What are 'Vesting Prayers'?

Question: I’ve been Catholic my whole life but have never heard of the ‘vesting prayers’. What are they and why don’t I know about them?

Answer: The vesting prayers are prayers said by men who are ordained as Catholic clergy. While putting on liturgical vestments they say a special vesting prayer assigned for each garment that a deacon, priest or bishop wears in the rituals of the Church. The reason you don’t know about them is because you are a lay person and these prayers are expressly for ordained clergy. Sadly, in some areas of the Church they have fallen out of practice as some clergy prepare for sacraments in their own way. 

(see diagram below)

Theology of the Vesting Prayers

The theology or rationale of the vesting prayers stems from the doctrine called, ‘En Persona Christi’. This teaching holds that a priest, when acting as a minister in the sacraments, is not acting on his own but rather acting in the person of Christ. He is the person who says the words and takes the actions of Jesus as mediator in the sacred encounter between the recipient and God. Therefore, vesting for a sacrament is theologically tantamount to ‘putting on Christ’. 

“One might say that the "camouflaging" of the minister’s body by the vestments depersonalizes him in a way; it is that healthy depersonalization that de-centers the celebrating minister and recognizes the true protagonist of the liturgical action: Christ. The form of the vestments, therefore, says that the liturgy is celebrated "in persona Christi" and not in the priest's own name. He who performs a liturgical function does not do so as a private person, but as a minister of the Church and an instrument in the hands of Jesus Christ”. 1

Use of the Vesting Prayers Today

In the Extraordinary Rite, what is commonly referred to as the Traditional Latin Mass, the vesting prayers were and still are obligatory. 

In the Novus Ordo, what is commonly called post-Vatican II Mass, the vesting prayers are recommended but not obligatory. (Note: Not only are they not prohibited but they are included in the "Compendium Eucharisticum," recently published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.In fact, the 1940, Pope Pius XII decree which gives an indulgence of 100 days for the individual prayer is still in effect).

The Vesting Prayers Wording

The vesting prayers are a hidden gem in our Catholic treasure box of tradition. Vesting while saying these prayers aloud calls to mind the mental focus of a gladiator who is carefully taping his wrists and ankles, then placing his leather and metal protective gear on one piece at a time making sure it is in order and ready for battle. Vesting prayers are cool. 

If you pay attention to the words of the prayer you will see that battle motif. The liturgical vestments become for the man who cloaks his body with them a type of 'armor of God' that Saint Paul spoke of in his letter to the Ephesians. Clergy who use the vesting prayers would never forget that "...our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens" - Ephesians 6:12.

Washing of the Hands

At the beginning of vesting he washes his hands signifying the virtue and gift of fear of the Lord, like the removal of sandals by Moses before the burning bush.

Prayer: ‘Give virtue to my hands, O Lord, that being cleansed from all stain I might serve you with purity of mind and body’. 

The Amice 

The amice is very seldom used these days in the Novus Ordo. Traditionally it is a cloth that goes over the head and is bound over the shoulders with linen straps that are tied around the waist. It serves a practical purpose of covering over the priest's clothing around his upper body including his collar. 

Amice Prayer: ‘Lord, set the helmet of salvation on my head to fend off all the assaults of the devil’.

The Alb

The alb, which is used in every sacrament and in both forms of the Mass, is the long white robe that is under the outer vestments. The white color recalls the baptismal grace of sinlessness and purity received in the first sacrament. It also reflects the pure intention of the minister in acting, En Persona Christi. 

Alb Prayer: ‘Purify me, Lord, and cleanse my heart so that, washed in the Blood of the Lamb, I may enjoy eternal bliss’. 

The Cinture

A rope or cord usually made of wool that acts as a belt pulling in the alb at the waist. The cincture color may reflect the liturgical season or the memorial of the day. In the symbolism of the liturgical vestments the cincture represents the virtue of self-mastery. 

Cinture Prayer: ‘Lord, gird me with the cincture of purity and extinguish my fleshly desires, that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide within me’. 

The Stole

The stole, a long, rectangular cloth, is the primary priestly vestment. For deacons it is worn diagonally but for priests it hands evenly over the shoulders.  It is embroidered with symbols/patterns and colors according to the feast day or liturgical season and it is always worn in the celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals.

Stole Prayer: While kissing the stole, ‘Lord, restore the stole of immortality, which I lost through the collusion of our first parents, and, unworthy as I am to approach Thy sacred mysteries, may I yet gain eternal joy’. 

The Chasuble

The chasuble is an oval shaped, highly decorated, type of poncho that has a slit for the head of the main celebrant of the Mass. As the most outward and visible vestment, it  hangs loosely over the other vestments and is worn only by the chief celebrant of the Mass, a priest or bishop.  It is embroidered with symbols/patterns and colors according to the feast day or liturgical season and it is always worn in the celebration of the Mass. 

Chasuble Prayer: ‘O Lord, who has said, ‘My yoke is sweet and My burden light,’ grant that I may so carry it as to merit Thy grace’.

Many priests and other clergy have rediscovered the power and the efficacy of the vesting prayers. Even though for Novus Ordo clergy they are optional, many have committed to learn and say the vesting prayers. The symbolism of our holy liturgical vestments is kept alive in the minds and hearts of our Catholic clergy when the vesting prayers are said in sincerity as a way to prepare for the sacred moment that they are about to mediate on behalf of God and the Church. See diagram below...