of still shorter and less graceful pattern.²⁰⁸208Cf. Archiv für christliche Kunst, Jahrg. 1888 und 1891.

The symbolical meaning of the chasuble may be known from the formula of ordination and from the Missal. When the bishop places the folded chasuble on the back of the newly ordained priest, he says: “Receive the priestly garment, by which love is understood; for God is powerful to increase in you charity and a perfect work.”²⁰⁹209Accipe vestem sacerdotalem, per quam caritas intelligitur: potens est enim Deus, ut augeat tibi caritatem et opus perfectum (Pontif. Rom. De ordin. Presbyt.). — Veste sacerdotali caritatem signante te merito exspoliamus, quia ipsam et omnem innocentiam exuisti (Pontif. Rom. Degrad. ab ordin. Presbyt.). Afterward, when fully unfolding the chasuble, he says: “With the garment of innocence may the Lord clothe thee.”²¹⁰210Stola innocentiae induat te Dominus (Pontif. Rom. De ordin. Presbyt.). — When putting on the vestment, the priest says: “O Lord, Thou who hast said: ‘My yoke is sweet and My burden light,’ grant that I may carry this yoke and burden in such a manner as to obtain Thy grace.”²¹¹211Domine, qui dixisti: Jugum meum suave est, et onus meum leve: fac, ut istud portare sic valeam, quod consequar tuam gratiam (Miss. Rom.).

As the chasuble is the principal vestment of the priest,²¹²212Although the chasuble was formerly a common robe (generale indumentum [Amal.] — communis vestis [Ivo Carnot.]) of the clerics, still for many centuries it has been regarded in a special sense as vestis sacerdotalis (Pontif. Rom.), and as a vestment intended exclusively for the Holy Sacrifice, since the priest at his ordination is solemnly invested therewith, and it is to be worn only at the altar. it should be sufficiently wide and large to cover and protect all his other apparel; it should, moreover, be made of precious material and be suitably ornamented, for thereby it is fitted symbolically to express holy love.²¹³213Casula, quae ultima est vestium magisque splendida ac pretiosa et reliquas tegit, significat virtutem caritatis, quae reliquis virtutibus est excelsior, quibus et honorem affert, eas defendit ac protegit, comitando eas in earum actionibus, ut perfectae sint. “Caritas enim, ut ait Apostolus (1 Cor. 13, 7), omnia credit, omnia sperat, omnia sustinet,” et ad omnia valet, ita ut sine ea res omnes sint imperfectae, cum ea autem suam omnes habeant perfectionem (De Ponte l. c. § 4). Divine love, or charity, is the most excellent, the first, the greatest and the most precious of all the virtues. As a queen she reigns supreme over all the other virtues by her sublimity, dignity and majesty. She is the mother, the soul and the life of the remaining virtues, to which she imparts true value and higher consecration; for without it no virtue and no virtuous deed is meritorious for heaven and eternity. All other gifts and privileges are of no avail to man, if this one—namely, charity—be wanting (1 Cor. 13, 1–4). Charity renders fruitful, ennobles, beautifies and transforms the entire religious and moral life of man. “Charity never falleth away”—Caritas nunquam excidit (1 Cor. 13, 8). Faith gives place to vision, hope is absorbed in possession and enjoyment, p. 300love alone remains, but in its highest perfection and transformation.²¹⁴214Caritas non evacuatur per gloriae perfectionem, sed eadem numero manet (S. Thom. 1, 2, q. 67, a. 6). Charity is the bond of perfection: it includes all the virtues, it is full of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience (Col. 3, 12–14), it is kind, it beareth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things (1 Cor. 13, 4–7).

