• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Catholic Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Vesting Prayers • Part 6 of 8

Fr. David Friel · August 9, 2015

ANY CATHOLICS are totally unfamiliar with the maniple, inasmuch as they may never have seen one. So first, by way of description, the maniple is a piece of decorated cloth worn by the priest over his left arm. Coming into use by at least the 6th century, maniples vary widely in their shape, size, and ornamentation. In general form, a maniple looks like a mini stole with clasps or strings. Its use is neither required nor forbidden in the Ordinary Form, but it is required when the Extraordinary Form is offered.

The prayer that accompanies the vesting with the maniple is as follows (notice the rhyme):

Merear, Domine, portare manipulum fletus et doloris; ut cum exsultatione recipiam mercedem laboris.

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.

It is fairly well accepted that the maniple originated as a sort of handkerchief (the Latin word mappula means “napkin”). Perhaps once practically used by the priest to wipe his brow, the maniple eventually took on a spiritual significance that is rather profound. (This is far from the only example of something practical taking on fuller meaning in the sacred liturgy.) The maniple, in time, came to be seen as symbolic of the toils of priestly life. This understanding is reflected in the beautifully honest vesting prayer, which pointedly acknowledges the weeping & sorrow that are part of every human life before it turns to focus on the reward of those labors.

In the background of this vesting prayer, we should also see the text of Psalm 126:

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Going they went and wept,

casting their seeds,

but coming they shall come with joyfulness,

carrying their maniples. (Vulgate: portantes manipulos suos)

Again, the maniple fell into disuse during the post-conciliar liturgical reforms (Sacred Congregation of Rites, Tres abhinc annos, #25). While it was never formally abrogated, it is customarily not worn in the Ordinary Form. In the Extraordinary Form, it remains a required vestment for the priest, deacon, and sub-deacon.

Wherever it is worn, let the maniple be a rich symbol of the great labor of love which is the priesthood.

Part 1 • Introduction

Part 2 • The Hand Washing

Part 3 • The Amice

Part 4 • The Alb

Part 5 • The Cincture

Part 6 • The Maniple

Part 7 • The Stole

Part 8 • The Chasuble

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Traditional Catholic Vestments, Vesting Prayers Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

Fr. David Friel

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The pope regrets that this trade in African slaves, that he believed having ceased, is still exercised in some regions and even more cruel way. He begs and begs the King of Portugal that it implement all its authority and wisdom to extirpate this unholy and abominable shame.”

— ‘Pope Pius VII, writing to the King of Portugal’

Recent Posts

  • “Ash Wednesday” • Banned by YouTube after 93,000 Views!
  • Three Ways to Improvise at the Organ
  • (Screenshots) • Proving Holy Saturday Took Place In The Morning
  • “Homily: Second Sunday of Lent” • Father Valentine Young, OFM
  • Part 2 • “Starting Your Own Traditional Latin Mass”

Copyright © 2021 Corpus Christi Watershed · Charles Garnier on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.