Liturgical Colors

01-23-2022Weekly ReflectionBernadette Linde, Director of Music and Liturgy

Our senses are piqued in many ways at Mass: the sounds of the music and choir, the aroma of the incense, and the images depicted in paintings and stained glass windows. A prominent way that our sense of sight is awakened and helps draw us deeper into the liturgy and its seasons is through the different colors of vestments the priest and deacon wear.

Green is worn on Sundays and Ferias (days of the week other than Sunday with no other feast or saint being celebrated; also known as weekdays) during the season of Ordinary Time. It is a symbol of life, anticipation, and hope.

Violet/Purple is worn during the Sundays and Ferias of Advent and Lent. It can also be utilized at Funeral Masses or All Souls’ Day Masses. The color was originally associated with royalty, due to its expense to dye. It is now a symbol of penance, fasting, preparation, and sacrifice.

Red is worn on the feasts of martyrs, apostles, and evangelists; Palm Sunday; Good Friday; Pentecost; Feasts of the Passion of the Lord; the Passion of St. John the Baptist; the Sacrament of Confirmation; and votive Masses of the Holy Spirit. The sanguine color signifies fire, blood, and passion.

White is worn for many things including the season of Easter (from the Easter Vigil up to the Vigil of Pentecost), the season of Christmas (from the Christmas Vigil through the Baptism of the Lord), Holy Thursday, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Feasts of Mary, Feasts of Our Lord (excluding those relating to His passion), Feasts of saints who were not martyrs, Feasts of the angels, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Nativity of John the Baptist, the Feast of All Saints, the Sacrament of Baptism, the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and the Sacrament of Matrimony. It can also be worn for Funeral Masses, a parish’s patronal feast day or anniversary, and Thanksgiving Day. White is a symbol of joy, purity, light, and glory.

Rose is worn only two times during the liturgical year: Gaudete Sunday (the Third Sunday of Advent) and Laetare Sunday (the Fourth Sunday of Lent). The words gaudete and laetare are both Latin words that translate to “rejoice.” These Sundays occur around the halfway points of their respective seasons, signifying the anticipation of a joyful event to come. Rose is a symbol of rejoicing and anticipation.

Black can be worn for All Souls’ Day Mass and Funeral Masses. It is not frequently used, as Vatican II states that white is the preferred color, as it reminds us of the Resurrection and our baptism. Black is a symbol of death and mourning.

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