Los Angeles herald., 1892-04-11
Yesterday the Beginning of
Holy Week.
Some of the Ceremonies Which
Are Observed.
Services at Several of the Places of
Worship.
The Features OF the Differ ent Days OF the
Week-Dr. Williams on tho Mis-
sion of Christ-Y. M.
@. A. Matters.

various ana interesting, Delng, as they
are, symbolical of events in the life ol
Chtist. from His triumphal entry into
Jerusalem until His passion and death
on Calvary. On Palm Sunday are blessed
and distributed branches of palm among
the congregation, in memory of that
Sunday upon which Christ entered
Jerusalem in triumph and the people
threw palm branches in His path and
hailed Him with loud acclamations.
Yesterday the history of the passion
was recited as the gospel of the day.
Spy Wednesday, being the Wednesday
OF holy week, is so called in memory
of the spies who were sent out by the
priests to find Jesus, so that he might
not escape their vengeance. On Wednes-
day, Thursday and Friday of holy week
the Office OF Tenefrac is recited or chant
ed, during which fourteen yellow lights,
mounted on triangular candlestick,
are extinguished one by one,
after each psalm, leaving only
the white one at the summit,
lighted. Also, at every second verse of
the benediction, one OF the lights on the
altar is put out, till all are extinguished.
This extinction OF the lights typifies the
abandonment of Christ during His pas.
sion. He is represented by the white
candle at the top of the candlestick,
which during the Miserere, is taken
from the triangular stand and concealed
behind the altar, until slight noise ID
made at the end of the psalms, intended
to signify the convulsed state of nature
of n Anoth Nf Nh~sok "a
brought forth again, and replaced on
as a reminder that the divinity of Christ
Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday,
the last supper. 1t is called Maundy
Thursday from the first Latin word OF
the Observation-Disclosures l give you a
new command, that you love one an
other, as l have loved you; which
is sung that day in the church. During
the Gloria in Excelsis Deo the bells are
rung, after which they are silent until
the same part of the mass on Holy
Saturday, to honor the silence of Christ
during His passion. At the mass Of
this day, the bishop consecrates the
holy oils, which are used in the admin
istration of the sacraments of baptism,
confirmation, holy orders and extreme
JUNCTION, throughout the year. After
mass the host is carried in procession to
repository prepared tor its reception.
The host being removed from the prin-
cipal altar to represent the desSitution
OF Christ in His passion.
Good Friday represents the day upon
which Christ was crucified on Calvary
and is the occasion of many sole nun
Offices in the Catholic church. The pas
sion is recited and prayers are offered
up for all sorts of persons, to show that
none are excluded from the suffragee OF
the church. Then comes the venera-
tion of the cross, which consists in kiss
ing crucifix presented by the priest.
After this ceremony the host is brought
back from the repository to the altar,
and the service is concluded by it's re-
ception by the priest. The stations of
the cross are visited in the evening, fol-
lowed by benediction service.
Holy Saturday is in honor of the
sepulture of Christ. At macs He is rep
resented to the people as coming out of
the grave and triumphing over death by
His resurrection. The word night, used
in the benediction OF the Pascal candle,
and in the Collect, shows that the Office
and mass, now said in the daytim were
formerly said in the following night, to
honor the time of Christ's resurrection,
which happened in this night. The
altars, deprived of their ornaments on
Maunday Thursday, are again clothed
with them. A triple candle is lighted,
which is emblematic of the light Of
Christ, and signifies that the faith OF the
Trinity proceeds from the light commu-
nicated to us by Christ risen from the
dead. The Pascal candle is blessed in
the next place, and is figure OF the
body OF Christ, and not being lighted at
first, represents Him dead; and the five
grains of incense placed in it denote the
aromatic spices that embalmed Him in
the tomb. The lighting of the Pascal
candle is a representation of His rising
again to new life and the lighting OF
the other candles afterwards teaches
that the resurrection of Christ will be
followed by that of the faithful. Next
comes the blessing of the holy water,
which is especially coveted by the peo-
pie, and thus ends the interesting and
impressive ceremonies of holy week,
when the church casts off mourning
and prepares to joyfully celebrate the
resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday.
THE MISSION OF CHRIST.
DIR. A. G. Williams preached yester-
day morning at the University M. E..
church from John i, 29."Behold the
Lamb of God that taketh away the sin
of the world"
His subject was the EMISSION of
Christ" He said in substance that he
would only speak of one phase of His
mission, that spoken of in the text-to
take away the sin of the world-that
was the purpose of His coming. Sin
had no right in Gods universe, and is q
source of discord. There is no need to
prove that man has deplored it and
struggled against 1t and has sought to
eliminate it, and has done much under
the influence of Gods spirit, but alone
has done nothing. Some philosophers
say we are mistaken about sin, that it
can not be eliminated and must be en-
dured this was stoicism, but most say
it is a foreigner and that somehow and
sometime the world will be released
from its thralldom. 1t is marvellous
that anyone should say, II came to
destroy sin and the works OF the DEVIL"
and marvellous the way it was done. not
in an outer or material way, but by His
life and at last His death. First, the
direct method Christ uses for the des-
truction of sin is by destroying sin in
the individual heart. Not only takes the
guilt OF sin away, but removes the action
of tho aorl opi on tars the heart 10 nos.