Liturgical color for October: white?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Elizium23
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
E

Elizium23

Guest
I was just studying my calendar for the month, and realized that every single day is listed as a day for white vestments. Every single day in October! This includes Sundays and the memorial of St. John de Brébeuf, St. Isaac Jogues & Companions, who were martyrs. The last “green” day is Sept. 28; the 29th and 30th are white (Holy Archangels and St. Jerome, respectively,) and white continues into November with All Saints Day, All Souls as white/violet/black, St. Martin de Porres on the 3rd as green/white, St. Charles Borromeo as white, and then back on the regular green schedule.

So why is October all white on this calendar? It was published in the Diocese of San Diego. My parish in the Phoenix diocese has been using green. My favorite online liturgical calendar also lists green within the days of October. The only thing I can think of is that October is the month of the Holy Rosary, but this is not universally observed?
 
Maybe the printer made an error. Sometimes, depending on the day and the mass celebrated there are choices. Like today if the priest is celebrating the mass for the feast of St. Callistus, he would wear red for a martyr. Since it is an optional memorial he could be wearing green if celebrating the mass for the day.
 
My ORDO, for all of Canada, lists

White on Oct. 1, 2, 4, 7, 15, 16
Red on Oct. 18, 28
Green on all other days.
 
Elizium23 said:
I was just studying my calendar for the month, and realized that every single day is listed as a day for white vestments. Every single day in October! This includes Sundays and the memorial of St. John de Brébeuf, St. Isaac Jogues & Companions, who were martyrs. The last “green” day is Sept. 28; the 29th and 30th are white (Holy Archangels and St. Jerome, respectively,) and white continues into November with All Saints Day, All Souls as white/violet/black, St. Martin de Porres on the 3rd as green/white, St. Charles Borromeo as white, and then back on the regular green schedule.

So why is October all white on this calendar? It was published in the Diocese of San Diego. My parish in the Phoenix diocese has been using green. My favorite online liturgical calendar also lists green within the days of October. The only thing I can think of is that October is the month of the Holy Rosary, but this is not universally observed?
Click to expand...
Our parish wall calendars (from a typical national source) have a misprint where they list white for the whole month of October. It’s likely that our calendars came from the same source. It’s just a misprint.
 
Reminds me of when, at Vigils at the abbey one night, the monk reading from the lectionary used the Year I reading instead of the Year II reading. I asked my spiritual director “why did Father L use the Year I reading instead of the Year II reading?”

“Because Father L made a mistake” was the response.

Yet more proof that “stuff happens”.
 
TheMc said:
Those are some sweet vestment sets!
Click to expand...
I shuddered. The fabric in the top set reminds me of a bedspread or sofa material and I have a lamp from IKEA that has the same type of embroidery as the last set.

I’m afraid this gal likes things much less decorated.
 
Phemie said:
I shuddered. The fabric in the top set reminds me of a bedspread or sofa material and I have a lamp from IKEA that has the same type of embroidery as the last set.

I’m afraid this gal likes things much less decorated.
Click to expand...
LOL
I admire Eastern vestments more though. I remember when I went for Chaldean Mass, I was admiring the priest’s vestments. This is the same priest who comes to our parish and celebrate the Roman Mass as a substitute priest. Although it was Summer then and a bright and sunny day, I was wondering how hot it was underneath all that. But he’s in Canada now, I can’t imagine it to be much worse than when he was back in Iraq
 
Phemie said:
I shuddered. The fabric in the top set reminds me of a bedspread or sofa material and I have a lamp from IKEA that has the same type of embroidery as the last set.

I’m afraid this gal likes things much less decorated.
Click to expand...
I was going to say the same thing about the top set. Change the color and it is my daughter’s bedspread. Honestly those vestments are not attractive to me at all.
 
Elizium23 said:
I was just studying my calendar for the month, and realized that every single day is listed as a day for white vestments. Every single day in October! . . .
Click to expand...
I think we have the same calendar in the Sacristy. “White” has been crossed out and the note “Typographical Error” added. [Of course, someone wrote in “Green” on every day, which is not true either. :rolleyes:]
 
Joannm said:
Sometimes, depending on the day and the mass celebrated there are choices. Like today if the priest is celebrating the mass for the feast of St. Callistus, he would wear red for a martyr. Since it is an optional memorial he could be wearing green if celebrating the mass for the day.
Click to expand...
So if a priest is celebrating an optional memorial, he would not wear the color of the season, but red for martyrs or white for non-martyr saints. Is that correct?
 
ag_vn said:
So if a priest is celebrating an optional memorial, he would not wear the color of the season, but red for martyrs or white for non-martyr saints. Is that correct?
Click to expand...
That is true. I am a sacristan for daily Mass. Once in a while there are two optional memorials and one is a martyr. So I have to ask the priest what he wants so I know if it is Green, red or white.
 
ag_vn said:
So if a priest is celebrating an optional memorial, he would not wear the color of the season, but red for martyrs or white for non-martyr saints. Is that correct?
Click to expand...
This gets rather complicated.

In general, the priest “should” wear the color that matches the rest of the Mass, so yes, what you wrote is correct. Sometimes though there can be exceptions, and sometimes more than one color might be the “correct” color.
 
Joannm said:
I was going to say the same thing about the top set. Change the color and it is my daughter’s bedspread. Honestly those vestments are not attractive to me at all.
Click to expand...
Ok. I’ll admit it. I don’t really like them as much as some. But… they is nicer than 99% of the ones out there today, so if I saw this used in “real life”, I’d be thrilled. The floral one is pretty cool though…
 
Sounds like a typo. I’d say October was a “green” month as the whole month falls in Ordinary Time and the seasonal colour is green. The colour for the whole of October isn’t white because the liturgical colours aren’t arranged around devotions. It can of course be changed for holydays, votive Masses (e.g. Holy Rosary), ritual Masses, and Requiem Masses.

Regarding optional memorials my understanding is: use the colour for that memorial is it’s celebrated; use the seasonal colour if the memorial is only commemorated (only its Opening Prayer used at Mass).

I’m never sure about Masses for Various Needs and Occasions as I’ve read so much confusing information about them - normally use the liturgical colour of the season or day; purple can be used if the Mass is penitential in nature. Some things I’ve read also says white can be used if it is an especially joyous occasion.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top