Why did they change Good Friday's liturgical color?

  • Thread starter Thread starter hamburglar
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

hamburglar

Guest
Black vestments have traditionally been used for Good Friday. Why did the Church change the liturgical color to red?
 
hamburglar said:
Black vestments have traditionally been used for Good Friday. Why did the Church change the liturgical color to red?
Click to expand...
I believe it was to symbolize the shedding of Christ’s Precious Blood on the cross.
 
grandiosa said:
Wasn’t he the first to die for the truth of the Christian faith?
Click to expand...
Although I do not mean to start an argument, isn’t a martyr one who dies for their religion? Jesus was Jewish, but did he die for that religion?
 
hamburglar said:
Black vestments have traditionally been used for Good Friday. Why did the Church change the liturgical color to red?
Click to expand...
***Black vestments are no longer used for any purpose.

White is for funeral Masses.***
 
WMM said:
***Black vestments are no longer used for any purpose.

White is for funeral Masses.***
Click to expand...
This is incorrect.

Black, while now rare, is still a permissible colour for Good Friday, Funeral Masses (Requiem Masses), and certain Votive Masses for the dead.

Unfortunately, while it’s permissible, it isn’t easy to find. Pope Pius XII was against removing the black vestments.

I actually prefer them.
 
hamburglar said:
Although I do not mean to start an argument, isn’t a martyr one who dies for their religion? Jesus was Jewish, but did he die for that religion?
Click to expand...
With His New Covenant He hardly remained “Jewish” in anything but an incarnate ethnic sense…
 
Matariel said:
This is incorrect.

Black, while now rare, is still a permissible colour for Good Friday, Funeral Masses (Requiem Masses), and certain Votive Masses for the dead.

Unfortunately, while it’s permissible, it isn’t easy to find. Pope Pius XII was against removing the black vestments.

I actually prefer them.
Click to expand...
Where are black vestments allowed for the OF Mass on Good Friday? My ordo says “Rd” (red) and I see no mention of using black vestments on Good Friday in the current GIRM.
 
Get this - our priest pulled a switcheroo. He wore black vestments up until the Veneration of the Cross, then changed to red for distribution of Communion until the end of the liturgy. 🤷
 
WMM said:
***Black vestments are no longer used for any purpose.

White is for funeral Masses.***
Click to expand...
In reality, black is the proper color for funerals and all Masses for the dead. White or violet are options which are permitted in the US (and some other countries).
 
LilyM said:
Get this - our priest pulled a switcheroo. He wore black vestments up until the Veneration of the Cross, then changed to red for distribution of Communion until the end of the liturgy. 🤷
Click to expand...
Was this in the Extraördinary Form, or the Ordinary Form of the holy Mass?
 
FrDavid96 said:
In reality, black is the proper color for funerals and all Masses for the dead. White or violet are options which are permitted in the US (and some other countries).
Click to expand...
Hmmm… The way I read GIRM paragraph 346, it sounds like violet may always be used at masses for the dead, black may be used at these masses where it is the custom, and white can be used in those countries with a specific allowance for this in the national GIRM.
d. Violet or purple is used in Advent and Lent. It may also be worn in Offices and Masses
for the Dead.
e. Black may be used, where it is the practice, in Masses for the Dead.
…For Funeral Masses, violet may always be used, while black vestments may be used
where this is customary. White vestments are also permitted for Funeral Masses in Australia, where this is appropriate
Source
Click to expand...
d) Color violaceus adhibetur tempore Adventus et Quadragesimæ. Assumi
potest etiam in Officiis et Missis defunctorum.
e) Color niger adhiberi potest, ubi mos est, in Missis defunctorum.
…Conferentiæ tamen Episcoporum possunt definire, ad colores liturgicos
quod attinet, et proponere Apostolicæ Sedi aptationes, quæ necessitatibus et ingenio
populorum respondeant.
Source
Click to expand...
 
Digitonomy said:
Hmmm… The way I read GIRM paragraph 346, it sounds like violet may always be used at masses for the dead, black may be used at these masses where it is the custom, and white can be used in those countries with a specific allowance for this in the national GIRM.
Click to expand...
Actually, that “proves” the point because paragraph “a” tells when white is worn. Note that Masses for the dead are specifically not included in that paragraph.

The later paragraph (not given a letter) is a national adaptation, expressing that the Australian bishops have requested and received an exception from the Holy See to permit white vestments at funerals. Note that this explanatory paragraph comes after the words of the typical (ie the original Latin) GIRM which say that the bishops may request such permission.

The US printing of the GIRM is nearly identical.

CORRECTED The current US version of the GIRM is not quite identical. It is in fact different in how it’s laid-out for article 346. The previous version was, but this one is different.

I can’t locate the original, typical Latin GIRM but the French Italian and Spanish versions all have wording in subparagraph “e” which says that black is worn for Masses for the dead. Without checking the Latin I can’t say for certain, but it definately appears that the subparagraph “e” has been altered in the English versions to make it appear as if the provision for white is more “normative” than it realy is. This looks like a nice little device employed by people who want to overemphasize the use of white.
 
I couldn’t find the Latin GIRM because it was right in front of me. I followed the link above.

Once I followed it, my “suspicions” were confirmed.
 
FrDavid96 said:
Actually, that “proves” the point because paragraph “a” tells when white is worn.
Click to expand...
But it seems contrary to what you stated about violet. Violet seems to be slightly more normative than black, since it may always be used, while black may only be used where it is the practice.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top