I like superheroes as much as the next guy. I still read comic books from time to time (mainly to help get my mind off marking assignments, reading curriculum update reports... and the odd break from a theology-heavy tome is good too) and I love the superhero sub-culture (I hope to go to San Diego Comic Con. one day). When I was at university doing my Media Studies/Journalism degree I even wrote a ten thousand word thesis on Superman as a Christ figure in popular culture. As a Catholic-Christian, however, my praise and worship goes to the super hero: the Lord Jesus Christ. My Lord is real and I do my best in life to live as He taught and to bring Him to others as scripture and the Church exhorts us. Superheroes like Batman and Superman are fictional, and while there can be a cult following of fictional characters such as these, they are - in the end - fictional and there for one's entertainment and should not be idolised per se.
Less than a day or so ago, I came across the following image on Twitter:
So what we have here is a priest celebrating Mass at what I'm told is a youth rally, wearing vestments (the stole and chasuble specifically) with superhero patches printed or stitched on (I'm not sure to whom the image belongs but it was tweeted by another Twitter user).
My first reaction was, "Wow. Cool!" So doing what any ordinary Tweeter would do, I favourited the tweet and retweeted it. It was this morning before Mass this morning, however, that I got a message from a very well respected Catholic apologist (a man that I have a lot of respect for myself and an admirer of the work he does) suggested that this was sacrilegious. After some thought and reflection, I'm inclined to agree.
I was left wondering whether there was a document outlining the norms for the liturgical vestments, and with the help of my friend, Mr. Google, I did find something... something from the Vatican website. From the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, there was this document, Liturgical Vestments and the Vesting Prayers. Here are a couple of extracts:
"Beyond the historical circumstances, the sacred vestments had an important function in the liturgical celebrations: In the first place, the fact that they are not worn in ordinary life, and thus possess a 'liturgical' character, helps one to be detached from the everyday and its concerns in the celebration of divine worship."
"The form of the vestments, therefore, says that the liturgy is celebrated 'in persona Christi' and not in the priest's own name. He who performs a liturgical function does not do so as a private person, but as a minister of the Church and an instrument in the hands of Jesus Christ."
... and on the stole and the chasuble specifically:
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