The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-04-03
SERVICES FOR HOLY WEEK
THE IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIES
OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Lessons TNuEht by the customary
Services-Many of Them Typify
Sacred Mysteries-The SClemnity
of the Gloom Preceding Easter.
Today opens the week which brings
| to a close the Lenten season. By rea-
| son Of the sanctity Of the events COM
memorated during It's passage 1t is call
| ed the Holy Week. In ancient times 1t
| was also known as the Great Week.
ION account" says st. Chrysostom, "of
| the great things which God has
| wrought in it, It's days comprise the
elimination of Christ's life upon earth,
and present a drama of most impress
sive sacredness. The services of the
| church follow step by step the path
| OF the Savior from His triumphant en-
| try into Jerusalem amid the acclaim
| of the populace strewing palms along
| His way, through the days of His pas
| sion and death to the day of His resur-
| rectiOn.
| 1t is most complete and impressive
ritual which has been provided for the
| ceremonies of Holy Week, and in all
| the parish churches they will be car
| ried out fully, so far as essential de-
| tails go. Necessarily In the larger
| churches the ceremonial is more elab-
! crate, and at the cathedral, where
| Archbishop Ireland will officiate. the
order will be very complete
| At the early masses the Passion of
our Lord, according to st. Matthew, is
read. Immediately before the late or
! high mass occurs the blessing of the
palms, the ceremony being performed
by the celebrant. At the conclusion
| of the blessing, the palms are distrib-
| uted among the congregation, after
| which the procession through the
aisles and vestibule of the church takes
place, commemorative of Christ'S pro-
cession to Jerusalem. The thurifer
walks first with the smoking censor;
/ then the subdeacon, with the cross, a.-
tended by two acolytes with lighted
candles; next the body Of acolytes,
| seminarians, clergy. and last of all the
! celebrant, with the deacon at his left,
all bearing palms in their hands. Dur
i ing the procession the descriptive
anthems, including the Hosanna, are
| sung. The congregation stands holding
! palm branches while the procession is
! in progress, and the palms are retained
in the hand during the mass which fol-
! lows.
/ The high mass is as on other Sundays
save that the Passion is sung in parts
| taken, one voice for the narrative, a
second for the words Of Jesus, third
! for the high priest, PLATE, etc, and the
! voice of the multitude by chorus of
,
expression of the Gregorian chant finds
nowhere a more effective exemplifica-
(! tion than in the singing Of the Passion,
! and by the arrangement of parts and
/! character of the music it has a dramat-
ic power and force. At the words
'emisit spiritum,'' signifying the mo-
ment of Christ's death on the cross. all
| kneeling and in silence contemplate,
I for a space, the fulfillment of the re-
! demption of mankind. 1t is the piOus
practice OF Catholic families to preserve
/ in the houses the palms received on
!. Palm Sunday.
Masses During the Week.
| Masses on Monday and Tuesday are
Us on ordinary days On Wednesday,
| frequently called Spy Wednesday, be-
! cause on this day the spies OF the
| high priests were set upon Jesus, the
Passion according to ST. Luke is read
at the mass. In the evening the Office
of the Tenebrae, signifying darkness,
| is said. The name of Tenebrae is
| gwen to it from the circumstance OF ex
| tinguiShng in its course, all the can
| dies which have been prepared in the
/ sanctuary for the ceremony. The six
candles on the altar and the fifteen
! candles placed in a triangular frame
on the epistle side, all burning at the
| beginning of the office, signifying the
F! lights of faith preached by the prophets
| and our Lord, Of which the funda-
mental article is the mystery Of the
! blessed trinity, represented by the
triangular candlestick. At the repeti-
| ton of the fourteen antiphonS in the
mathis and lauds, fourteen of the can
| dies in the triangular candlestick are
extinguished, and at the last six verses
| Of the benediotus those on the altar
are put out, to teach US that the Jews
were totally deprived of the light of
faith when they put our Savior to
death. But the fifteenth candle, which
repre- sents the light OF the world, Jesus
Christ, is only hidden for time UNI
DER the altar, and afterwards brought
out again still burning to signify that,
though Christ, according to His hui
mainly, died and was laid in the sepul-
chre, yet he was always alive according
to His Divinity, by which He
raised His body again to life. The
darkness which pervades the sanctu-
airy while the miserere and prayer are
said, suggests the darkness that cover
ed the whole earth at His death; and
the noise made at the end of the pray
er represents the confusion of nature
at that event, when the earth trem-
bled, the rocks were rent, the graves
opened, and the veil of the temple was
torn from the top to the bottom.
AT the conclusion OF the ONCE q ser
mon on some phase of the passion, or
other appropriate subject, will be
preached.
Maundy Thursday.
So-called from the ceremony of
washing the feet which Christ per-
formed among the disciples. It is also
designated as the Thursday Of the
Lords Supper, being the day when our
Lord at His last supper instituted the
sacrament of the eucharist.
At the mass on this day two hosts
are consecrated; one for the sacrifice
of the day. the other to be carried in
solemn procession to place adorned
with lights and flowers, called the re-
pository, where it is kept with great
splendor for the Office Of the next day
The services are of mingled joy and
sadness. The holy eucharist is celebrat-
ed with splendor, as observed In the
white vestments of the celebrant and
clergy and the beautiful adormments of
the Lords death. After the Gloria IS
sung by the choir, the chant is con-
Quoted without accompaniment of the
organ or other instrument; the bells
are silenced, nor are they again rung
until the singing of the same angelic
hymn on Holy Saturday. 1t is custom
airy to bless the holy oils and chrism
used for sacramento purposes during
the services on this day. On the re-
turn Of the procession from the repos-
ped of their coverings and other or
ffv,<r !,