Building the kingdom, one yellow chasuble at a time.
From a deacon…
QUAERITUR:
Does the kind, shape, color, and texture of vestments worn to celebrate the Mass really matter? Or, is it the person wearing the vestment is about building God’s Kingdom here on earth?
Wow… interesting.
I am reminded of John 12.
Jesus therefore, six days before the pasch, came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life. And they made him a supper there: and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that were at table with him. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said: Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein. Jesus therefore said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial. For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always.
Actually, the kind, shape, color, and texture of the vestment really doesn’t matter.
Nor does the person wearing the vestment matter.
The only thing that matters is Him. Everything else is contingent. There is one thing necessary (cf Luke 10: 41-42).
When, during Holy Mass, we are in attendance upon the one Who is necessary, then our feeble attempts to put forth our best foot become all-important.
Have you ever seen a child picking a bouquet of dandelions for his mother? He is careful to pick only the most beautiful ones, in full flower and not yet gone to seed. He meticulously finds the largest blossoms, arranges them carefully and presents them to the object of his affection proudly with a puffed-out chest and beaming smile.
They are worthless. Mere weeds that, under the best circumstances, will last for a few hours in a vase. Yet, they are the most precious things in the world because of the love and care that has gone into their selection. The boy gave his best to find the best possible dandelions for his mother.
Should we put less effort into our gift of worship to Almighty God?
So, yes, the vestments matter, and, no, they don’t matter at all.
Once Christianity was legalized and being Christian didn’t automatically subject one to suspicion, probable arrest and likely execution, we could be a bit more open about how we welcomed newcomers into the faith. Coupled with Christ’s clear command to baptize, we started baptizing new believers, including children, more frequently. No longer a once-a-year event, baptism came to be relatively commonplace.
