Post by stepnwolf on Oct 29, 2013 21:35:23 GMT 9.5
This morning I watched a Mass, which was being said by a Bishop, who was wearing embroidered white gloves, as is customary on such occasions. In a flashback I remember that the Brn in my mother lodge also wore gloves. I don't recall seeing gloves in the “Adyar working” but they were used in the old North American Ritual of my Lodge.
They are reported to be worn in France, which probably accounts for the practice in the early North American Ritual of LDH. The custom of bestowing two pairs of gloves upon the candidate has been reported in early Freemasonry (http://www.sacred-texts.com/mas/sof/sof22.htm), one pair for himself and one for his lady. The gallant French described the lady as the female whom he most esteems, leaving a little wiggle room for the candidate.
The symbolism is much like the white lambskin apron of an EA: purification, sacrifice (Abraham's substituting of Isaac for the lamb of sacrifice), service (donning gloves for heavy work). I understand that in some Lodges officers wear white gloves as a symbol of service to the Lodge and as a reminder of the Biblical verse in Psalms 24:3-4: “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? 4He who has clean hands and a pure heart”.
Some in our lodge wear gloves but most do not. We live in a hot climate for half the year and it was not practical. We then got used to not wearing them, and don't.
Psalms quoted above sum up what we have believed about the gloves. But I rather suspect them might be a practical side to wearing them, to do with the subtle energies. Someone might be able to enlighten us on that point.
I was told that the long gowns that priests/rabbis/holy-men-in-general wear are worn for the same reason ? Urban myth ? And it has just occurred to me that when the priest holds the Monstrance up he does so without allowing his hands to touch it.
Interesting.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
I suspect that the design of the vessel being used there (a monstrance) dates from the Counter-Reformation where the Roman Church attempted to express in form the inner visions of the saints.
The use of the monstrance or ostensorium developed from the medieval times to display some object of piety to the faithful. This might be a sacred relic or, more commonly, the consecrated Host believed to be the body of Christ.
Whenever the monstrance is held or carried in procession, the hands are wrapped in a cloth called the humeral veil as a sign of reverence so that the hands do not touch the monstrance directly.
The Host being a circular white Light? The Sun is a source of white light?
White light is the name given to what the human eye sees when all the colors that make up the visible light spectrum are combined; the visible light spectrum is made up of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet light, and these colors combined make white lighting.. Many people commonly refer to white light simply as "light" or "visible light," and it is this light that makes it possible to view one's surroundings. Several sources of white lights exist including the sun and stars..
Although it is a less common definition of the term, some holistic healers refer to white light as a part of the universe that stores all positive energy. By calling on the white light, it is believed that auras can be cleansed and protected from negative energy. Spiritual healers, yogis, and mystics are among those who attempt to connect with this light, often through prayer and meditation.