The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-04-16
HOLY WEEK.
Explanation of Ceremonies in st
Johns Church.


some" P@nosa," from the painful
sufferings which our Lord endured
during this week, but by ST. John
Chrysoston it is called the "Great
Week." which name it still retains in
the Roman Missal and Breviary. 1t
is the time that the church blesses the
materials for her greatest mysteries,
namely, the water for baptism, and the
oils for extreme junction.. confirmation
and the conservation of affairs and
churches.
The exercises for the week proper
begin on Palm Sunday, which is So
called in honor of the triumphant en-
try of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
when many of the Jews cut of
branches from the trees and strewed
them in the way through which he
was to pass. In memory of this tri.
umph does the Catholic Church bless
palms and distribute them and have
them Carried in solemn procession by
the faithful.
Maundy Thursday is essentially a
day of rejoicing as it is day of thanks
giving expressed by the ringing of
bells and the white color of the vest
ments aud the ornaments of the altar
After singing the Gloria in Excesis,
the bells are silent and no more music
is heard in the church until the same
angelical hymn is repeated at Mass on
Holy Saturday, and all this in honor
of the wonderful silence of Our Lord
during His Passion, as well as to ex-
press the silent mourning of the
church for the death of her spouse.
On Good Friday, as isHfitting, the
church offers no sacrifice. In the of
flee performed instead of the Mass she
contents herself with the bare repre-
sentation of the passion. 1t is with
this intent that ouly such lessons,
tracts, ETC., as contain predictions of
the coming2f Christ are read, aud af-
forwards tue history of His Passion as
related by st. John is chanted. Then
both the Priest and the people express
their alteration to Christ by kissing the
wounds represented by his figure on
the cross.
On Holy Saturday the affairs are
again clothed with ornaments of
which they were stripped on Maundy
Thursday. Then follows the blessing
of the new fire and the blessing of the
Paschal candle. After this ceremony
comes the chanting of the prophecies
and then. the blessing of the baptis-
NAL font. This last blessing is replete
with mystical ceremonies. N). The
Priest divides the water in the form of
a cross, signifying that it confers grace
and sanctity 10y the means of Christ
crucitied. (2). He touches it with
his hands, praying that it may be free
from evil spirits. (3) He signs it
three times with the sign of the cross
to bless 1t in the name OF the Holy
Trinity. He plunges the Paschal can
die thrice into it, praying that the
Holy Ghost may descend upon it as he
did at the baptism of Christ in the wa
tiers of the Jordan. Then follows the
singing of the Litanies and Mass.
One of the most mournful ceremon-
les of the whole week is the chanting
of the Office of Tenebrae on Wednes-
DAY, Thursday and Friday evenings
1t takes the name of Tenebrae from
the ceremony of gradually extinguish-
1 ing the candles until at last the office
concludes in total darkness. On these
three days we hear no longer the
pslams ana hymns of praise, no more
the solemn invocation of Gods assis
lance. The Lamentations of Jeremias
and the story of the passion takes their
place. Here, as before, all the ceremon-
) les have their own mystical significa-
ton. The six candles on the altar aud
the fifteen placed on the Epistle side
signify the light of faith, the funda-
mental article of which is the mystery
of the Blessed Trinity represented by
the triangular candlestick. At the
end of each of the fourteen psalms,
the candles in the triangular candlestick
are extinguished to signify that the
Jews were totally deprived of the light
of faith when they put our Saviour to
death. The fifteenth candle, q white
one placed on the top angle, which rep
resents the light of the world, Jesus
Christ, is concealed for time at the
end of the altar and afterwards
brought out burning. This signifies
that although Christ died according to
his humanity, yet he was alive accord
ing to his divinity.
Such are some of the ceremonies
with their Specifications as they are
carried out in the Catholic Church
during the season, varying in detail ac-
cording TO the circumstances. AT St.
Johns these ceremonies are carried
out in all their magnifieence and with
every attention to detail. Its proXim-
ity TO the Novitiate makes this very
easy matter, as the Fathers and Scho-
lastics can take part in the professions
and in the chanting of the offices.
On Wednesday evening at 730 FIR.
Giraud the Reverend pastor began the
exercises by an explanation of the Holy
Weeks exercises, what they are and
what they typify, and what is the
spirit of the church in entering into
them.
Thursday the Rev. Father Rector Of
the Novitiate was the celebrant at the
Mass, at which the Novitiate Com.
munity received their Paschal com
munion. In the evening Father
O'Rourke preached on the Blessed
Sacrament. Good Friday morning
] FIR. Giraud ofiiciated at the Mass Of
the pre-sanctified, and in the evening
FIR. Burchard Villiger, S. j., will
preach the Passion of Christ Sunday
Rev. Fir. Giraud, s. j., will be the eel
ebrant at the solemn High Mass anC
FIR. O'Rourke will preach the sermon
on the Resurrection
Rev. James Casey, Professor Q
Rhetoric at the Novitiate, preached oil
| HOLY Thursday night in the George