| Defending Truth and Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church |
By Shawn Tribe
From The New Liturgical Movement website
Ceremonial wear, whether sacred or secular, is meant to communicate symbols and deeper meanings; to inspire and to engage, drawing people into the underpinning realities which they seek to symbolize. In this regard, vestments, not unlike…
An article by Matthew Alderman I ran across this morning on the New Liturgical Movement website:
Fr. Bartus, an avid reader of The New Liturgical Movement, sends along this item:
“Fr. Andrew Bartus, ordained in July as a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, has received an ordination gift of a set of exquisite white-and-gold Spanish-style vestments. Designed and gifted by Garry South, of Los Angeles, whose hobby for more than 25 years has been designing traditional vestments, the chasuble is modeled on the shape and ornamentation of a 19th century Spanish set.
“The set will be inaugurated at the Christmas Mass at Blessed John Henry Newman Catholic Church in Santa Ana, California, Fr. Bartus’s Ordinariate congregation that worships using the Anglican Use texts approved by the Vatican for former Anglicans that are received into the Catholic Church.
“South’s interest in vestment design was sparked when he converted from the Evangelical and Pentecostal tradition of his youth to the Episcopal Church, and lived for several years in… “
Read the full article here. And, see more pictures!
What is it about Ordinary Time and the emergence of ugly stoles from the back of the sacristy closet? There’s not much opportunity during Lent and Easter to be too “creative,” but all of a sudden when folks in the pews start showing up in shorts and message-blaring tee-shirts, some presiders (not to be outdone) pull out stoles of colors never specified for liturgical wear, ranging from Aunt Mabel’s knitted afghan scarf to collections of little faces suitable for singing “It’s a Small World After All.” But the ones which seem to be showing up more this season are variations on the rainbow theme, aka gay pride stoles which can be claimed to be an apolitical view from Noah’s Ark, if we didn’t know better. I have found my eyes so riveted on wild, almost psychedelic abstract shapes, that it was hard to concentrate on the homily with the stole screaming at me. What would it take for Father to simply be obedient to liturgical norms, and wear a green, red or white stole as prescribed in Ordinary Time, instead of making a political or fashion statement like a highschooler trying to wear a different outfit each day? Here are some of the more ghastly examples (from catalogues; not trying to embarrass any particular priest) which invite confusion with gay pride parades, but I’ve seen worse in DoR sanctuaries:
I think the last one (lower right) is a candidate for ugliest, since it is hard to distinguish it from the end stakes in a croquet game, but which one do you think is most obviously supporting the gay agenda?
For those of you out there that like to see traditional vestments…
At the Papal Mass for the Octave of Christmas, Pope Benedict and those concelebrating Mass all donned fiddleback chasubles and lace.
For more pictures, see NLM
The Bathory Chasuble, Esztergom Cathedral Treasury, Hungary, ca. 1500
Click on picture for a larger image
Here is an interesting example* of three-dimensional embroidery used for some chasubles in Hungary and Poland in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Architectural motifs -canopies, for example- were usually rendered in a precious color like gold or a contrasting texture of material or thread but here the canopies are actually three-dimensional, constructed in covered wood or papier mâché, and projecting out over the figure below. The figures are padded to strengthen the sculptural appearance of the design.
I can hear it now: “Is that something Jesus would wear?”
Well, I suppose it is approaching some kind of limit to appropriateness.
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Picture and information source:
*Pauline Johnstone, High Fashion in the Church, (Leeds, Maney Publishing, 2002 ) page 76; the place of Church vestments in the history of art from the 9th to the 19th century.
