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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Vesting Prayers • Part 5 of 9

Fr. David Friel · August 2, 2015

HE CINCTURE is a very meaningful vestment, with a spiritual significance that is much deeper than its practical purpose of gathering the alb close to the body. In this post, we continue our series delving into the prayers offered by the priest as he vests for Mass.

This is the prayer that accompanies the tying of the cincture:

Praecinge me, Domine, cingulo puritatis, et exstingue in lumbis meis humorem libidinis; ut maneat in me virtus continentia et castitatis.

Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and extinguish in my loins the desires of lust, that the virtue of continence and chastity may ever abide within me.

This prayer makes clear that the cincture is to be understood in a twofold manner. It is both a guard against the temptations of the flesh and a symbol of purity in mind, body, and heart. In other words, the cincture symbolizes self-mastery, which St. Paul praises as a Fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

The text of the prayer also beautifully evokes the many Scripture passages in which the encouragement is given to gird up one’s loins. In particular, St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians includes a symbolic description of the armor of God, in which he encourages us: “Stand fast with your loins girded in truth” (Ephesians 6:14). The most direct source material for the prayer, however, comes from the First Letter of St. Peter: “Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).

The wearing of cinctures has a noteworthy precedent. Our Lady of Guadalupe, herself, appears on the tilma of Juan Diego wearing a black band about her waist. In the local culture, such a band was worn only by expectant mothers.

There is another story about St. Monica, who watched the young Augustine go down the wrong path, causing her great distress. One day, as Monica was praying for the conversion of her wayward son, the Blessed Mother appeared to her. During the vision, Mary wore black mourning clothes and a leather cincture around her waist. Mary then took the leather cincture and gave it to Monica as a sign of care & compassion. Thus began the devotion to Our Mother of Consolation, which has been the primary title used for Mary among the Augustinian order for hundreds of years. To this day, the Augustinian habit is all black and includes a leather cincture, in honor of this apparition of Our Lady.

The cincture, like the amice, is a vestment that is often disregarded or overlooked. Some albs have “built-in” cinctures, while others are designed to be so ample that the wearing of a cincture would be nearly impossible. Tying the cincture each time I offer Mass has been an opportunity to entrust myself quietly to the strength of God, which preserves & protects us from every evil.

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

Part 9 • The Dalmatic

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: March 29, 2021

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ with regard to 1960s switch to vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Before any seminarian is accepted for ordination, he must not only strive for chastity but actually achieve it. He must already be living chaste celibacy peacefully and for a prolonged period of time—for if this be lacking, the seminarian and his formators cannot have the requisite confidence that he is called to the celibate life.”

— Archbishop Viganò (16 February 2019)

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