I’m sure that [Cardinal Raymond] Burke could explain why he is dressed this way. I am not sure that I would understand that explanation.If the splendid vestments point the worshippers to God, then fine, but if the elegant satin and lace serve as adornments for humans (in the Roman Catholic Church, men only) in a way that indicates the wearers are special in the eyes of God, then it's all wrong. I showed my posts on Cardinal Burke's liturgical fashions to my friend, and she said she liked them...well maybe not all of them. I believe the red vestment is the cappa magna which has a 20 foot train. I hadn't see the puffiness in the back before now.
Yes, I’m a Protestant from a very low-church Baptist tradition. And, yes, I’m sure that explains a measure of my befuddlement over this photograph. But not all of it, because, well, just look at it.
I can only guess that this is a ceremonial costume. It surely does not seem to be anything one might wear for practical reasons.
Photo from the cultural christian via Slactivist.
Thanks to Paul (A.) for the link. You all know how fond Paul is of the splendid vestments.
Escaped from an episode of Project Runway?
ReplyDeleteAuditioning for a Men In Black spoof sequel, Men in Lace, the race to space (can one spoof a spoof film without developing a speech impediment?)?
Caption: So how's that vow of poverty working for you?
Favorite song: "I feel pretty, I feel pretty..."
There simply is nothing to say about this that isn't mean ... no idea why these people set themselves up for it ... raging hubris?
Cardinal Burke was probably ordained a secular priest, so I doubt he took a vow of poverty, but still... I don't know how the people around him keep a straight face.
DeleteSomehow Google arranges it that when one types "Wounded Bird Cardinal Raymond Burke", all my posts on the cardinal's liturgical fashions come together.
Thank goodness I caught my mistake in the title of the post in which I typed "satin" as "Satan". I'm not joking.
And you thought you needed to correct it, why?
DeleteAt least with this get up he won't clash with the decor down there ... oh, sorry, on a mean roll again ... must repent, must repent.
Genette, I don't like name-calling, even when I do it.
DeleteYou're right, of course ... sorry.
DeleteClearly under the influence of too many campaign ads with men getting away with outrageous stuff ... makes me dizzy ... off to adjust brain chemistry (very old single malt helps) and watch Biden disect Ryan.
Genette, I'm bad in many ways, but name-calling is not one of my vices. I won't say I never do it, but I try really hard not to because I find the practice so hurtful when it's done to me.
DeleteOMG, the puffy shirt has mated with the puffy cape! Fashion writers are swooning all over the place.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere there is a video of the cardinal processing down the aisle with the train spread full length, but from the camera view only part is visible, and you wait for the end, and it doesn't come. The train goes on and on. I looked for the video, but I could not find it.
DeleteHe just needs a little face paint to make it the winning Halloween costume.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a pricey Halloween costume, Bonnie. And what would the character be? Oh, yes. A cardinal.
DeleteWell I am watching some cardinals flitting around the yard and we might be besmirching the cardinal. So graceful and so pretty.
DeleteBonnie, Burke don't look much like a birdie, do he?
DeleteThe congregation looks more than a little confused.
ReplyDeleteCathy, I think the congregations at the elaborate liturgies are mostly people who like silk and lace and incense and the whole splendiferous works in a service.
DeleteI'm sure that's true, Mimi, but I think in this instance the Cardinal's outfit may have fried their brains.
DeleteCathy, have you seen the cardinal's other fashion statements? The very first picture I saw of one of the cardinal's elaborate sets of vestments fried my brain. I'm now a collector of photos of the cardinal dressed up, and he doesn't disappoint. Periodically, a new outfit appears that is not in my collection.
DeleteI've seen the bilious yellow/lime green number, which looked distinctly like it should carry some sort of health warning, perhaps that "HazChem" sign they put on the backs of trucks carrying hazardous goods. Maybe the perpetual sourface has to do with the fact that his later efforts have never managed to be quite so terrifying? ...
DeleteYes, the bilious green. Well, there are more red vestments, the clashing purples, and a white fur cape. And that's not to mention the hat with the pom-pom look-alikes that are really pinned up tassels. My complete collection is here. Isn't it splendid that Google brought them all together?
DeleteI've perused the complete collection and the lime green is definitely still the scariest.
DeleteMimi, maybe we're being a bit mean to poor Cardinal Burke, what do you think? He doesn't look happy.
I confess to mean, Cathy, but Cardinal Burke is a person of power, and he urges refusal of communion to Roman Catholics who disagree with the church's official position on various matters. That's not right. Humor and mockery are one way of dealing with persons who use their power to dominate the less powerful.
