Laced with implication
In photographs and YouTube videos of cele- brations of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass I notice two things. It is rare to see a woman present. The male clergy shown seem to wear lace. I wonder what links there may be between these two observations, if any? Although aesthetically I do not like lace, I would be interested in others’ hypotheses as to its provenance and current meaning in the liturgical tensions through which we are living.
I went to mass at the Duomo in Milan on Sunday (as one does) and I was struck, coming from a Vatican 2 suburban parish, at the lack of women, or indeed any lay people involved in the liturgy. And also the lack of enthusiasm with which any of the faithful responded throughout. Didn't notice the lace, but my personal preference for it is on home soft furnishing, curtains, anti-maccassa and such like rather than men's attire.
ReplyDeleteBut it did seem a long way from my home parish which is sans lace but with women extraordinary ministers, readers and such like.
I wonder if the church copes with the tensions by just pretending the other lot don't exist, or are part of some parallel universe.
Dear Greg,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your report from Milan. I completely understand your feelings about the mass at Duomo in Milan as I have experienced it myself a few times. To put things in contest, you have to consider that Duomo is the Cathedral of a big city and not a parish church. A Sunday mass in Westminster Cathedral in London could be more or less the same. One thing we should recognise about the Church as an institution is its diversity and its ability to disappoint and surprise (in a positive way) at the same time.