Page:Low Mass Ceremonial (Burnett).djvu/58

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the altar-breads that are consecrated for such renewal should be as fresh as possible.


Of the Sacred Vestments

The priest, when celebrating the holy Eucharist, ought to wear (over his cassock) an amice, an alb, a stole, a maniple, and a chasuble.

The Amice is a piece of fine white linen, thirty inches long and twenty-four inches wide, or at least about twenty-four inches long and twenty inches wide, having a hem of about one quarter of an inch wide, and two tapes or cords of about a yard long, each of which is attached at one end, one to one and the other to the other of the upper corners. In the middle of the upper part, near the hem, an equal-armed cross should be embroidered in white thread. A plain white linen apparel, about two inches and a half wide and eighteen inches long, is sometimes attached to the upper edge of the amice, to serve as a covering to the stole, lest the latter be soiled by contact with the priest's neck. The same purpose may be accomplished as effectually, and more properly, by so loosely adjusting the amice (without apparel) about the neck that some portion thereof may easily be drawn over the upper or middle part of the stole.

The Alb is a white linen garment, covering all the form of the wearer from neck to feet. This vestment should not be fitted like a coat but made in a full and flowing shape, be at least five feet in length from the back of the opening at the neck to the bottom of the skirt, and have a gradually increasing breadth from the breast downward, ending in a circumference of from three to four yards at the bottom of the skirt, which in any case should be not more than three inches above the floor on which the wearer stands. If the alb is overlong for the priest who is to wear it, he should gather it up as may be needed, under the girdle. The circumference of the sleeves at the shoulders should be at least about thirty inches, and the length of the sleeves great enough to reach to the hands of the wearer.

The Girdle is a white linen rope, which should not exceed four yards in length, but may be shorter. If need so require, the girdle should be washed occasionally, and so kept clean.

The Maniple is a band of silk, three or four inches wide

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