DeleteYes, I didn't feel sorry for him for very long :) Not very deeply, either.
DeleteActually he does have the right to deny Communion. He is a bishop: bishops have the power to excommunicate and deny sacraments to who they see it necessary. In the case of Catholics who disagree with Church teachings, i.e. politicians who support and fight for "abortion rights," like Nancy Pelosi, he is absolutely right. His decisions are the correct ones. If a priest knew that someone had murdered someone or was in an adulterous relationship, he can refuse him Communion during Mass. Same with Cardinal Burke. He has the power, being a bishop, a man given the fullness of Holy Order at his ordination. Did you know he was ordained a Cardinal by St. John Paul II?
DeleteSo is that outdoing the lilies? Admittedly the very cynical could say the good cardinal is taking the verses a bit later to heart
ReplyDelete32 For the pagans run after all these things, {clothes, food} and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 [But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness], and all these things will be given to you as well.
and replacing the bit in [] with "But seek high office in the church"
Erp, the vestments are out of touch with the Gospel and with the great majority of the hoi polloi. I don't understand, and I would be hard-pressed not to laugh.
DeleteOr much of the Hebrew scriptures. Amos would have a few choice words.
DeleteThe vestments make no sense to me, Erp.
DeleteHe actually looks like a Bride on his way to the Altar?
ReplyDeleteMore lace their than in Brussells.
And how many Priest's salaries could it have paid for?
UKViewer, here in the US RC priests are scarce, so even if the money spent on the vestments went to pay priests, the priests are not around.
DeleteDum-dum-dee-dum, dum-dum-dee-dum... I'm humming, "Here Comes the Bride".
Gives new meaning to "lace curtain Irish".
ReplyDeleteHa ha. Indeed.
DeleteI always enjoy the striking contrast between Cardinal Burke's splendiforous prince-bishop drag, and his irritable my-laxative-didn't-work face. Maybe he's not the best ecclesiastical fashion plate, but he certainly tries.
ReplyDeleteCounterlight, I've notice the expressions, too. Is the cardinal trying for the humble look and missing the mark?
DeleteToday I actually cringed when this photo flashed on the screen! Then I thought "Damm, he keeps doing this, I wonder why - he must know it makes him a laughing stock!" Does this make him the darling of the Magna Cappa crowd?
ReplyDeleteWonderful description of his facial expression, Counterlight, will remember that one :>)
ij
Nij, some folks love this stuff. My reaction is to burst out laughing when I see the pictures of the cardinal all dressed up.
DeleteI owe Cardinal Burke, because my posts on his liturgical fashions are some of my most visited, and they remain popular even past the sell-by date.
It scares me that so many people are open about "laughing" at his Eminence. If Pope Francis were to wear such solemn garbs would he be judged? If anything you are mocking the group of people at the Mass who appreciate Burke celebrating in this form for them. The appreciate him; why can't you?
DeleteAndrew, Pope Francis favors simple vestments, so I doubt we'll see him arrayed in the extravagant style of Cardinal Burke.
DeleteThat's not the point. What makes simple vestments any better than "extravagant" ones? Or extravagant ones worse than simple ones? Even then, Pope Francis hasn't condemned any priest's use of such vestments. Not to mention the majority of the vestments in question are OLD; they're either antique or belong to the church or parish in attendance. In the case of the group in the pictures with Burke - the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest - the vestments are theirs, a majority of which come from the Lourdes and Fatima. And not to mention, no one attending the Masses seem to be too flustered about his vestments, or the other priests', or the decorations adorning the altar. They probably see it to be very beautiful.
DeleteAndrew, I guess we'll just disagree about the vestments. I'd find it difficult to keep from laughing at that kind of spectacle in a mass today. The extravagance would distract me rather than draw my mind and heart to God.
DeleteEven though that is the whole point of vestments, to draw us to God. That's why the majority of Church settings are so beautiful and grand, to draw us into the mindset of worship. But we can disagree; everyone has their preferences. But then the goal would be not to judge one bishop for his use of such vestments. What if someone were to mock a priest for wearing a simple red drape? It starts to become rude and insensitive, to Catholic heritage even! The cappa magna and the bold vestments are very much like Native American headdresses, or Spanish skirts. It is a historical vestment, rich in Catholic heritage. One shouldn't mock such practices, since they are very much ours today as they were back then. That would be like laughing at Pacific Islanders who choose to wear a grass skirt and lei - it's cultural and significant to that group of people. The cappa magna should be viewed the same way, and be cherished, not ridiculed.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c62iZ4ufOY
DeleteI am deeply moved by the contrasting images of the cardinal with the nun kneeling in prayer.
