A Rhapsody In Blue Chasuble

Today we shall share the new chasuble we've made for Father Michael Sahdev.  You may remember the red one from a couple of years ago ... memorable because of it's dragon-slaying Archangel enshrined within the pommel of the 3D chalice embroidered on its breast...  if you don't, check it out here.

That embroidered chalice has caused much sensation - one day, we've pledged, that design must be realized in real silver and gold... so the real blood of The Lord it may hold - but so far, it sees a second incarnation in this new chasuble too.  At least in the tiniest of ways... but ever so present:

The choice was obvious when we discussed some design or theme for the planned white vestment.  Doing the chalice again seemed like a good way to have a link between the first chasuble and the new one... but why merely copy?  What about placing it on the altar? Have Jesus Himself as priest and Sacrifice.

But we had also discussed incorporating some blue... a nudge to Mary.  White vestments are used for the Marian Feasts as well as the Baptisms, Weddings, celebration of non-martyred saints, and of course: Easter, Christmas and All Hallows' Day.

Standing at 6'6" tall, that's a lot of fabric in a gothic chasuble... so we needed something more than plain white fabric... something with a large enough pattern, enough body to stand and drape gracefully, and this pale silver and gold floral brocade which would have been at home in a 17c painting fell from heaven, as it were.

A royal blue lining was that touch of Mary... yet... finding the electric blue brocade interwoven in silver and gold had everyone in jubilant expectation of seeing what could become of all these seemingly disparate parts.  Like a rhapsody: it is episodic, contrasting, capriciously majestic, and extravagantly blue.   Could we give it any other name?

You know it had to be what it is:  The Rhapsody in Blue Chasuble.

But beyond the obviously external, the evident even from the farthest pew in church... it is also a deeply special and intimate homage to the inspiration which fills the breast of the priest who wears it:

At the center, as we already saw, is the chalice with the blood and the flesh shining above: Jesus as the sacrifice and priest at once.  God sacrificing Himself to Himself.  Something every priest remembers when re-enacting that first mass.

To his right is the precursor Saint John the Baptist, His cousin, who recognized Him even when each was still within the womb of their mothers...  and speaking of Mary Full Of Grace, she stands behind, supporting the fruit of Her womb, with a hand on His shoulder.

John, of course holds a silver shell as those used to baptize... for lest anyone forgets, he was not only the one to sprinkle Jesus with the waters of The Jordan, but also His cousin... and cousins seem to always hold bunny ears or some such in pictures, if they can - do they not? 

So, the raised arm in the gesture of baptizing is our way of remembering that even in the most serious of subjects there should be mirth, for after all, The Agapeic Meal is a heavenly sight and nothing to frown over, solemn as it is.

Mary, all the while, holds a candle.  

This recalls Jesus being called "Light of the World" and also a nod to her Churching, also known as The Purification of Mary (February 2nd, 40 days after The Christ's birth).  In some of the Romance languages birthing is equated with the mother "giving light" to her child: "dar a luz" in Spanish and Portuguese.  Sometimes they also gift chasubles (Hi Pam!). 

Family is thus here represented.  It was, after all, the mother and the aunt and the cousins of Father Michael who invested him with his own first chasuble the day of his ordination.  Something to remember not just when wearing that special red chasuble, but also this white one on ever more happy occasions to come.

Speaking of inspiration, the other two figures represent the patron saints of the most important parishes in which the priest in question has served:  Saint Benedict of Nursia, in his monastic habit represents his childhood parish, and church where he said his first mass.  The confessor kneels opposite Saint Philip The Evangelist, who had been one of the original Seven Deacons in Jerusalem, and is the namesake of the church where Father Michael says mass now.

Detail of the Kissing Cross on the Priestly Stole.

 So there you have it.  From the broadest sight to the smallest of details; for the farthest spectator to the most inquisitively near-sighted inspector:  The Rhapsody in Blue chasuble should be as good as any other instrument in the work of evangelizing those who should wonder or ask "why the blue?" or "what does the little cup mean?".  

