• 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
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

“Wearing The Cassock” • A Bishop Weighs In

Jeff Ostrowski · September 5, 2015

332 Cassock THE FOLLOWING is from a blog article written by Bishop René H. Gracida—a veteran of the Second World War who has lived a remarkable life—posted on 5 September 2015:

T IS RARE THESE DAYS to see a priest dressed in a cassock. That is especially true here in South Texas where wearing a cassock outside of an airconditioned space during the months of May, June, July, August, September, and October would be the same as sitting in a sauna in a suit and tie. But it is sad that in those months when the climate would permit the wearing of a cassock outdoors it is now rarely done. Why?

I suppose the main reason is the general trend in our society since the mid-Twentieth Century to informality. We see it every Sunday in our Churches, where—unless the pastor has inveighed against the practice—people come to Mass dressed as informally as possible, even shorts and tank tops.

In my former Diocese of Pennsacola-Tallahassee a priest I ordained always wore a cassock everywhere, and still does I am told. Needless to say, he is considered by the other priests of the Diocese to be something of an oddball, yet he is not; he is a holy, zealous, faithful priest. Until last year we had a similar priest, ordained by me, here in the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

This article by Tom Chiarella, a layman, says something important to every priest (and bishop) about self-identity. I think that all of us clerics should rethink our choice of clothing and unless the weather and climate rules against it we should seek more opportunities to wear the cassock. Last year I gave the invocation at a state-wide celebration in Houston and, like other clergy before me I wore a suit. I have been invited to give the invocation again this year and this year I am going to wear a cassock, which come to think of it, is the proper protocol prescribed by the Church for such occasions.

You can also read my article: “Priests Embarrassed To Wear Distinctive Garb.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Bishop Rene Henry Gracida Corpus Christi Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

It is unworthy that the stone holds Him, Who encloses everything in His hand, Locked in by the forbidding rock. (“Indígnum est cujus claudúntur cuncta pugíllo | Ut tegat inclúsum rupe vetánte lapis.”)

— SALVE FESTA DIES (Eastertide)

Recent Posts

  • Did Pope Francis Just Publicly Rebuke the Prefect of Divine Worship?
  • Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “The Normal Syllabic Value” (6 Feb 2023)
  • Hymn by Cardinal Newman
  • Church Music Shouldn’t Be “Headache-Inducing”
  • Introit • Candlemas (2 February)

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues 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.