Be warned. This post may be more explicit than polite. But it really needs to be said.

Dear Father,

If you refuse to wear God’s cincture, you will wear the other one.

No priest goes uncinctured, no matter what he may think.

There is always one waiting to tie him up quickly, given the invitation.

What is the invitation? One such invitation is given by a priest’s deliberately leaving off part of his vesting, the cincture, and thus leaving off one of the specific protections of his vocation, the related prayers and his promises to God.

The current issue

Last October, I posted a lament: “Whatever happened to full vesting?”

At the time, the complaint was more about the lack of obedience among some priests, and about noticing that sloppy vesting often accompanies sloppy celebration of the Mass. Only dimly was I aware of the larger issue, one of much greater concern, which now has come to recognition due to the ramifications of the recent sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.

Bur, first, for those who don’t know, let us review a particular element of vesting. For centuries, the vestments worn by a Catholic priest at Mass have included the cincture, a rope-like device, usually white, tied at the waist. After donning an amice and alb, the cincture is tied. For more information on the requirements, please see Vatican text and footnotes below. Just a little reading of the Old Testament, Leviticus in particular, will shed light on how important vesting is to God. After all, He personally designed what he wanted those priests to wear.

Each vestment worn by the priest at Mass has its own symbolism, and a prayer specified to be said while vesting.  When the priest ties the cincture he prays for sexual purity: “….Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and quench in my heart the fire of concupiscence, that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide in me.” Or, in Latin: “Praecinge me, Domine, cingulo puritatis, et exstingue in lumbis meis humorem libidinis; ut maneat inme virtus continentia et castitatis.”  The priest, about to bring the Body and Blood of the Son of God to the altar, prays for the virtue of continence and chastity.

Concerns:

Now, let’s be practical. Does a mother want her son to be an altar boy to a priest who refuses to wear the symbol of sexual purity? Should a parishioner accept advice from a priest who can’t obey the Church? Should a parish put financial resources into the hands of a priest who seems to flaunt his disinterest in keeping his ordination promises? The answers are easy.

Beyond the immediate warning to the parish, one must ask “WHY” doesn’t a priest deeply desire to invoke the prayer for purity, unless he is advertising that in some way he is sexually available. Regarding the disordered subculture of homosexuality, can one not ask if there is some kind of signal being given? In this time of such gross sexual corruption, reported from seminarians to Cardinals, which ultimately will have great cost to the Church, its patrimony and the souls of many members, what priest can afford to visibly denigrate the public perception of his faithfulness to his promise of celibacy?  To whom is he sending a message by his disobedience?  To be even more frank, for whose attention is he trolling?

In a different arena, does an insurance company continue to offer insurance to priest defendants against future accusations of sexual abuse if those defendants have a history of refusing to wear the Church’s symbol of sexual purity? Plaintiff attorneys would have a field day against such defendants in a court of law.  It is easy to imagine a one-act Kafkaesque play on the antics of such cross-examination.

Action:

Personally, I have walked away from attending any further Masses with a priest who regularly wears only the vestments of uncintured alb and free flowing stole (with some rather strange colors thereon). His look reminds me of the Protestant women ministers who dress to make a statement of sorts. So, if one has a parish priest regularly vesting poorly for the Lord, accompanied by an unknown, even mysterious, meaning behind his neglect, we can’t say we haven’t been warned. And, especially, parents should look for such signs as a caution regarding their trust.

There is more to say about cinctures, which I will probably do in a future post. But for now, perhaps, some can’t bear very much more on this issue. Pray for our priests, all of them.

Additional Information: Liturgical Vestments and Vesting Prayers:

The Vatican Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff states the requirements in paragraph 4, and in FOOTNOTES 4 and 5 regarding possible exceptions:

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