This had always been my understanding until last December, when I walked into church for the Christmas Vigil mass and saw our pastor vested in red . Apparently, no one else noticed. As is often the case in the more liberal dioceses, certain priests manage to get their way by 'interpreting' church documents. In this situation, he must have applied option 'g'.
"On more solemn days, sacred vestments may be used that are festive, that is, more precious, even if not of the color of the day."
That evening, I watched the masses televised from Washington DC and the Vatican. All the priests were vested in white. /sigh/
That is the problem of offering so many options. (I assume if there is an option 'g', there are also options a,b,c,d,e, and f.) When there are so many allowable exceptions to the rule, the rule becomes meaningless.
Apparently, no one else noticed. As is often the case in the more liberal dioceses.
I find it difficult to be too hard on the average Catholic in the pew, with so many exceptions allowed, and so many changes to the exceptions all the time, it is next too impossible to keep up with what is or isn't allowed in the NO. But, perhaps that is the objective.
We welcome the third candle of Advent 2009.