Thomas at American Papist separates fact from media hype on the Pope’s ecological references in today’s homily, with this fantastic pickup from Reuter’s (but of course!):
Pope Benedict, leading the Catholic Church’s first ‘eco-friendly’ youth rally, on Sunday told up to half a million people that world leaders must make courageous decisions to save the planet “before it is too late.”
“A decisive ‘yes’ is needed in decisions to safeguard creation as well as a strong commitment to reverse tendencies that risk leading to irreversible situations of degradation,” the 80-year old Pope said in his homily.
Intentionally wearing green vestments, he spoke to a vast crowd of mostly young people sprawled over a massive hillside near the Adriatic city of Loreto on the day Italy’s Catholic Church marks it annual Save Creation Day.
Um, yeah. I’m hoping the Reuters reporter means “Intentionally wearing green vestments because that’s the liturgical color for Ordinary Time,” but I’m thinking, given the context into which the reference is woven…maybe not.
(And before the lectures start, no I’m not dismissing the Pope’s ecological references – at all – it’s just “What Tiny Bit of the Pope’s Words Did the Media Choose to Highlight” is a favorite pasttime around here. And…intentionally green vestments? Eco-pope!)
That’s beautiful – theme vestments. Kinda like theme liturgies. MAybe our priests could start wearing blue to go with the vamped blues setting of the Lamb o’God.
Thank goodness it was an ordinary Sunday. Imagine the headlines if it were the feastday for a martyr? “Popes words support enviornment but his wardrobe supports war.”
In fact, Benedict is so devoted to environmental causes that he had all Catholic priests everywhere! wear green vestments today.
In other news, Benedict declared the third Sunday of Advent “Breast Cancer Awareness Sunday”. All priests will wear pink vestments.
Not only that, most days they wear green vestments.
There’s also the fourth Sunday of Lent for Breast Cancer Awareness Sunday.
And sometimes they wear red. AIDS, of course!
Isn’t liturgical year info on Wikipedia or something? Crimney!
And the alternative explanation would be that the Holy Father *accidentally* wore green vestments?
Just goes to show how far removed some reporting is from Christian reality!
I know a priest who wore red one Sunday in honor of the St. Louis Cardinals.
And in the picture above, is he telling the kids to eat more broccoli?
Patrick: I’m longing for the good old days when a former archbishop of Boston temporarily suspended one of his priests as punishment for wearing a green chasuble on St. Patrick’s Day. Death to Ethnic Self-Interest!!
Heh!
Patrick, I am surprised my pastor in IL burbs hasn’t worn red for the Cards. I just may not have been there. He has prayed for bad fortune to befall the Cubs.
Supposedly, priests of the archdiocese of Baltimore petitioned Cdl. Keeler to allow purple vestments to be worn on Super Bowl Sunday in 2001. Fortunately, this request was denied.
Green vestments are striking to the non-Catholic first encountering them. I was quite struck by JP II’s when I was a birth Protestant attending the Mass on the Mall in 1978.
Patrick Kinsale………..I thought the same thing! What is B16 holding in that pic?
He’s probably using a bunch of fresh leaves as an aspergillum, to sprinkle holy water.
I wish I could find an aspergilium such as that because it not only looks better as far as I am concerned but it is much safer should a priest accidentally lose his grip.
As tempted as I might be to wear a black chasuble with gold galloon on All Saints Day in order to celebrate the founding of the Nawlins Saints on November 1, 1966, I won’t do it. Sure, it’s tempting.
“What is B16 holding in that pic?”
I think it is hyssop for the Asperges me — part of the penitential rite.
I watched the Papal Mass in Loreto on EWTN and the Vatican Radio commentator said they were using cuttings of olive branches for the sprinkling rite. The Pope did a few shakes on the people immediately near him, but several Italian bishops went through the crowd with similar olive branches aspergilia.
Here’s hoping he finds a reason to wear plaid vestments. Perhaps on Robert Burns’ birthday?
Now that would be a real kick-in-the-pants for ordinary time!
Renews my understanding that green vestments are for life and growth, intentional or not.
I smell caption contest…
I expect to see a priest dressed in orange and blue when he says Mass on the day of a Gator game.
Do not make me laugh!
There’s a time in the Catholic church called <>. We use green vestments in these times. So, the pope was not using that green chasuble for ecological… he’s just obbeying the normative! Ha ha ha!
Well, it’s a nice thought, but he didn’t wear green to intentionally make an ecological statement, as Miguel has correctly pointed out. As priests, we follow what the color of the day, the season, etc. call for. Green – ordinary time. Red – Good Friday, Passion Sunday, Pentecost and feasts of martyrs. White – Easter, Christmas, but can be worn on any day in any season. Black – for funerals (rarely used), Rose, for Laetare and Gaudete Sundays. Gold, Silver can be used in place of white for the more solemn feasts. Pope Benedict wears very nicely designed vestments, some modern, some very traditional, depending on the place and “tone” of the celebration.