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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

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III, often denoted by its trope name: Missa Kyrie Deus sempiterne. This year, I’m traveling from Singapore to serve on the symposium faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. (See below.) This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is, the congregation sings for the beginning and end, but the choir alone adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. You may download the score, generously made available to the whole world—free of charge—by CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“Today the Church has made a big mistake, turning the clock back 500 years with guitars and popular songs. I don’t like it at all. Gregorian Chant is a vital and important tradition of the Church and to waste this—by having guys mix religious words with profane, Western songs—is hugely grave, hugely grave.”

— Maestro Ennio Morricone (10 Sept 2009)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday

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