The Irish standard., 1906-04-07
PALM BRANCHES
The Lessons to Be Learned From
Church Ceremonies.
offloe Of the Tonebrao and the
Symbols 1t Conveys.

j. On Apr, s our Holy Mother Church
honors the triumphant entry OF the
Saviour Into Jerusalem, says the Ken
lucky Irish American of LOUISVILLE.
q is only six days before his ignonlin-
Gus passion and death on the cross and
vet the fckle people He had come to
save. strew palm branches in his path
and shouted Hosannas in Ills ears III
the Old world professions of the faith
rul are formed il. the churches AFTER
the palms are blessed. In some cases
flowers are used as we'll as palms,
Hence we, find the day known as Palm
Sunday, but often as Branch Sunday
and Flowery Pasch. 1t may not be
,niss to state here that comparatively
few people are aware that the state OF
FLORIDA was discovered by the Span
iavls on Palm Sunday: 1913. and that
peninsula took its name from Pascha
i'loridum, the Latin for Flowery Pascl.
Sacred history tells us that six days
before His crucaxion the Saviour came
TO Bethanla. a village not far from
Jerusalem. After spending the night
with lazarus, whom He had raised
from the dead our Redcemer set out
:or inc molly city mounted on a young
ass, followed by its mother. as had been
.prophesied hundreds OF years before
A countless multitude went out from
.,erusllen. to mcet Him. They bore
calm branches in their hands and filled
The air with arclamations: "Hosanna
10 the Son of David! BLESSED is he
that comcth in the nume of the Lord.
.Icnce we see tuat the Jews recognized
Him as the long promised Messias.
The people accompanied Jesus to the
temple where He delivered Il discourse
10 them during which Il voice was
heard from heaven. The voice, as if of
thunder, bore splendid testimony 10
His divinity The gospel tells US that
when our Saviour saw the city He was
touched with Pity and wept over it. d:
1t is to commemorate this day that
the church ble3ses palms and distrib-
utes them among her. children, and she
calls upon her faithful sons and daugh-
tiers TO exhibit joy upon beholdins the
Saviours triumph and considering our
own future reward; and sorrow on
thinking that the. same Jews, whose
welcomes were go loud, will five days
later make the air ring with cries for
his death Catholics carry the blessed
pam branches 10 their homes and keep
them with great respect. Often they
are used for srrinkling holy water on
beds before the faithful retire to rest.
j; On Palm Sunday the story of the
Passon is SUM; in the gospel. In the
solemn high mass We hear three voices
the voice of the historian. who re-
t,te.; the facts, is the deacon: the voice
OF the jew or sinner, who accuses his
God aud demands sentence of death
against Him, is that Of the sub-dcacon;
and the voice of Christ. the August
Victim. who maintains a calmness full
of dignity, all the gentleness of lamb,
in the midst of His cXecutioners. Is
that of the priest. In the gospel read
in the mass on Holy Monday, Tues
day and Wednesday, the church con-
tnues to REMIND us Of u succession of
events leading up to Christ's agony and
death.
On "Wednesday evening the ceremony
of the Tenebrae begins. Tenebrae
means darkness. and this ceremony is
so called because the lights on the
altar and elsewhere in the church are
extinguished just before the close of
the exercises. II expresses the pro-
found mourning of the church and
likewise represents the darkness which
covered the wi,t.le earth at our Saw
icur's death. The lights used. in the
ceremony Of the Tenebrae are wax
candles and are placed on u triangular
CGIlOicStlCK ana at the lett SlUc vi tue
altar The candles. fifteen in all. are
placed seven on each side and one at
the top Of the triangle. All are lighted
when the exercises begin. One on either
side is cxtinguislled at the conclusion
of each psalm
The side candles are OF yellow wax.
because the church employs no other at
funerals or in great mourning. The
candle at the apex of the triangle
should be of white wax, because it
represents Jesus Christ. 1t is taken
down at the last verse OF the ,l3enedic-
tus. and is hidden behind the altar
while the psalm Miserere and prayer
are recited. Atterward 1t is brought
forth again. This ceremony is SYM
bolical of the death and resurrection
of our Saviour. The other fourteen
candles represent the eleven Apostoles
Judas not being counted, and three
Marys.
The whole Office of the Tenebrae
shows the deepest mourning. We are
permitted to hear four voices-that OF
David, who in his psalms bewails tho
outrages committed against his Lord
and his Son; that of Jeremias, the