Monday, June 27, 2005

The Ladies in Blue

I went to a neighboring parish recently and discovered, to my horror, that the Extrodinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist (I'm sure they are known as "Eucharistic Ministers" there) are in royal blue albs. They looked very much like female preistesses, which I'm sure is the point.

As much as I love the color blue in general, it is not a proper liturgical color. What is the liturgical point of having the altar dressed in green, or purple, or whatever, only to have the EM's in bright blue?!?! Are we trying to draw attention to ourselves, perhaps? Hmmmm... Interesting that the (male) priest just happens to be dressed in the same color as the altar, conveniently blending in...

I don't really think that EM's need to be in any pseudo- liturgical garb at all. Given the fact that they are laity, appropriate church clothes are sufficient. The same types of people who want to make lay people into clergy don't think twice about sisters who dress in street clothes. This clergicizing of the laity has got to stop.

No comments:

Dymphna's favorite quotes


"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

my poetry on the web

Karumi Garden

Karumi Garden
my haiku