Giving the Gift of Beauty in the Liturgy

On October 2, 2020 the Bishop of Columbus, Ohio, His Excellency, The Most Reverend Robert Brennan, gave the faithful of our diocese a most splendid gift. He erected the Oratory of Saint Leo the Great and entrusted it to the care of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP).

For those unfamiliar with the ICKSP, they are a society of apostolic life of pontifical right. What exactly does that mean? A society of apostolic life is a group of men or women within the Church who have come together for a specific purpose and live in community with one another. In this case, the ICKSP are “of pontifical right” meaning they are either created by the Holy See or approved by it through a formal decree known as a Decretum laudis (decree of praise).

The ICKSP has, as a charism, the celebration of the liturgy and all the sacraments in the usus antiquior. That means they exclusively offer the Tridentine Latin Mass (TLM), and all the sacraments are administered using the last revision of the liturgical books prior to the Second Vatican Council. For anyone who has attended a TLM, they know that beauty is a central element of the liturgy. Beautiful music, beautiful architecture, beautiful vestments. 

Most Catholics, whether they have attended a TLM or not, are also aware that the Church has several different liturgical colors, and each color has a meaning and helps convey the significance of the feast or season.

The following descriptions of the liturgical colors are taken from the 1957 St. Joseph’s Daily Missal.

White: The symbol of innocence and triumph (Rev. 3:5). It is used on all feasts of the joyful and glorious mysteries of our Lord’s life (e.g. Christmas and Easter), on the feasts of our Blessed Mother, on the feasts of angels and of all the saints who were not martyrs.
Red: The color of blood, is used on all feasts of our Lord’s cross and Passion, on the feasts of the Apostles and of all martyrs. Red is also used on Pentecost and in Mass of the Holy Ghost, in memory of the tongues of fire at the First Pentecost.
Violet (Purple): A symbol of penance and expiation. It is used during the penitential seasons of Advent, Septuagesima, and Lent, and on all fast days and vigils.
Green: The color of budding and living vegetation, is the symbol of hope. It is used on the Sundays after Epiphany and after Pentecost.
Gold: Vestments made of real cloth of gold are permitted in place of white, red, and green vestments.
Black: The color of death and mourning. It is used for the services of Good Friday and for Masses for the Faithful Departed.
Old Rose: This color is permitted in place of violet, on the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete) and on the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare), when the Church tempers the sadness of the penitential seasons with an invitation to rejoice in the goodness of God our Savior.

As I mentioned above, one of the elements of the liturgy is the use of beautiful vestments. The Oratory currently has vestments in every color EXCEPT Old Rose. The use of the rose-colored vestments is a visual indication of the nature of the liturgy on the days these vestments are worn. Yes, we may be in the middle of a penitential season (Advent or Lent), but on this particular day, we temper our sadness in anticipation of the approaching feast of joy.

I am looking to raise money to help gift a rose-colored Solemn High Mass vestment set to the Oratory. A Solemn High Mass vestment set includes the following items:

1 Chasuble: Outer vestment worn by the priest
1 Dalmatic: Outer vestment worn by the deacon
1 Tunicle: Outer vestment worn by the subdeacon
3 Stoles: The stole is worn around the neck and shoulders of the priest (and deacon and subdeacon) when celebrating Mass or administering the sacraments.
3 Maniples: This is an ornamental vestment worn over the left arm of the priest (and deacon and subdeacon). It symbolizes the labor and hardship the priest must expect in his apostolate.
1 Chalice Veil: Conceals the chalice and paten during the Mass until the offertory and after the Communion. It is the same color and pattern as the vestments.
1 Burse: This is a flat, square container of cloth, the same color and pattern as the vestments and holds the corporal. It is placed over the veil on top of the chalice.
1 Cope: This is worn over the shoulders of the priest during the opening procession and during the Asperges - the sprinkling rite at the beginning of a Solemn High Mass.
1 Humeral Veil: In the Solemn High Mass, the humeral veil is worn by the subdeacon when bringing the chalice to the altar during the offertory, and he continues to wear it until Communion.

If you would like to help me raise money to gift the Oratory of Saint Leo the Great with a Solemn High Mass set of rose-colored vestments, please follow the link below. If you cannot contribute financially, but would like to help out, please share this article and share the link to the GoFundMe I have set up.

Rose-Colored Vestments for Saint Leo Oratory