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St. Joseph Catholic Church

1875 S C R 700 W
North Vernon, IN 47265

Rev. Jonathan P. Meyer, Administrator

Office Hours:

Monday Office closed
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 8:30 AM till 12:30 PM

St. Joseph Rectory Phone: 812-346-4783
Fax: 812-352-9033

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We saw you wearing a black vestment at a funeral and a gold vestment on Christ the King. Why these colors?

  • By a law of her liturgy the Church directs that the vestments worn by her sacred ministers, and the drapery used in the decoration of the altar should correspond in color to that which is prescribed for the Feast of the Day or the Liturgical Season. The colors thus sanctioned by the Church, in connection with her public worship, are called the liturgical colors. The norm for liturgical colors is a follows: White: Easter, Christmas, Feasts of our Lord, Feasts of our Lady and Feasts of the Saints who did not die as martyrs. Green: Ordinary Time. Red: Feasts of our Lord that pertain to his Passion and Death (Palm Sunday, Good Friday, etc.) Feasts pertaining to the Holy Spirit, Feasts of saints who die as martyrs. Violet: Lent and Advent, days of penance (Anniversary of Roe v. Wade). Rose: Third Sunday of Advent and Fourth Sunday of Lent. Black: All Souls Day and Masses of the Dead. Gold: can be interchanged for white Silver: can be interchanged for white Blue: NOT a liturgical color in the United States; however, there are some dioceses in Spain that it is permissible. White/gold/silver vestments are permitted to have blue upon them in honor of our Lady. Funerals: the priest has the option to wear white, violet or black. The priest vestments that are these colors are as follows: Stole- scarf-like vestment that hangs around the priest’s neck. Chasuble- outer vestment that a priest wears that covers the stole and alb. Chalice Veil-square cloth that covers the chalice Cope-long cape worn for liturgies outside the context of Holy Mass: benediction, blessings, processions etc. Humeral Veil-long piece of material used to carry the Blessed Sacrament with. Other items: Tabernacle Veil- cloth that covers the tabernacle Ambo cover- decorative cloth that covers the lectern Antependium-decorative altar covering Altar Cloths- the bottom most cloth may be of the liturgical color. Various cloths and draperies used in the sanctuary
    Next week I will begin a series of columns on artificial birth control/contraception. The recent news about condoms will be addressed and clarified!

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