Black is Back!

Growing up in the 70s and going to high school in the early 80s, I remember vividly our priest-religion teacher explained to us that the Church, after the Second Vatican Council has decided not to use Black Vestments any longer. The reason he gave was that the Church realized that she should not dwell in hopelessness so instead of Black, the church has opted to use violet for requiem masses and other masses for the dead (although now I realized that this is not so and that the Church has not abolished the use of Black as a liturgical color). I grew up with that notion for so many years until recently. See the power of influence of the teacher over his or her students? That notion lingered in me until recently when I began reading church literature which explained the signification of the Black as a liturgical color. Indeed with the hermeneutics of continuity in the liturgy as promoted by the Holy Father have seen the slow but steady rediscovery and introduction of traditional elements in the modern liturgy, which for sometime, since the liturgical reforms of the 70s were made impoverished with the abandonment of many, yet beautiful elements of the liturgical tradition. Tonight as I was watching EWTN for the requiem mass for the deceased members of the Franciscan order and their benefactors, I was amazed to see the Priest celebrating Novus Ordo yet wearing black vestments. Thanks be to God! Black is back. A very positive sign that the summorum pontificum is now bearing fruit.