The two parts of the vestment may more particularly signify the love of God and the neighbor, which are one and the same virtue. The priest is the representative of the love of Christ—vicarius amoris Christi. Magnanimous, self-sacrificing, self-forgetting charity constitutes the good shepherd. Tender and strong love is the very soul of apostolic labors, the very nerve-centre of all priestly activity. Ardent love of Christ and of the neighbor is the source of zeal for souls.²¹⁵215Dicendum, quod zelus ex intensione amoris provenit (S. Thom. 1, 2, q. 28, a. 4). The zealous priest lives entirely for his neighbor, because he belongs entirely to the Crucified. Totus est proximi, quia totus est Crucifixi. To serve God and to sacrifice one’s self for God, to do good to one’s neighbor and to devote one’s self to him—such is the vocation of the priest. To become a holocaust of love in the service of God and for the salvation of men is assuredly difficult and painful to nature; therefore, the genuine life of a priest is and ever will be a yoke and a burden.²¹⁶216Because the vestment also covered the shoulders, it answered (like the stole) as a symbol of the jugum Domini—and as such was often ornamented with the cross, either on the back or in front, or (like the so-called Borromeo-chasuble) both in front and at the back at the same time. But divine grace and love help to make this yoke easy and this burden light.²¹⁷217Ultimum indumentum est casula seu planeta, quae ex omnium sententia caritatem significat, quae cunctis virtutibus supereminet, easque protegit et illustrat. . . . Tamen ut constat ex oratione quae dicitur, cum casula induitur, etiam jugum Domini significat, sed diversa fortasse ratione; nam stola significat jugum Christi, planeta jugum amoris: illa patientiam et fortitudinem, quae ad jugum illud ferendum necessaria est, haec vero suavitatem et dulcedinem jugi hujus, quae ex caritate provenit, significat (Suarez l. c. n. 4). Love is something great; it is, in fact, the only great good, for love alone can make every burden light and accepts with equanimity all the vicissitudes of life. It alone carries every burden without being burdened; it alone makes all that is bitter sweet and pleasant to the taste.²¹⁸218Omnia fiunt facilia caritati, cui uni Christi sarcina levis est (Matth. 11, 30)—aut ea una est sarcina ipsa quae levis est. Secundum hoc dictum est: “Et praecepta ejus gravia non sunt” (1 Joann. 5, 3), ut cui gravia sunt, consideret, non potuisse divinitus dici “gravia non sunt,” nisi quia potest esse cordis affectus cui gravia non sunt, et petat quo destituitur, ut impleat quod jubetur (S. Aug. De natura et gratia c. 69, n. 83). Amor leve facit omne onerosum, et omne amarum dulce efficit. He that loves God flies to his end, hastens forward with a joyful heart, for he is free and does not allow himself to be kept back by p. 301anything whatever. Love feels no burden, it regards no difficulty. By the unction of grace crosses lose their severity and thorns their points. To the priest great and efficacious graces are abundantly imparted by God, who increases His love in His servant and (through love) the perfect work (potens est enim Deus, ut augeat tibi caritatem et opus perfectum). Now, in order to make his ministry pleasing to God and to obtain fulness of grace, he must bear the yoke and burden of the Lord with love, that is, if not with sweet facility, at least with patience and perseverance. He implores the divine assistance to this effect, when putting on the chasuble before Mass (fac, ut istud—sc. jugum et onus—portare sic valeam, quod consequar tuam gratiam). — The love of the neighbor, represented by the back of the chasuble, the priest must exercise chiefly in administering the Sacrament of Penance; but in order to purify others from sin and reconcile them with God, he should be pure himself, confirmed in virtue and by his holiness of life be pleasing to God. Therefore, at the ordination the bishop, after imparting to him the power of forgiving sins, and when unfolding the chasuble until then folded on his back, prays that the Lord may clothe him with the garment of innocence and purity (Stola innocentiae induat te Dominus).

The chasuble is worn during the Sacrifice of the Mass: on the altar is the furnace of celestial love, there it is that the Lord enkindles the divine fire upon earth, that at least some sparks of divine love may penetrate our cold hearts and inflame them with its ardor. Here it was that the heart of a St. Philip Neri glowed so strongly, that he frequently broke out into the words: “If Thou, O God, who art so loving and so amiable, wouldst be loved by us, why then didst Thou give us but one heart, and that one so small?” Here in the furnace of love the priest should daily dip his whole life, his actions and sufferings, his hopes and struggles, that they all may be borne and animated by the spirit of charity. Then will he exclaim with St. Francis de Sales: “O God, what a sweet and honorable labor for me it is to serve souls!”

