Have cassock, will travel

Greg Burke sent out a tweet today showing several Masters of Pontifical Ceremonies sitting in an airport using their electronic devices:

Church Communications RT @piotrstudnicki @gnntridente #Catholic pic.twitter.com/eZQXQyimPX

— Greg Burke (@GregBurkeRome) August 30, 2015

What caught my attention is not that they are using the devices, but that they are traveling in their cassocks. I've traveled in my cassock once before; it makes packing much simpler.

What to wear, what to wear?

While asking What Does the Prayer Really Say?, Father John Zuhlsdorf answers a question from a reader about clerical dress that is worth a read (I, for one, did not know the Roman collar has it's origin in military uniforms).

In his answer, he cites a 1999 letter from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops about the matter that says:

In liturgical rites, clerics shall wear the vesture prescribed in the proper liturgical books. Outside liturgical functions, a black suit and Roman collar are the usual attire for priests. The use of the cassock is at the discretion of the cleric.

I was happy to see this. I was unaware of this norm and am glad to see it; the cassock is simply more comfortable than the suit.