The Washington herald., 1908-04-12
HOLY WEEK ANCIENT
Known by Many Different
Names to the Greeks.
SERVICES ARE ALL SYMBOLIC
Catholic Church ObservaHces to Gel
citrate the Passion and Death of
Resieemer-Dramatie as Well as
AIIeeorieaI-No Mass Said on Good
Friday-CandIes Are Extinguished.

-
the week before Easter has been known
5 by different names. according TO the great
lt mysteries and various ceremonies that
t are celebrated and performed In4it
The Greeks and Latins called It the
Great Week, the Holy Week; sometimes
! the Painful Week. l. =. the Week OF
Austerities; also, the sorrowful Week.
! st. ChTysostom says: we call it the
Great Week; not that 1t consists Of a
greater number of days. or that the days
in it are longer; but on account Of the
great things which God has wrought in
it. for on these days was the tyranny Of
the devil overthrown. death disarmed, sin
and its curse taken away. heaven opened
and made accessible. and men made fell
lows with the angels
The observance Of Holy Week Is men
toned by Irenaeus toward the end of the
second cent? ry while Euseb!Us evidently
believed tha it dated from the apostolic
times
The chief object OF the church in this
week is 10 celebrate the passion and
death Of her Redeemer; and the cere-
monies are the most elaborate. impress
sive, dramatic. and sublmey symbolic
of al the weeks in the whole year
Conducted with Pomp.
In cathedral and collegiate churches.
where they have a numerous clergy. they
are performed with a pomp and magni-
hcenee truly imposing; but even in the
smallest parish church. where there is A
local pastor, they are conducted with ali
i the reverence and solemnity possible.
Palm Sunday. the first day of Holy
/ Week, derives its name from the cere-
mony of blessing and distributing palms,
which are borne by the clergy in solemn
/ procession, in commemoration of Christs
/ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when
many Of the Jews cut down branches
from the trees and strewed them in the
way before Him. The name Palm Sun
day is ancient, for It IS mentioned In the
life OF Euthymius. who died In az
The clergy walk ia procession through
the church. and pass out into the vesti-
bule. Then the cantors re-enter, and sing
the hymn, Glory. Praise. and Honor.
which Is continued alternately by those
within and Without At last the sub
deacon knocks at The door with the
shaft Of the cross it opens, and the
whole body marches up the church. In
ST. Peters, the door IS walled up with
masonry, from which the supports are
removed, So that. az the stroke OF the
cross, the whole thing topples down, and
the procession enters through the /
breach. symbolizing Christ opening
heaven 10 the just after His resurrection. +
Candles Are EStinguished.
Tenebrae. so called from the darkness
caused by the gradual extinguishing OF 1
the lights consists Of the mathis and 4
lauds Of the following days. which are re-
cited or chanted on Wednesday, Thurs I
day, and Friday evenings. But every
note Of JOY is omiited-the Doxology. the
hymns and the antiphons. The service
breathes hardly anything but sighs ana
lamentations The lessons are taken
from the Lamentations of jeremiah; the
Hebrew letter which begins each verse
of these acrosuc poems. being retained
in the Latin. though not the acrostic it.
self. Nothing could be more heautifm
than the plaintive Gregorian chant to
which they are sung. Still, PaloStrina.
Victoria. NaninO. Witt, Piel. and many I
other masters have exhausted their
genius in the attempt TO clOthe these
melodies with polyphonic harmoniss
on Holy Thursday the mourning of the
church over the passion and death OF her
Lord is momentarily interrupted for she
cannot forget that on this day Christ
instituted the Holy Eucharist, and left
her the priceless legacy of the Real Pres
ence, though, TO show her gratitude, she
has appointed the festival Of Corpus
Christi to be kept in June. the month of
roses, when she can do greater Justice
to the subject.
Celebrated in White.
Hence the mass is celebrated in white
vestments, the altar is decked with flow
ers and ornaments. at the Gloria in Ex-
celsis" the organ is played and the bells
are rung; but, from this time TIN the
recurrence Of the Gloria on Holy Sat :
urday, the organ is silent
On Good Friday the climax of the
ehureh's sorrow and grief at the death /,
Of her Lord is reached Her ministers
enter the sanctuary clad in black vest !
nents, and prostrate themselves at fun
length on the steps of the altar, while
single linen cloth is spread over it. Then
he history of the Passion of our Lord
according to St John is sung. showing
low the law and the prophets were veri-
led by the Gospel.
Then the celebrant reads numerous
prayers for all classes Of persons. not I
excluding schismatics, heretics, Jews. and (
1agans. to show that Christ died for all. I
Good Friday is the only day OF all the !,
year that mass is not celebrated through
,ut the world.
On Holy Saturday.
On Holy Saturday the service begins
With the blessing of the new fire struck
rom a flint. From this triple candle :
s lighted. symbolizing the Trinity and
he Light of Christ. The large paschal ,
andle is also blessed. The use of the .
aschal candle dates back at least 70 n
he fifth century. \
The twelve prophecies are then read f
Intended originally to instruct the cate
humens, who were baptized on this dav a
he baptismal font and Easter water II
re blessed, some Of the water being SCAT \
cred toward the four quarters of the \
arth, to show the catholicity of the e.
hurch and the worldwide efficacy of her
acraments. "
Returning from the font. the IAtanv Of Il
he Saints is sung, the ministers lvinp n
rcstrate before the altar, while Il Is &
eeked with flowers and ornaments. and Ii
ne mass is begun in white vestments u
t the Gloria, the organ sounds. the b.
ellis ring, the joyful Alleluias are heard L
tter the Epistle, and the great festival b
Easter, with its triumph OF life over
eath is joyfully ushered in. q
Cf
A ppTE % II. -szspxc~.,- - xx~s.,~ -,