Circus vestments?

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thefloridacatholic.org/articles/2006/060203/060203-venice-circusmass2.jpg

Needless to say, that surprised me somewhat. Is there any sort of conformity in the vestments that a priest is required to wear? This isn’t my area of expertise, but could this qualify as some sort of sacrilege? Maybe I’m just not so open to different oddities, but this just seems to far to me.

Can anyone explain to me what the deal is?

In Pax Christi
Andrew
 
Is it on QVC that you can get the “Spiderman” and “SpongeBob” vestments, or are those sold exclusively through that little shop on the east side of Saint Peter’s…?

…I’ll have to check EBay again.
 
Reminds me of the different types of shirts that nurses wear at my doctor office… 😦
 
My apologies. I just noticed the picture on Google by typing in the name of Fausto Stampiglia. I’d heard about him.

I don’t know if the article does much either…😦 I haven’t heard if this is allowable or just some “innovation.”

In Pax Christi
Andrew
 
Whether it is in the ruling or not a priest should wear vestments in conformity to the Catholic Church’s tradition and standards.
A priest should wear a vestment that will symbolize God’s majesty and glory, and not a vestment that will please or make people happy or whatever.
The clown Mass as they call it is completely invalid and disobedient to the Church’s magisterium.
The celebration of the Mass is to worship the Lord, and not to please the laity.
The Church is a house of prayer, and not a house of entertainment.
The Church is liturgical and evangelical, and it does not allow any incorporation of non-liturgical and non-ecclesial things to her liturgy nor teachings
Proper liturgical vestments are for church use only, while clown costumes are for circus and entertainment purposes only.
The Catholic Church does not allow any clown mass nor any other masses that does not follow the ordinary or extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.
The Catholic Church does not allow any type of vestments which are not prescribed or ordained by the magisterium or rulings.

Pax
Instaurare omnia in Christo :signofcross:

"The truth will set us free."
 
Ad_Deum said:
Whether it is in the ruling or not a priest should wear vestments in conformity to the Catholic Church’s tradition and standards.

Agree. While it was probably done with the best of intentions, having circus symbols on the vestments is probably in bad taste.

A priest should wear a vestment that will symbolize God’s majesty and glory, and not a vestment that will please or make people happy or whatever.

Agree.
The clown Mass as they call it is completely invalid and disobedient to the Church’s magisterium.

Disagree. Nowhere in the article does anyone claim to be celebrating the Mass outside the normal rubrics.

The celebration of the Mass is to worship the Lord, and not to please the laity.

True. However, the Church does reflect and incorporate the laity’s cultural surroundings when celebrating the Mass. This is one instance where that may (or it sounds like it has) make a world of difference to the spiritual needs of those attending.
The Church is a house of prayer, and not a house of entertainment.

Again, the article doesn’t say anything about warping the Mass to reflect a circus atmosphere. It’s a Mass for circus entertainers and personnel, for their worship and spiritual needs.
The Church is liturgical and evangelical, and it does not allow any incorporation of non-liturgical and non-ecclesial things to her liturgy nor teachings.
Proper liturgical vestments are for church use only, while clown costumes are for circus and entertainment purposes only.
The Catholic Church does not allow any clown mass nor any other masses that does not follow the ordinary or extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.

Agreed. But then again, the vestments seem to be the only thing that are in question. I don’t think the article gives us enough information to warrant throwing out the entire liturgy based on a picture of silly vestments.

**And as much as I agree with you, that the vestments are in bad taste, it sounds like the circus employees are very much appreciative of the whole endeavor. **
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I am a strong advocate of “liturgical correctness”, but let’s be careful not to “throw out the baby with the bath water”.

I think we need alot more information than this article provides to come up with an informed judgment on their liturgy.

The Church has a long history of evangelical outreach to different cultures. This sounds like one of those.

BTW, thanks Marion Carroll for pointing out the incomplete story. I was of the same impression.
 
Looks like a Dental Hygenists’ Mass to me. :eek:

Nonsense like this is part of the reason why we have a vocations problem. Why should any youmg man seriously consider the priesthood if the priests themselves are mere clowns or ringmasters?
 
lepanto said:
Looks like a Dental Hygenists’ Mass to me. :eek:
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:rotfl: That’s what I thought, too, when viewing the first link!

However, in the second link, the vestments on the bishop blessing the child actually look okay to me.
 
Reading the article, this connects with other outreach programs to the circus performers that I have heard of.

It seems, however, that the vestments could be more respectful, especially at a church with such an established connection to the circus community. Surely, someone could come up with a beautiful vestment ornamented by embroidery of circus animals instead of going to the sale rack at the local fabric store. The vestments in the picture just look cheap.

