Chris McDonnell’s ‘Catholic Times’ column: A Roof Tile to Wear.

Head coverings come in many shapes and sizes, as do the terracotta tiles that roof houses. This week’s words are built round the various tiles we wear on our heads and their significant purpose.

 

A roof tile to wear

Chris McDonnell Catholic Times

There is a phrase we often use- ‘if the cap fits, wear it.’ Reflecting on that phrase made me think of the great variety of head coverings that we wear and how each has a particular significance.

Let’s start with the humble flat cap. We have all seen the black and white newsreel images from the early years of the last century, where hundreds of workers were filmed streaming out of the factories and ship yards, wearing their working clothes, their heads under flat caps.

It became symbolic of a class of manual workers who through the toil of their hands contributed to our national wealth. Someone I knew very well always referred to his flat working cap as his ‘toile’ or ‘tile’. It did for his head what terracotta roofing tiles do for a house. It gave protection from the elements.

How different from the crowns of kings who wore with ostentation their symbol of power, often encrusted with expensive gems and materials. We actually use the very word ‘crown’ to indicate the source of national power.

The papacy itself employed the same symbol of prestige and authority. The papal tiara, or triple crown, was worn by popes from as early as the 8th century through to the mid-20^th century when it was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963 for a short period at the beginning of his reign. Now the pope either wears a simple white zucchetto or skull cap or, when appropriate, his mitre as Bishop of the See of Rome.

Thinking back through the years, I can still remember serving Mass when the celebrant wore a black, three veined Biretta as he walked from the sacristy to the foot of the altar, there to take it off to hand to the server who placed it on the altar step. It was another small indication of his priestly dignity that made him different from us. Rarely seen these days, its loss is not mourned.

Within the orthodox Jewish tradition hats come in different forms varying from the broad brimmed black hat to the round fur head covering. The small black velvet kippah bears a close similarity to the zucchetto of the Christian community.

Caps are also associated in many ways with sport. We speak of a player being ‘capped for their country’ when, because of their skill and experience, their performance is recognised and rewarded. Another sporting connection is when a head covering is a matter of personal protection as in a Rugby scrum cap or the hard hat and face visor worn by Cricketers. For speed in the pool, swimmers wear a thin rubber stretch cap over their hair as they race through the water.

The school cap has been part of school uniform over many years when, to be found without it, was an occasion for a good telling off. I recall a De La Salle brother who stood at the school gate each evening, checking that our caps were firmly in place as we left the school grounds, only to be stuffed into bags as soon as we were out of sight.

Whether or not it was widely used, the figurative Dunce’s Cap has woven itself into classroom mythology, used to single out failure by causing its wearer public humiliation. Not I would suggest the best way to encourage and support learning.

For those who are members of the College of Cardinals, in addition to the paraphernalia of red trimmed cassock, red buttons and scarlet fascia (sash), each cardinal is presented with a broad brimmed red hat as a symbol of his position. We do in fact summarise those who become cardinals as having received the ‘red hat’.

In the UK the police helmet is a familiar sight on the streets although more and more it is being replaced by a peaked cap or a baseball style cap. Its style and manufacture gave protection to the man who wore it.

Just as the flat cap became a symbol of class, so the bowler hat and the top hat denoted a societal position. The status of wearing one or the other was valued. It was the bowler hat that became a cunning weapon when used by Odd Job in one of the Bond movies, Goldfinger.

That brief run-through of head attire has a common thread, for apart from the functionality of offering protection for our skulls, what we wear often has a social significance. You have only to reflect on the association of the ’hoodie’ with teenage misbehaviour. In the United States red baseball caps decorated with the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ have become tawdry symbols of the years of this current Presidency.

We so easily make judgments based on appearance without delving that little bit further to explore the person. The practice of wearing a baseball cap back-to-front is familiar on the streets of our towns and cities. A friend of mine visiting New York City recently, went into a store and asked for a cap with the peak at the back…. For some reason such humour wasn’t appreciated in down-town Manhattan!

For many people, what they wear is an important part of status, it says who they are and in a strange way protects their persona.

The contrast in current vestment styles with those of earlier years has to be seen to be believed. A priest in a simple white alb is to my mind more suitably dressed than one wearing an ornate ‘fiddle back’ chasuble over a laced trimmed alb. That movement away from elaborate forms of dress was one of the gifts and insights of the Council. A good friend always celebrated the Eucharist in just a white alb and a simple stole. He didn’t feel the need to get ‘dressed-up’ for the occasion. The celebration of the Eucharist is more important than that.

In a similar manner, many women’s religious orders gave up a distinctive dress and adopted a simple manner of clothing that was practical and uncluttered. Often only a simple veil remained to indicate their calling.

Our dignity comes from who we are rather than how we appear. Soon enough others will recognize our worth by what we do and what we say. Our compassion and understanding, our willingness to listen is a true mark of our personal integrity.

Watching the first Presidential Candidates debate at the end of September was an object lesson of a failure to listen to real need and anxiety. It offered a world view that was both selfish and deaf. It led Vice-President Joe Biden to come up with the memorable words “Will you shut up man?” Exasperation broke through the maelstrom of incoherent sound.

Returning to the covering of our heads. When greeting someone it is customary to raise our cap or hat if we happen to be wearing one. It is a mark of respect that we offer both friend and stranger. It is a simple action that satisfies common courtesy.

In a different gesture, when a monk pulls up his hood to cover his head, he does so with the intention of prayerful dedication. His habit is simple, it serves only a practical purpose, no frills attached.

Maybe in this secular age monastic communities still have something to teach us. There is a great difference between essentials and trivia if only we are sensitive to the circumstance of time and place.