The Air Condition and the Liturgy

What does the air conditioning have to do with the liturgy? Let's talk about what the priest is wearing in the Mass. The style originates from the upper socioeconomic secular dress of the first-century Greco-Roman world. Basically, the best clothing of the time was eventually reserved and used for the clergy during the liturgy.

Most of the time in the Mass, we can only see the priest wear the Chasuble - the outer most vestment usually a  solid color with some design on it. The  Chasuble covers most of his body. However, there is more underneath the  Chasuble. In addition to his clerical (collared) shirt and pants, he wears another five articles of vestments that vary in sizes (amice, alb, cincture, stole, and lastly the chasuble).
Rather than focus on all the vestments in this article, let's focus on the first one he puts on. The first thing the priest puts on is called the Amice. (The modern Alb made this vestment optional). It is a small white rectangular cloth with two strings used to tie below the chest area. The Amice is ritually brought up to briefly touch the top of his head and the brought down to be wrapped around his collar to cover it. As he does so he prays:  "Place upon me, O Lord, the helmet of salvation, that I may overcome the assaults of the devil." The prayer indicates that it has a spiritual purpose - putting on a defensive gear to protect him in the spiritual warfare between good and evil. It also serves a practical - hygienic purpose by absorbing his sweat and keeping the sweat from touching other liturgical vestments.

You may wonder, how did priests cope with the heat before the invention fo the air conditioner? In the mass before Vatican II, and currently, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite ( I'll get to that in a future article ), the priest would wear a small vestment that looked like a towel wrapped around his left forearm. This ornate vestment was called the " Maniple" and it was used to wipe his sweat and tears; it symbolized the toils of the priesthood. He would pray this prayer as he put it on:  "May I deserve, O Lord, to bear the maniple of weeping and sorrow in order that I may joyfully reap the reward of my labors."

Why doesn't he wear something else or wear fewer clothes, that way we don't have to make the church as cool as it is? The vestments are meant to cover or hide the priest's body because he is no longer Fr. [insert name here] during the Mass, he is in the person of Christ (Latin - "in persona Christi"). He becomes Christ's instrument in his mission of salvation. Therefore, the prayer in the Mass is Christ speaking through him.

Let us set aside something for God - our time, treasure, and talents. We can start by wearing our best clothing for Mass. By doing so, we can give him the proper praise that is due ... and because the priest is wearing the best clothing too.