ReplyDeleteSays it all for me.
Elizabeth, thanks for calling my attention to the contrast between the simple habit of the nun praying and the rich vestments of the cardinal.
DeleteRenz, I take it you mean, "Yes". :-)
DeleteI actually think he looks rather scary :os
ReplyDeleteI thought Counterlight nailed the look quite well, Allie. The cardinal nearly always looks rather grim in his vestments that boggle my mind.
DeleteChange the glasses and he'd be Elton John's twin brother...
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha. Now James, you know the cardinal would not approve...and I'm not talking about a bird.
DeleteThe phrase "Opera Buffo" comes to mind, and I'm not exactly sure what that phrase means! O_o
ReplyDelete"Opera buffa" is a comic opera. If the cardinal sang...
DeleteCardinal Burke is one of the greatest lights of Holy Mother Church. As a former episcopalian myself, I feel incredibly blessed to have him in a leadership position in the Church. The seething rage underlying these posts does the author no credit. I wonder why an episcopalian would trouble themselves so much with a prelate of the Catholic Church? If you are a former Catholic, I applaud your intellectual honesty for departing for a sect more in line with your views. I pray for your conversion or reconversion in any event.
ReplyDeleteveneremurcernui, you certainly have a right to your opinion, as I do to mine. I do not seethe with rage against Cardinal Burke. I'm sorry he uses his power to promote exclusion, which is not the way of Jesus in the Gospel. The elaborate vestments make the cardinal a laughing-stock and open the him to ridicule, which is my way of protesting his abuse of his power. What, in heaven's name, do pricey silk and lace vestments have to do with the Gospel?
DeleteHow is he promoting exclusion? His vestments don't even project that. And what would be wrong with his vesture bringing ridicule upon himself? Aren't we all called to be mortified and to suffer for Christ? Because that's the point of the cappa, to point to Christ.
DeleteI see now that no one here really understands the purpose of the cappa. Yes it is meant to represent finery - what else is 17 meter long train for? But the important detail is what is done with the cappa during the Mass. The celebrant is publicly "stripped" of his laces and silks. He is taken apart, stitch by stitch, and clothed in the vestments of the priesthood, the armor of faith and of Christ. This symbolizes the casting out of worldly position- they have no place at the altar. That was the purpose of the cappa, which, I might add, was worn by ALL bishops until 1970.
Also, being a cardinal, the red represents the blood which he is willing to shed for the faith; that is the symbolism behind the red vestments of cardinals. In the old liturgical traditions, when the cardinals would prostate themselves in the cappas during Easter, the entire church floor would appear to be a "sea of blood," calling to mind the blood shed my the thousands of Christians for the glory of God.
You asked what pricey silk and lace vestments have to do with the Gospel. Well what does Notre Dame in Paris and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome have to do with the Gospel? What do mitres and cassocks have to do with the gospel? What do chalices and altars and gold tabernacles have to do with the Gospel? They all have to do with pointing praise and worship to God, to use whatever we lowly human beings can to adore God, i.e. using golds and other precious metals and jewels. That's why these lovely things exist: for the glory of God.
It will be interesting to see how Cardinal Burke acts under the new Pope Francis. Are there two cardinals (Francis being the former Cardinal Bergoglio) who dress differently? Bergoglio usually didn't even dress as a cardinal unless he had to because he was at a consistory or conclave in Rome, and even then he wore a plain black coat when he was outside (hence the very few pictures of him outside in Rome). He's always worn the same pectoral cross made of iron, probably plainer than any other cardinal's (it also has an image of Christ on it, which is good). And this has continued as Pope: he's abandoned the red mozzetta and red shoes, and his chasuble at his inauguration Mass was quite plain. Many cardinals have spoken or given interviews about Francis, but the only thing I've been able to find from Burke is his response to an interview request from the Washington Post: "I'm sorry, I won't be able to respond." Interesting. :)
ReplyDeleteFor some of the liturgies and ceremonies, the new pope is telling the cardinals how to dress - simply.
DeleteIt is interesting that Burke had no comment on his new boss.
I'm an Argentinian Catholic and I can't neither understand why the heck is he using these clothes at this time of the 21st century. Maybe he thinks that he is a Prince of the 13th century.
ReplyDeleteYes, Burke is old school, and he may see himself as a prince cardinal. Pope Francis recommends simpler vestments for clergy.
Delete