SPLIT: Priests must wear chasuble?

[Carlos_Palad]

I think priests here in the Philippines are given a dispensation not to wear the chausible, just as they are given dispensation here to wear white cassock instead of black.

I know that this thread is a few years old, but just for the sake of those reading this, I’d like to post the following:

In the Philippines, according to the particular laws of the liturgy published by the Filipino hierarchy c. 1985 and comprising various indults received in the '70’s, the rules for vestments are as follows:

1. The amice is optional
2. The cincture is optional as well (and a typical Filipino alb has a built-in cincture)
3. The alb may be replaced with a white cassock that is not used as street-wear
4. Effectively, a Filipino priest celebrating the Mass AS MAIN CELEBRANT or SOLE CELEBRANT INSIDE A CHURCH is required to use only three vestments: alb / cassock, stole and chasuble
5. A Filipino priest who is A) concelebrating in any Mass and B) celebrating as main celebrant or sole celebrant in a Mass held outside a church may use a chasu-alb (which can be white at all times) and stole.

In practice, the following practices have become the norm:

• Priests wear the chasu-alb and stole alone, even when offering Mass inside a church as the main celebrant or sole celebrant.
• Some priests, dispensing with the distinction between chasu-alb and the white, thin chasubles common in this country, put on the white chasuble (without alb) on top of their streetclothes in order to celebrate Mass, the (overlay) stole alone following the liturgical calendar.

Based on what I’ve read and seen (in pictures and videos) of liturgies in the West, Masses here in the Philippines are comparatively decent; a bit of ad-libbing often happens but the prayers are generally said by the book, and weekday English Masses in the Philippines often take between 30-40 minutes because of the homilies and the comparatively slower tempo of our singing and enunciation of prayers. The main weaknesses of the Church in the Philippines when it comes to matters liturgical have to do with vestments.

When John Paul II beatified Lorenzo Ruiz and his companions in 1981 at an open-air Mass in Manila, most of the concelebrating bishops wore white chasubles or chasu-albs with red overlay stoles. Only the Pope and the main concelebrants at the altar wore complete sets of red vestments.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

I have never seen a Mass where a priest did not wear the chasuble. ** If I belonged to a parish where the priest did not wear a chasuble, I would change parishes immediately. ** I want a priest who is not afraid to be a priest.

Hopefully you would first ask him why he wasn’t wearing one. If for any starnge reason it was because the parish didn’t have one, you would then hopefully start the fundraising to buy one.

Of course, if the answer was “beacuse I’m trying to break down the division between priests and laity”, I will very happily invite you to my parish!

 

[oratorymatt]

A previous Pastor at my parish would never wear a chasuble. He was trying to break down the distinction between the priesthood and the laity.

Ah the Fr Luther type…

 

[laszlo]

I’m not entirely sure what’s “liberal” about omitting the chasuble. I am relatively theologically “liberal” but it’s not a practice of which I approve.

Liber in Latin means free. The liberal is the adjective for those who free themselves from the rules.

The omission of the chasuble is social engineering to remove the distinction between the priest and the laity (as the ‘also with you’ instead of ‘and with your spirit’) and objectively grave sin, makes the mass illicit.

 

[Spirithound]

In my current parish, there are four Franciscan priests, and of them only the parish priest uses chasuble - and only when he is the main celebrant on Sundays and feast days. The others never wear chasuble at all. What could be the reasons for this? That it is too warm to wear both Franciscan habit and chasuble? That not wearing a flashy chasuble better reflects the poverty of Franciscans?

It is my understanding the only one Franciscan priest may celebrate Mass at a time. Any others present sit either in the sanctuary in choir dress, or in the congregation, also in choir dress. I’m not sure if this is exactly what you experienced.

 

[TheMc]

The chasuable is not requred for those priests simply coming out to assist with communion. Even at masses where there are many concelbrants, I believe it is only required of the principle celebrant. At our large diocesan liturgies, only those priests in the sanctuary (and there could be upwards of 20) wear the chasuable. The others wear alb and stole.

It’s more than “not required”. If they are only coming to help distribute, they should not wear chusables, because they are not concelebrants.

They should come in cassock, surplice and stole, or alb and stole.

 

[Will_S]

patrick457;4625901:

Now in opposite to you:

When I was the Philippines, only a number of priests wore chasubles regularly (speaking from personal experience). Many usually only wear them in special occasions, preferring to wear the stole above that transparent sheet instead (a chasu-alb?). A lot of deacons I saw did not even wear a dalmatic. I’ve got to say, that’s the very first liturgical abuse that I’ve been exposed to.

With the heat and humidity in the Philippines, they are probably trying to avoid heat stroke.

Seems unlikely. I doubt many priests in the Philippines failed to wear the chasuble in the 400 years preceding Vatican II.

 

[Jean_Anthony]

sss