The public officials of the Church act in the name of the Church as the public officials of the State act in the name of the people. Now, we find that it is the custom for the civil officials to wear a certain style of clothing which marks them as the representatives of the State. Thus we have military uniforms, police uniforms, judges gowns and the like. In this country the use of distinctive clothes for governmental officials is not as extended as in other countries. But the custom is gradually growing, and it is now sufficiently extensive to illustrate the principle that the public officials are distinguished by a peculiar dress.
In the Church we find that the public officials also use a uniform when officiating at the divine services. The technical names for such uniforms are "Vestments," "Sacred Vestments" or "Ornaments." (See No. 72.) These Vestments are employed, not only to mark the ministers as representatives of the Church, but also for the purpose of maintaining the dignity and adding to the solemnity of the Liturgy. When we go to visit one for whom we have great respect we always wish to appear in our best. So when we appear before Almighty God there is a natural inclination to do Him as much honor at least as we would do our fellow men.
It is very important to remember that uniforms or vestments were originally the ordinary dress of the people. In civil affairs, as well as in ecclesiastical, this is true. They represent a style of clothes which was once universal, but has passed now from general use. The public have followed the changes of fashion; the officials have clung to the old shape and cut. In the Church it is certain that for five centuries the vestments worn in the Liturgy differed in nothing from the clothes worn in civil life. They may have been of better stuff, and it is true that, once they were employed in the Church, it was not permitted to turn them again to profane uses. After the invasions of the barbarians the style of civil garments was changed, and thus the Church vestments obtained in the eyes of the people a special and peculiar form.
This is particularly remarkable in the case of the ordinary dress of the cleric. It is easy to understand that in the days of the persecution the clergy would not distinguish themselves by affecting a special style of clothing. Indeed, they wore the ordinary habiliments of the people, and the distinction which afterwards grew up arose from the fact that the popular fashions changed, while the ecclesiastics clung to the old styles. Thus the "Cassock" or "Soutane," which is a long black garment reaching to the heels, is really the ancestor of the modern coat. If we lengthen the skirts of an ordinary "Prince Albert" and turn up the collar, we have the Cassock. This was the common garment of the people in the Middle Ages, and all the modern styles of coats have arisen by cutting and slashing at the skirts and by turning down the collar. The name Cassock probably comes from the Italian word, "Casa," a house, and the Cassock covered the whole body like a little house. It is called "Soutane," from the Latin word "Subtus," under, because worn under the other vestments. In Catholic countries like France and Italy the Cassock is worn by the clergy even on the streets. In the United States and other English-speaking countries it is used only in the church and house. The color of the Cassock varies with rank of the person who wears it. The Pope's Cassock is white, a Cardinal's red, a Bishop's purple, a priest's black. In seasons of penance and mourning a Cardinal wears violet and a Bishop black. The Cassocks of the members of some of the Religious Orders differ in shape and material from the Cassocks of the Diocesan clergy. The Cistercians and Dominicans wear white, the Franciscans a dark brown. Among the Regulars, the Cassock is known as the "habit," from the French word "habit," a coat. When a member of a religious Order is made a Bishop he retains the color peculiar to his Order.
From the preceding paragraph it will be seen that various colors are employed in the vestments. Up to the sixth century the liturgical garments were white, but during the Middle Ages an elaborate scheme of colors was devised. "White," being the original color, is used on all feasts, except those of saints who have shed their blood for the faith. Naturally for such Martyrs "Red" is in use. It is also appropriately employed on the feasts commemorative of the various incidents of our Lord's Passion, and on Pentecost Sunday, in memory of the "tongues of fire" which came down upon the Apostles. "Violet" is the color of mourning, and is used on occasions of public affliction and sorrow, as, for instance, during Lent. It appears on one feast, namely, that of the Holy Innocents, and reminds us of the "voice in Rama, lamentation and great mourning." "Green" is the symbol of hope and of the resurrection, and is used on all Sundays whereon White or Red or Violet is not appropriate. "Black" is set for the Liturgy of the dead, and for Good Friday, the anniversary of the Crucifixion. It should be noticed that the festival colors, that is to say, White, Red and Green, may be replaced by vestments of cloth of gold. Violet and black are the penitential colors, and were formerly considered as mere varieties of the one color. Hence they were interchangeable. In fact, even now in certain circumstances violet takes the place of black. Rose-colored vestments are used at Solemn Mass on the third Sunday in Advent and the fourth in Lent. Blue vestments are permitted on the feasts of the Blessed Virgin in the Spanish churches. In the Oriental Liturgies the development of the color scheme has been much restricted. Many of the Eastern Churches still use white vestments exclusively.
- taken from The Mass, by Father Peter Christopher Yorke