The past two sessions of our Catholic Massterclass have approached the topic of vestments worn by bishops and priests during Holy Mass. I hope that was helpful for you to hear about them and learn their names. These bulletin articles may help you have an opportunity to go back and review at your leisure.

This week I’m going to attempt to tackle a daunting topic, keeping in the theme of dressing during Mass, which is what you are meant to wear during Mass. There are a few things we don’t particularly enjoy receiving instruction about and one of those things is our choice of clothing. In fact, I learned that this has been a topic addressed throughout history by various Catholic leaders. Some “hot topics” seem to always remain hot topics.

To begin, I want to be clear that there are no actual laws regarding how you are to dress when you come to Mass, except that you should be wearing clothes! 🙂 Local dioceses and/or parishes are allowed to implement policies and regulations for dress during Mass, but our diocese and parishes currently don’t have any such policies. Still, I think it’s worth our consideration to think about what we’re up to here. I’d like to propose some principles and invite you to consider how to dress according to those principles.

Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 22:1-14 - I’d invite you to read it - with the image of a banquet hosted by a king. People are invited to the banquet and make excuses for not attending, so the king invites anyone who wants to come. The scene ends with the king confronting a man who came to the banquet but was not dressed in a proper wedding garment. To be sure, there is symbolic meaning to this wedding garment, but there is also a reality that God expects us to be properly prepared to come to His banquet. On this side of Heaven, Mass is that banquet. It is the great feast where Jesus provides for us the best possible Food we can receive in the Holy Eucharist. We come to offer our worship, which is the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus, and then He feeds us with His Body and Blood. Incredible! Just like with the parable, the expectation is that we would be properly prepared for such a banquet. This includes above all our interior disposition - a spirit of reflection, repentance (maybe even going to Confession if we’ve committed a mortal sin), and awe - but it also includes our exterior disposition - dressing in such a way that we both know we’re attending something incredibly important and don’t want to draw attention toward ourselves. I attended a wedding recently and it seems everyone knew to dress better than they usually do and their dress revealed the dignity of the event. I’d invite you to consider whether you approach Mass with even more attention to the dignity of the event.

One little note: some of you grew up at a time when women had to wear some kind of head covering, and maybe others of us have seen a woman wearing a veil during Mass in recent times. Historically, the veil has been seen as a sign of modesty and humility for women in coming before the Lord. If you remember when I spoke about the veiling of the Ark of the Covenant and the other sacred articles of Israel’s worship, the people knew those holy, beautiful objects belonged to the Lord, so they veiled them to symbolize their beauty and glory. A woman wearing a veil is similar: reserving her beauty for the Lord. It is no longer a requirement, but I have noticed more and more women, especially young women, embracing this beautiful practice.

The first vestment the priest puts on is his alb and amice, which is the white base layer that goes over his normal clothing. Not every priest wears an amice, including me, because some albs are created differently. The Latin word albus means “white” and the alb has its origins in the Roman tunic and has been used in the liturgy since around the 4th century. It reminds the priest of the white garment given to him at his baptism, representing the purity of the soul post-baptism. The amice is a small white garment that goes around the neck area, similar to how a soldier wears chainmail as a base layer of his armor.

Around his waist the priest wears a cincture, which is a rope that acts as something of a belt, also dating back to the early centuries of the Church. It comes from the Latin word cingere, which means “to gird” or “to bind around”. It represents chastity and self-mastery. You might not notice the cincture because it is often hidden by the outer vestments.

Next is the stole, which is the slim garment worn around the neck. Again in the Roman Empire, officials wore long, scarflike garments. Catholic clergy started wearing them during liturgy as signs of ordination. Today it represents the authority and responsibility of the priesthood, an image of the yoke of Christ. Because it represents the authority of the priesthood, priests usually kiss the stole before and after they put it on.

An optional vestment is the maniple, which was required to use prior to 1967. Originally practical in purpose, it was used to wipe sweat from the brow of the priest. Over time, it developed to take on the symbolic meaning of the toil and suffering of ministry, and the tears of penance. It’s still an optional vestment, but it’s hardly ever worn outside of the Traditional Latin Mass.

Finally, over the top of everything is the chasuble, which is the big cloaklike vestment the priest (and bishop) wears. The Latin word casula means “little house”, which provides an image of the priest putting a little tent over himself, wrapped in the charity of Christ as he prepares for Mass.

As always, each vestment carries its own significance and meaning. Understanding the meaning helps us to enter into the liturgy in a deeper way. The priest acts in the person of Christ and the vestments help to reveal the different aspects of Christ’s role in our lives.

I’m excited for today’s Catholic Massterclass because we get to have a little show-and-tell. Last week I mentioned the vestment colors that the clergy wear during Mass and other liturgies. For the next two weeks I am going to focus on particular vestments, this week looking at the specific articles worn by bishops. It’s not very common to see a bishop during Mass, unless he comes for a Confirmation Mass or if you attend one of the bigger feast days at the Cathedral in Crookston. Still, there are some distinct articles worn by bishops that are helpful to understand for the next time you see one.

Starting at the top, the bishop wears two pieces of headgear that the priest doesn’t wear. The first of those is the miter, which is the tall pointy hat. The miter has its deepest origins in the Old Testament. The high priest was to wear a turban (sometimes translated as miter) to signify his office, which had a gold plate that read “Holy to the Lord” (Exodus 28:36-38). If you remember from previous homilies, Jesus Christ is the eternal high priest and all priests share in His high priesthood. Bishops share more fully in His high priesthood, so they are given more articles to emphasize this connection. The style of the bishop’s miter was influenced by the distinct headgear worn by Roman officials. The two points on the miter and two hanging bands symbolize the Old and New Testaments.

Underneath the miter is the zucchetto, which looks like a small skullcap. In the past, clergy received a tonsure—a ceremonial shaving of the crown of the head—as a visible sign of their consecration to God. The zucchetto originated as a means to keep their skulls warm in colder weather and protected from the sun in warmer weather. Over time it has become another symbol of the office the bishop occupies.

Moving down around the bishop’s neck is the pectoral cross, which is a cross he wears with a longer-than-usual chain. The cross rests near his heart and reminds the bishop to model his life on the Cross of Jesus Christ and to bear the burden of his office with that same charity of Jesus. The bishop of a diocese is responsible for every soul living in his diocese, Catholic or not, and this is a great burden to carry. It is his primary cross to bear.

Sliding down his right arm, we find on the bishop’s right hand an episcopal ring, which signifies the authority of his office. Romans in the Roman Empire wore rings as a sign of their authority and as their own personal seal. Since the Roman Catholic Church had its home base in Rome, bishops developed the practice of wearing rings also. There has been a custom throughout history to kiss the ring of the bishop as a way to honor his office and signify allegiance to his authority. Some people still choose to observe this practice today - when shaking the bishop’s hand, they will bow down to kiss his ring - not as personal admiration, but as a sign of reverence for the bishop’s apostolic office and the unity of the Church. The ring also symbolizes the bishop's fidelity to the Church, the Bride of Christ.

Finally, in the bishop’s left hand is his crosier, which is symbolic of his role as the chief shepherd of his diocese. Just as shepherds use a crosier to guide, organize, protect, and defend their flock, so the bishop carries a crosier to signify that he must do the same with the charity of Christ the Good Shepherd, who leads us beside restful waters (Ps 23) and lays down His life for His sheep (Jn 10:11).