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Thursday, June 23, 2011

"FIDDLEBACK VESTMENTS, LACE AND THE RAGE OF LITURGICAL PROGRESSIVES

UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!: The Holy Father is now in procession from St. John Lateran to St. Mary Major. We conservative southerners truly enjoy that the Holy Father is riding with our Eucharistic Lord in the back of a nicely decorated Chevrolet Pick-up truck! It goes very well with the lace! Liberals who dislike the south may have a fit with our Holy Father riding in the back of a Chevy pick-up, but I am thoroughly enjoying it and remember well my childhood when we were allowed to ride in the back of these without fear of being taken away from our parents. We didn't wear sit belts either inside our trucks to boot!


I'm watching on the internet (mostly listening) to Pope Benedict's Corpus Christi Mass. For the most part it is in Italian although the Kyrie was in Greek and the Gloria, Credo and Sanctus in Latin.

The Holy Father is wearing a Roman style chasuble also known as a fiddle-back vestment with his normal lace alb. These two vestments absolutely drive sterile progressives wild. I wonder why?

Again, the Holy Father prayed the Opening Collect and Prayer over the Gifts in Italian, however, the preface dialogue, the preface itself as well as the Eucharistic Prayer were prayed in Latin. He chose Eucharistic Prayer II, the shortest. This is now his custom even when he goes to Italian parishes and there is no international congregation. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come for the universal celebration of the Mass? I'm not clairvoyant, but maybe I am as you know.

16 comments:

Templar said...

A man who is comfortable in his own skin, mature and confident in his own sexual nature, never has a problem with lace albs and the like (or Cassocks for that matter).

What does that tell us about so called Liberals? That they're anything but Liberal usually.

For me this falls into the broad category of anything which helps strengthen Catholic Identity can only be good, and should be encouraged.

Tatter said...

And now "lace" is a part of "Catholic identity?

Holy Moly......

Templar said...

No not lace tatter...clerical garb. And that garb should be the best we can provide, thats where the lace comes in. Sometimes I can swear people are being purposely obtuse.

Gene said...

Tatter, Hey, lace can be cool! The Three Musketeers wore it, and so did the Count of Monte Cristo. Gold lace is highly coveted in the military, and then there is Chantilly lace that girls sometimes wear (Christ have Mercy). Mantilla are lace, and sometimes I sit my glass of single malt scotch on a lace doilly (sp). Who was Holy Moly, anyway?

Anonymous said...

I may be sterile (don't know) but I am not a progressive. A Latin High Mass suits me just fine.

But I dislike fiddleback chasubles because they look like over decorated sandwich boards. Got no problem with rich vestments, but they have to have some flow, some dignity. My aesthetic judgment. Nothing more to it.

And I hate lace. Regardless of how manly the wearer either is or imagines himself to be, in this time and place, it LOOKS fussy and femmy. Like a walking doily. John Wayne could wear it and it would still look unmanly to me.

Cassocks, no problem.

Tatter said...

Temp - So your contention is that a surplice or cassock trimmed in lace is "the best we can provide."

It seems to me that this is merely a statement of personal preference. And allowing "personal preference" in liturgy is what Fr AJM and others here have railed against from the beginning.

Gene said...

Anon, how about lace on women? Do you like it then?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

There are wide parameters of what is allowed in either form of the Liturgy in terms of vesture including austere albs and surplices as well as the lacy type. I see the lacy type as more influenced by European sensibilities than American and being of European ancestry, Italian in particular, I'm going to glory in my culture and not denigrate it but I like Pope John Paul's austerity in vesture as pope,although Polish sensibilities would allow for lacy things too.
I prefer the fuller cut chasubles but have a fiddleback one and will wear it when it is appropriate. I prefer polyester albs that have Velcro and zippers and a built in "cinture" and I'll defend my right to wear it and without an amice. But I'll defend the one who wants all the stuff with a cassock underneath. I'm a liberal!!!!!

Anonymous said...

OH! I was wrong, it seems! A preference for lace NOW depends on your ethnic/national origins!

WAIT! Fr AJM is Italian in "sensibility" but he prefers - PREFERS - polyestyer albs.

Let us pray . . . Emilio Pucci, ora pro nobis! Nino Cerruti, ora pro nobis! Salvatore Ferregamo, o.p.n. Giorgio Armani, o.p.n. etc etc etc!

Gene said...

Is not the wearing of polyester, at the very least,a venial sin?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

only a synthetic venial sin!

Anonymous said...

pin - do you like Highland or Lowland single malts? My favourite is Auchentoshan, a lowland variety. Light, not "peaty" or smoky...

Is there a "lace-prefernce" gene I wonder...?

Anonymous said...

I suppose that 'back in the day' the vestments were duded up in the tradition of the times and location. They became 'traditional' over time.

As Southerners you are likely aware of the Zouaves of the War Between the States and their elaborate uniforms. I understand they were often made of wool. Seems like Frajm could find some summer weight wool with a bit of a flare to it that would fit the bill. I imagine there is a eastern rite somewhere that sports a fez....

rcg

Gene said...

Anon, I like the stuff with sticks in it...Lagavulin is my favorite, but you have to mortgage the house to buy it now. I mostly drink MaCallan now. If I want something light, I drink Dalwhinnie.

A lace preference gene...well, I was genetically drawn to Kate Beckinsale when she appeared at the door in a slip in "Pearl Harbor." Now, since this is Fr.'s blog, he will be waiting impatiently for me at Confession...

qwikness said...

Reckon he'll break out the Tiara? I'm not clairvoyant but I would say - no way. I kind of wish he would just to see what folks would say...

Anonymous said...

What will people say? That's an easy one, requiring no clairvoyance.

Conehead.