18 February 2013

Lentorama 2013: There's a Name for That

Day 5: maniple

The maniple is a piece of cloth that hangs off the left wrist and is colored to go with the other vestments worn by the priest. Its practical use is kind of murky to me - most suggest it started out as a cloth the priest would use to wipe his face and hands, and somehow reminiscent of the cloth used to wipe Jesus' face before the crucifixion - and its use was not required after 1967. Its use wasn't outlawed, however, so many of the more conservative groups have started to wear it again during mass.

There's all sorts of detail about the maniple in the Catholic Encyclopedia, which I will not bother with here. Leave it to us Catholics to work up so much detail over a hankie. 

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