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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

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Jeff Ostrowski

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).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

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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

“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!”

— ‘Fr. Bouyer, Consilium member appointed by Pope Paul VI’

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