The burse is a small square bag of sorts that contains the corporal, which is the square linen cloth on which rests the Sacred Host during the Liturgy of the Eucharist (the second half of the Mass) – hence the name, which is connected to corpus, which means “body”. The burse does harken back to the early Church in its similarity to the linen bags in which Deacons and/or ordained acolytes would carry the Blessed Sacrament to the sick (which is also still the use for another kind of burse that holds a pyx, for exactly that purpose). Today, as you will see, the burse is usually made of the same decorative fabric as the vestments for Mass.

              The chalice veil, of more recent origin (only the 1500s), is a large square cloth that covers the chalice and paten for the ancient reasons mentioned above. It harkens back to the veils that covered the Tabernacle (tent) in the time of Moses and especially the veil that covered the Holy of Holies, in which the Ark of the Covenant was placed and only the Priest could enter. Fittingly, the veil remains in place until the Offertory, reminding us how that veil was torn by the supreme Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross (and in which we participate at every Mass). Like the burse, it is also made of the same fabric as the vestments.