Heck, with the costumes they make, I’m sure someone in the circus could tone down the sequins and come up with something liturgically proper but also distinctly “circus” that would look really good.

Whenever you see an article on military chaplains, you usually see at least one picture of a priest celebrating mass wearing a flak jacket, helmet, and camoflage colored stole. They’re out there, in harm’s way, with the troops, and that is appreciated. After a hard day, the camoflage stole (hey, it’s green; that covers most of the year, right?) is a reminder that the Church hasn’t forgotten those in the military and is there with them.
 
Same thing with Scout Sunday (Boy or Girl). If Father was to wear a chasuble made of neckerchiefs, or a patch vest with his alb, then there’d be a problem. For that matter, if there was a Mass for the school, and Father wore a chasuble made out of school prots’ shirts, or the school jacket with his alb, it’d be “out there”. But a Mass for circus workers and employees that follows the rubrics is on the same level with a Mass for scouts, a school, a police department, fire fighters, doctors and hospital workers, nurses (who deserve their own Mass), etc.
 
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says:
  1. It is fitting that the beauty and nobility of each vestment derive not from abundance of overly lavish ornamentation, but rather from the material that is used and from the design. Ornamentation on vestments should, moreover, consist of figures, that is, of images or symbols, that evoke sacred use, avoiding thereby anything unbecoming.
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If they only knew how completely ridiculous and stupid they look!!! :rolleyes: I would never have guessed them for priests of Christ’s Holy Church if I saw them dressed up like that - how horribly sad.

~Liza
 
lizaanne said:
If they only knew how completely ridiculous and stupid they look!!! :rolleyes: I would never have guessed them for priests of Christ’s Holy Church if I saw them dressed up like that - how horribly sad.

~Liza
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I’ll be attending that parish when I visit my aunt and uncle in Florida. I saw the picture and then I realized that it was connected to St. Martha’s in Sarasota after reading the article. I wanted to check out St. Martha’s because they were the only one to offer the Tridentine Mass, but now I don’t know if I can go in all good conscience.

In Pax Christi
Andrew
 
since the link gives the picture not the story I venture to guess that if we have the full story we will find the priests in question minister to the circus and carnival community who winter in Florida, and are used in limited circumstances with that community, where they are not inappropriate. I venture if we explore further we will also find that the priests who minister to that community are very fine dedicated priests who give attention to people who might otherwise lack pastoral care.
 
Read down a bit 'annie, the moderator posted the site of origin. 🙂

~Liza
 
Already aware of the Circus Ministry, I am still disturbed by the vestments that look as though they ought to be coverlets for a child’s bed.
As already pointed out, there is no indication that deviations in the actual celebration of Mass are taking place.
Further, minor accomodations in the appearance of vestments, specifically the stole, need not be offensive.
Stoles of so-called “sarape” colors are sometimes used in Masses in Spanish, particularly on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (in Southern California and in Zacatecas, the two areas with which I am most familiar, this is done along with mariachi bands playing and singing the parts of the Mass instead of a choir). I have observed Scout chaplains, even bishops at national Jamborees, wearing stoles adorned with the insignia of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting. This was low-key and the NCCS insignia includes a shepherd’s crook, a bishop’s staff.
 
Puzzleannie the mod. gave the link to the story and picture its the second or third post.
 
The Bishop and one of the priests are wearing proper vestments. The priest sitting down appears to have his stole outside his chausable, which is an abuse.

The other two priests ought to be confined to a monastery for penance!

Regardless of the reason for the Mass, there is absolutely no way the garments these two are wearing could ever be considered appropriate.

The Holy Mass is just that - the Holy Mass. Whether for clowns, scouts, firemen or any other group, it should never degenerate into the disgusting picture those two priests portray.

When will our priests realize that they are to be our shepherds and guide us to Heaven, not pander to our silly feelings?

Thank God I’m not living in America! I’ve seen and read too many horrifying happenings through these forums.

I once told a priest that there are times that the only thing that keeps me from hitting some priests is that it would be a sacrilege. He laughingly told me that it might be a virtue!!
 
It is my opinion that the vestments on three of the five priests in the picture are acceptable. The two on the right (especially the red one) appear to be “over the top,” no pun intended. It’s not the circus theme that I object to, it’s how garishly circus the vestments on the right-hand two are decorated that I have the problem with.

However, before everyone gets so up and arms over this they should do three things: 1.) Read the whole article, 2.) Reread puzzleannie’s post, 3.) Marvel at her Christian charity, in how she wrote such a wonderful post without first reading the entire article.
 
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