When everything has a reason, and the logic is ever to point to the source and ends of all... we should be satisfied that a good thing has come to be.  And so, it is.  The design, from the mind, onto the paper and into the stitches in thread, now too: is as it ought - put to the good service.

The dragon slaying days are never over

It began a couple of months ago with The Word... well, at least it was then that we heard word of the need of a new chasuble for the upcoming ordination of the Rev Michael Sahdev as priest.  There were a couple of discussions, emails back and forth, and then we readied our vision for his approval.

From there,  we discussed the the measurements and convened on a choice of fabric.

The design was nearly ready, except perhaps, refining the details of the chalice motif for the centre of the chasuble.  The chalice and paten/host are the symbol of the Eucharistic ministry of a new priest and the service he performs in command and commemoration of Our Lord in that rite we know as The Mass. Michael had seen patches with embroidered chalices before... but we imagined something unlike what is done elsewhere these days.  The image was in the mind... then out into a quick sketch, and a request for a little faith, as always, for the cartoon of the design can't compare to what we know it can become.

So off to the works: engineering three-dimensional forms in a computer so they become fabric and thread - easier said than done.

The head is too small to get a good likeness.... so what if we take a bead of ivory and carve it?  Done.
Saint Michael's head of nobler material could not be.  And the priest-to-be worried, "what if it falls off?"  But nothing many rows of thread - and yes, a bit of jeweler's glue too - could not secure.  It shall be attached still a hundred and two, and three hundred years from now, when we are all gone and it is used by another priest, or enshrined in a cathedral museum somewhere.  These vestments are to serve not just at the altar, but as testament of our sacred arts, our devotion and represent the customs and the culture of our times.  Should someone forget how and in what regard religion was held in our days, they should see this and trust in our resolve, our witness of the faith was deliberate, and steady, and respectful.  This is our witness.

So along came the halo and the wings, and the dragon at his feet (with a little forked tongue hanging to the side, for the devil is slain, defeated, pierced by the archangel's spear and no longer cause for fear as the story goes).

And there were pearls, as the clouds upon which the fight of good and evil once ensued.  And then a shrine to protect its memory and encapsulate it, for this chapter described in the tiny scene, dynamic and symbolic, is but part of a larger mystery: that of the chalice and host which represent the blood and body of Christ.

The little shrine takes the place of the knob which is ubiquitous in the chalices used in the Christian liturgies.  In the medieval and Renaissance periods there are instances of this, so Gothic gables and forms were used to harmonize the whole.

Issuing from the chalice and host are rays of light of gold, for they represent the covenant of our salvation by following the precepts of Christ: foremost of which is to drink the wine and eat the bread in memory of Him.

Here we see Father Michael during the celebration of his first mass and perhaps the symbolism is clearer than ever.  While he consecrates the bread and wine at the altar, the design on his chasuble is a visible symbol of the salvific mystery being carried out in the said consecration.

As chalices go, it is apt that he was given a token one by the Bishop during the ordination, and a real one by the members of the Vestry of the church where he was baptised, confirmed, and worshiped until this Saturday when he was ordained at the Cathedral and returned to the church for his first mass.

We hope he wears this chasuble on every anniversary of his ordination and be reminded not just then, but every time he  has to vest it, of the weighty office and tasks, but also the great honour of serving as the agent of salvation for the faithful and even those who perhaps do not yet belief - but attracted by the shine of the chalice, the beauty of our religion which is designed to echo the Holy! Holy!Holy! chanted in heaven, be instructed into its deeper meaning, and the reason of its being.

May your patron in the little shrine, Saint Michael the Archangel, guard and protect you, Father, and may he help you defeat the evils of the world so that the mystery of salvation contained in the chalice be accessible to all. Thank you for allowing Klave Centesca the opportunity to add to the treasures of Our shared Christian faith for now and posterity, and may the Peace of the Lord remain always with you.

The Legend on the design reads: IHS : MICHAEL + PRIEST + JUN 3 + A.D. 2017 + as testament of the day it was first used.    So as we say back home: Ad multos annos!