Hi there! I am your Lego Parish Priest, and I will demonstrate the solemn traditional method of vesting before Mass. Not all of the garments you will see here (such as the Amice and Cincture) are included in our templates; in fact, all that paper and string is just too much to wear for playing in! Nevertheless, I am here demonstrating the procedure in full. There is a special prayer for each garment that the priest says in Latin.

The Priest Washes His Hands

Give strength to my hands, Lord, to wipe away all stain, so that I may be able to serve Thee in purity of mind and body.

Da, Domine, virtutem manibus meis ad abstergendum omnem maculam ut sine pollutione mentis et corporis valeam tibi servire.

The Amice

Impone, Domine, capiti meo galeam salutis, ad expugnandos diabolicos incursus.

Lord, set the helmet of salvation on my head to fend off all the assaults of the devil.

The Alb

Make me white, O Lord, and cleanse my heart; that being made white in the Blood of the Lamb I may deserve an eternal reward.

Dealba me, Domine, et munda cor meum; ut, in sanguine Agni dealbatus, gaudiis perfruare sempiternis.

The Cincture

Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and quench in my heart the fire of concupiscence, that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide in me.

Praecinge me, Domine, cingulo puritatis, et exstingue in lumbis meis humorem libidinis; ut maneat in me virtus continentia et castitatis.

The Maniple

May I deserve, O Lord, to bear the maniple of weeping and sorrow in order that I may joyfully reap the reward of my labors.

Merear, Domine, portare manipulum fletus et doloris; ut cum exsultatione recipiam mercedem laboris.

The Stole

Redde mihi, Domine, stolam immortalitatis, quam perdidi in praevaricatione primi parentis: et, quamvis indignus accedo ad tuum sacrum mysterium, merear tamen gaudium sempiternum.

Lord, restore the stole of immortality, which I lost through the collusion of our first parents, and, unworthy as I am to approach Thy sacred mysteries, may I yet gain eternal joy.

The Chasuble

O Lord, who has said, ‘My yoke is sweet and My burden light,’ grant that I may so carry it as to merit Thy grace. Amen.

Domine, qui dixisti: Iugum meam suave est et onus meum leve: fac, ut istud portare sic valeam, quod consequar tuam gratiam. Amen.

And that's it!

The hat is called the Biretta, and I am holding the Chalice stack. The Chalice stack is simply the arrangement wherein the chalice is covered, in an orderly fashion, by the purificator, the paten with the host on it, the pall, the chalice veil, and the burse with the corporal in it. All these objects are explained at the bottom of this page.

The Cassock and Surplice

When serving the sacred liturgies, the altar boys wear two garments: the cassock and the surplice. The cassock is a long-sleeved garment which reaches to the ankles. It is red on joyful occasions, such as Easter and Christmas, and is black the rest of the year. The surplice is also long-sleeved, but can reach either to the waist or to the knee. It is always white, but it may have varying decorations about the neck, sleeves, or base.

The Chalice Stack

First, there is the Chalice. In real life, it is made of precious metal and is sometimes encrusted with jewels. The inside of the cup, which touches the Most Precious Blood, is made of pure Gold. However, I am just a personified hunk of plastic, and this isn't real but is just plastic. Hey, who says you can't play the Mass when you're not praying it?

Atop the Chalice goes the purificator, which is a white cloth for cleaning the Chalice during Mass.

On top of that is the paten, which is a gold plate. The unconsecrated host sits on this. A stiff square of linen called the pall covers the host.

This whole stack is covered with a large square of cloth called the Chalice Veil. The Chalice Veil is the same color as the vestments.

Finally, the Burse is placed above all. The Burse is a square of stiff linen much larger than the pall, and it is the same color as the vestments. Most importantly, it can be opened up. The corporal is placed inside. The corporal is a large square of linen upon which the consecrated host rests during Mass. It is folded in a special way so that no particle of the sacred species might fall out.

And that is the whole of the Chalice Stack! This is as close to the real thing as we could get with LEGO bricks.

To see exactly how we built this stack out of LEGO bricks, see our blog post Vestment How-To 01: Chalice Veil

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