The color of the vestment varies according to the times; for love impels to the performance of manifold acts and affections of virtue.²¹⁹219Quemadmodum casula inter reliqua ornamenta singularem exigit colorem, unum ex quinque juxta diversitatem temporis . . . ita caritas varios induit affectus, nunc laetitiae et gaudii ob Dei magnalia, et gratitudinis propter ejus beneficia; nunc patientiae et fortitudinis, ut se ad martyria magnosque labores offerat; nunc heroicos exercet actus spei, tum cum orat, tum cum egregium aliquod facinus aggreditur aut se in aliqua videt pressura constitutam; nunc exercet actus fidei, ex se quidem obscuros, sed illustratos amore supplente cognitionis defectum; ac denique affectus exercet tristitiae et fletus propter sua peccata et miserias aut etiam aliena, aut propter adversa, quae ejus dilectus est in passione perpessus, aut propter exsilium, quo detinetur, optans illum in sua gloria videre. Hac affectuum varietate potest ac merito debet exornare se sacerdos diversis temporibus, ut suum digne offerat sacrificium (De Ponte l. c.). It is full of invention and, as far as possible, it endeavors p. 302to have one become all to all, to save all and gain them to Christ (1 Cor. 9, 22); it rejoices with them that rejoice and weeps with them that weep (Rom. 12, 15).

4. The priest ascends the altar to perform by offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice the most divine and sublime function, to accomplish the grandest and most awful mystery, to exercise in the most perfect manner the office of mediator between God and man, to give to God, as a representative of Christ and a servant of the Church, the greatest glory, as well as to procure for man the most abundant blessings. The sacred vestments with which he is then attired cause him to appear exteriorly before the eyes of all in all his dignity, in his sublime and divine calling. At the same time the precious and mystical vestments admonish him, with what great virtues his soul should be adorned, with what heavenly thoughts, sentiments and affections his heart should be possessed, how far he should soar by his holiness above the faithful, in order that he may as worthily as possible offer the Divine Victim to the Most High.²²⁰220Omnis ornatus exterior sacerdotum significat, qualis debeat interior esse ejus ornatus, quamque prae populo eminere et effulgere eum oporteat (Cornel. a Lapide in Exod. 28, 43). — Vestes, quibus corpus exterius decoratur, sunt virtutes, quibus interius homo perornatur (Honor. Augustod. Gemma anim. l. 1, c. 198). This spiritual adornment should never be wanting to the priest at the altar, in order that his interior and exterior may harmonize, please God and edify men.²²¹221En quantarum virtutum vestis ipsa sacerdotalis indicium est! Quam dives igitur erit, quam pulcher, quam splendidus, quam gratus et acceptus oculis divinae majestatis, si hac adornatus panoplia sacerdos rem divinam acturus ad altare accedit! Dum antistes mysticas vestes benedicit, eas inter orandum appellat “insignia sacerdotalis gloriae” . . . Licet ad reverentiam divinis mysteriis sacrificioque simul et sacerdotio conciliandam voluerit Deus, ut tanto cum externi etiam ornatus decore procedat sacerdos ad coelestis muneris dispensationem, tamen sacer hic apparatus, ornatus monimentum est, panopliae scil. virtutum, quibus altari se sistens sacerdos praeditus esse debet: hoc ejus verum decus est, honor singularis, perfecta gloria et perennis corona (Du Saussay P. 1, l. 6, c. 15). “Take heed to thyself, and see what kind of ministry has been delivered to thee by the imposition of the bishop’s hands. Lo! thou art made a priest, and art consecrated to say Mass: see now, that in due time thou faithfully and devoutly offer up sacrifice to God, and that thou behave thyself in such manner as to be without reproof. Thou hast not lightened thy burthen, but art now bound with a stricter band of discipline, and art obliged to a greater perfection of sanctity. The priest ought to be adorned with all virtues, and to give example of a good life to others. His conversation should not be with the vulgar and common ways of men, but with the angels in heaven, or with perfect men upon earth. The priest clad in his sacred vestments is Christ’s vice-gerent, to pray to God for himself and for all the people, in a suppliant and humble manner. He has before him and behind him the sign of the Cross of the Lord, that he may always remember the passion of Christ. He bears the cross before him in his vestment, that he may diligently behold the footsteps of Christ, and fervently endeavor to follow them. “He is marked with a cross behind, that he mildly suffer, for God’s sake, whatsoever adversities may befall him from others. He wears the cross before him, that he may bewail his own sins; and behind him, that through compassion he may lament the sins of others, and know that he is placed, as it were, a mediator between God and the sinner. Neither ought he to cease from prayer and the holy oblation, till he be favored with the grace and mercy which he implores. When the priest celebrates, he honors God, he rejoices the angels, he edifies the Church, he helps the living, he obtains rest for the dead, and makes himself partaker of all that is good.” (Imit. of Christ, l. 4, c. 5).