latin switch

​One of my best decisions occurred on August 30, 2020, when I appeared at the doorstep of St. Stephen the First Martyr Catholic Church Sacramento (FSSP). Fifty years in the alternative church were left behind.
You are welcome to join me any Sunday at 6PM. I serve as an usher, and you will find me in the vestibule before Mass begins. We have multiple copies of the Red Book, which is the Latin Mass in its simplified form with Latin and English on each page.
The Epistle and Gospel change every day and are not in the Red Book, but on Sunday they are read in Latin from the altar and then in English from the pulpit.



​What is a maniple, and why do priests wear it?
A maniple is a short length of cloth that is looped over the left arm of the priest.
As a piece of clothing, the maniple goes all the way back to ancient Rome. It was simply a handkerchief used either to wipe away perspiration or as a decorative piece—uses that the handkerchief still serves today.
As a liturgical vestment, the maniple goes back to at least the 6th century, with its original purpose possibly being to simply wipe the face during Mass.
It bears profound spiritual meaning. Various interpretations of it developed over time, eventually coalescing into the meaning we glean if we read the beautiful prayer that the priest prays while putting it on, referencing Psalm 125:
Merear, Domine, portare manipulum fletus et doloris; ut cum exsultatione recipiam mercedem laboris.
May I deserve, O Lord, to bear the maniple of weeping and sorrow in order that I may joyfully reap the reward of my labors.
The maniple illustrates the priest’s role as a laborer in Christ’s vineyard, the Holy Mass being his chief work. It’s a life that entails a great deal of blood, sweat, toil, and tears, but which has as its reward the salvation of eternal souls.
For us laymen, the maniple is an encouragement to do our own appointed work with fortitude and hope, and a reminder that God’s grace, given in the Holy Mass and the Sacraments through the hands of the priest, will always enliven and sustain us.
Excerpt from The Catholic Company.

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