The Irish standard., 1915-06-05
MEANING OF THE VESTMENTS

The vestments worn by the priest
at Mass are as follows, in the order
In which he puts them on: The amice,
the alb, the cincture, the maniple,
the stole and the chasuble. At GER
tain other services he may wear the
cope, the humeral veil and the sur
plice. Each Of these has its own his.
tory and its own symbolic meaning,
which is expressed in the prayer
which accompanies the putting on of
each vestment. We shall say few
words about each.
The Amlce.
When priest begins to west" for
Mass he first puts on an amice, resting
it for moment on the head and then
fastening 1t upon the shoulders. This
is an oblong piece of white linen, large
enough to cover the shoulders, with
strings attached, whereby it is held in
place-the strings being crossed in
front, passed around the body and
brought again to the front, where they
are tied. It has been worn by priests
since about the year 800. It takes it's
name from the Latin "amictus,"
wrapper. 1t was formerly worn COW
ering the head, and certain religious
orders still use it in this manner un.
til the beginning of Mass; any Of our
readers who have assisted at Mass
celebrated by a Dominican Father will
remember that the priest approaches
the altar with his amice arranged on
his head like close-itting cap, and
allowed it to fall back when about to
begin the opening prayers.
Many symbolical meanings are at
tached to it by spiritual writer's; but
the most appropriate of these is that
which is expressed in the prayer re-
cited when it is put on, in which it is
called "the helmet of salvation" by
which the priest like warrior going
into battle, protects himself against
the assaults of Satan.
The Alb.
The long linen gown worn by the
priest is called the alb, from the
Latin "alba," white garment. When
he puts it on he prays: Make me
white, o Lord, and cleanse my heart;
that, being made white in the Blood
of the Lamb, may partake of eternal
joys"
It is survival of the long gown
Of the Romans and Greeks, worn under
the mantle or cloak. In the early CEN
turtles of the Church it was used by
clerics as part of their ordinary
dress. In those days it was some
times made of silk, ornamented with
gold; but it is now, by church law, al
ways made Of linen; the lower part is
often made Of lace, though this is by
no means necessary, and is rather
tolerated than approved.
The meaning of this vestment is
well shown by the above prayer. It
symbolizes the purity, both Of soul and
body, that the priest should have when
he offers the spotless Sacrifice of the
Lamb of God to the Eternal Father.
The cIncture.
This is the proper name of the
girdle worn by the priest around his
waist to bind the alb closely to the
body. It is made of braided linen, or
sometimes of wool, and is usually or
namented with tassels. In some coun-
tries it is of the same color as the
vestments of the Mass, but with us it
Is generally white. II denotes con-
thence, the repression of carnal de-
sires, as is shown by the prayer re-
cited when it is put on: "Gird me, o
Lord, with the girdle Ct purity and ex-
tinguish in me all concupiscence, that
the virtue of confluence and chastity
may remain in me"
| The Man;pte.
We now come to the vestments
which vary in color from day to day.
according to the Mass which is ceie-
brated. The first Of these is the
maniple, an ornamental vestment
which hangs from the left arm below
The elbow. 1t was originally nothing
but a handkerchief, and there is no
mention of its having been considered
part Of the vestments until about the
eighth century. After a time it was
made ornamental and of colored ms
terial, to harmonize with the other
! vestments, and an appropriate prayer
was assigned for it, which we'll ex-
plains its mystical meaning: MAY I
merit, o Lord, to bear the maniple
of weeping and Of sorrow, that may
receive with Joy the reward of TOLL
BY some it is considered a symbol