When I was ordained my cousin handed me a cook book in wrapping paper a
nd said, “You are now becoming a public figure. The only place people will not have a say in what you do is in the WC and the kitchen. Learn how to cook.”
She was not entirely correct. There is always someone around giving input in kitchen affairs.
But in general she was a prophetess. Not the least of which is in the manner of dress. Priests can be just as caddy as anybody else especially when it comes to liturgical dress and I am just as guilty as anyone. “Are you going to wear THAT for the celebration of the Holy Mass?” I might say to someone about to go out into the sanctuary donned in what I would determine to be emasculating at best and slightly heretical at worse. (N.B. There is a bit of hyperbole here.)
The sword cuts both ways. A visiting priest began saying something about my choice of wearing a cincture – a lecture I have been given way too many times and I am afraid I might have been a little snarky in my cutting off of any further utterances on the matter. (I do defend myself in that if someone had something new and intelligent to say on the matter I might entertain the conversation if my pride radar were down and God gave me some extra grace.)
But how a priest is dressed is not limited to other priests. The way a cleric clothes his body is open to considerable debate. I have been witness to priests being asked to dress in a more obviously clerical manner and have been invited out on a number of occasions and told to “be more comfortable” and not wear anything black. By “be more comfortable” I assume they mean for themselves as I am perfectly comfortable dressed in clerics. As long as I don’t look down I don’t even know the difference.
nd said, “You are now becoming a public figure. The only place people will not have a say in what you do is in the WC and the kitchen. Learn how to cook.”She was not entirely correct. There is always someone around giving input in kitchen affairs.
But in general she was a prophetess. Not the least of which is in the manner of dress. Priests can be just as caddy as anybody else especially when it comes to liturgical dress and I am just as guilty as anyone. “Are you going to wear THAT for the celebration of the Holy Mass?” I might say to someone about to go out into the sanctuary donned in what I would determine to be emasculating at best and slightly heretical at worse. (N.B. There is a bit of hyperbole here.)
The sword cuts both ways. A visiting priest began saying something about my choice of wearing a cincture – a lecture I have been given way too many times and I am afraid I might have been a little snarky in my cutting off of any further utterances on the matter. (I do defend myself in that if someone had something new and intelligent to say on the matter I might entertain the conversation if my pride radar were down and God gave me some extra grace.)
But how a priest is dressed is not limited to other priests. The way a cleric clothes his body is open to considerable debate. I have been witness to priests being asked to dress in a more obviously clerical manner and have been invited out on a number of occasions and told to “be more comfortable” and not wear anything black. By “be more comfortable” I assume they mean for themselves as I am perfectly comfortable dressed in clerics. As long as I don’t look down I don’t even know the difference.
When I was a kid I remember someone writing to Ann Landers asking her how to gently tell a priest that the way he was dressing at the golf course was embarrassing. Used to only wearing black (how wrong can you go with that?) priests were showing up at the golf course dressed in horridly clashing plaids.
Now this attention to dress might be a cause of consternation for some priestly types.
Indeed I have heard some declare, “How dare h/s tell ME how do dress! I don’t give h/h fashion notes!” But I offer a point to ponder. Take the clerical fashion police with a kind heart. It is great that such a person has such a great interest in you and more importantly in the priesthood.
It would be a far worse thing if others didn’t care what we wore at all!
Now this attention to dress might be a cause of consternation for some priestly types.
Indeed I have heard some declare, “How dare h/s tell ME how do dress! I don’t give h/h fashion notes!” But I offer a point to ponder. Take the clerical fashion police with a kind heart. It is great that such a person has such a great interest in you and more importantly in the priesthood.It would be a far worse thing if others didn’t care what we wore at all!
6 comments:
About 15 years ago in my parish, we were assigned a new parochial vicar. I had heard that he did not wear clerical garb very much but I had not yet met him. One day, I was kneeling in prayer, when a young man came into the church, dressed in a paint-stained T shirt, cut-offs and sandals. He made his way to the confessional and and sat in the priest's spot. I thought to myself, "This must be the new priest." But how could I have known for sure? I did see Father wearing his black clerical garb one day when the Bishop came to our parish. Another time I saw him wear black was when he wore a gorilla costume for the school's Halloween party. So, I do appreciate priests who mainly wear their clerical garb. I think it helps our young people to see that witness as well.
a young man came into the church, dressed in a paint-stained T shirt, cut-offs and sandals,
Wow, what a great example of reverence in God's house. Did he put on a stole?
We had an assistant priest who always slipped the white tab into his collar when he left the church grounds. I never did scrape up the courage to ask him if he was ashamed of something.
Generally speaking, I've found that the Faithful don't really focus on what the priest wears so long as they know that he cares for them. If they know that he loves Christ, the Church, and them, they really could care less about what he wears. They'll overlook eccentricities such as cassocks and tie-died t-shirts if they know that the priest loves them and will be there for them when they are in need. The Faithful aren't attacted to the window dressing of attire; they are attracted to the holiness, goodness and authenticity of the person of the priest.
And nothing shows you care like dressing inappropriately and/or like a slob. A priest should go the extra mile look like a priest. The faithful need to show up for Holy Mass in something other than T-shirts and flip-flops too. It's not "window dressing" it's doing what is proper and I might add counter-cultural. Both Catholic clergy and Catholic laypeople should always try to look their best in this world where the standard is a sloven immodesty.
When we arrived at church for the wedding rehearsal for my daughter the parocial vicar came out in his old grubby sweatshirt and tattered jeans. My son who came from out of town wondered why they had to use the janitor to show the future bride and groom what to do at the next day's wedding. He was surprised to know that this was the one who would be officiating at the wedding ceremony. Surprises!
What's the scoop on priest talking smack about a cincture? What image does a cincture project other than the idea of chastity ("Gird me, O Lord, with the girdle of purity, and extinguish in me all evil desires, that the virtue of chastity may abide in me.")? We all remember what happened when cinctures were out and velcro was in, don't we? Velcro doesn't do much girding.
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