While the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe has long since passed, it is always worth taking a look at the finest handmade vestments in honor of Our Lady, to give honor to her (as is meet), and to inspire ideas in others for vestment commissioning. A case in point is this remarkable vestment set made by Sacra Domus Aurea, worn by a Vancouver priest-friend of mine for a Low Mass on one of the days of my visit there.
Let’s have a look first at the back of the chasuble, obviously designed to be seen for most of the Mass. We see a classic Borromean cut, wider and longer than some other fiddlebacks, and a tasteful use of a rich blue color, studded with gold stars, and allowing room for an ample reproduction of the tilma:
Here’s a close-up taken after Mass:
It is always a delight to see a priest’s coat of arms on a vestment, which is a very traditional way to mark it as his, while striking the dominant note of family heritage and transgenerational patrimony.
The front of the vestment, while plainer, is still noteworthy for its gold piping and well-chosen brocade fabrics, with the ubiquitous star motif:
The maniple continues the stellar theme:
as do the chalice veil and the burse:
Vestments like these accomplish many purposes.
First, they honor God in His saints by the homage of costly beauty.
Second, they honor the priesthood of the priest who dons them in analogy to the Son of God assuming human nature as a garment (in a common patristic manner of speaking) and in analogy to the Christian putting on Christ in baptism, the glorious “clothing” of sanctifying grace.
Third, they delight the faithful with their beauty, which reminds them of the beauty of Our Lady (“tota pulchra es - thou art all fair!”) and of Our Lord, “fairest of the sons of men.”
I am sure more reasons could be given. Fundamentally, such vestments show, without the need for labored explanations, that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a transcendent mystery that demands all the best of our efforts and resources.
Read more of Dr. Kwasniewski’s writing at Tradition & Sanity on Pelican+, and visit his personal website, his composer page, or Os Justi Press.
Let’s have a look first at the back of the chasuble, obviously designed to be seen for most of the Mass. We see a classic Borromean cut, wider and longer than some other fiddlebacks, and a tasteful use of a rich blue color, studded with gold stars, and allowing room for an ample reproduction of the tilma:
Vestments like these accomplish many purposes.
First, they honor God in His saints by the homage of costly beauty.
Second, they honor the priesthood of the priest who dons them in analogy to the Son of God assuming human nature as a garment (in a common patristic manner of speaking) and in analogy to the Christian putting on Christ in baptism, the glorious “clothing” of sanctifying grace.
Third, they delight the faithful with their beauty, which reminds them of the beauty of Our Lady (“tota pulchra es - thou art all fair!”) and of Our Lord, “fairest of the sons of men.”
I am sure more reasons could be given. Fundamentally, such vestments show, without the need for labored explanations, that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a transcendent mystery that demands all the best of our efforts and resources.
