Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-11
Activities and Plans of Various Congregations.
Special Services Planned for Holy Week.
Bishop Satter1ee's Last Address,
n

Tomorrow. Palm Sunday. marks the be-
ginning OF the most solemn impressive
and deliberately celebrated period in the
,.hurch caIendar-Holy Week. 1t marks
the closing days of the Lenten season.
he forty days of the year when members
If Christian churches .renounce many
Worldly pleasures for church duties and
give thought and attention to the life
hey believe will follow the grave and
% the worldly preparation for that NE
II has been a time of much prayer and
fenitence and. it is declared 1t has been
unusually well observed this year
Holy Week is the climax of Lent. and
: usually marked with more intense at
ention to religious matters than during
he earlier DAYS of Lent. More elaborate
>er,ces are held in the churches. and
the home. affairs are regulated according
Y. And the period of penance Is ended
-aster morning by the most festal cele-
,ration of the church year. when the
.rowning event cf Christ's life is cele-
1rated as the basic hope OF eternal resi-
ience in heaven.
In Episcopa. churches in this city the
services Palm Sunday center in the dis
.ribution OF palms.
During the week services both morning
Had evening will be held in practically
iation Good Friday will he marked
with three-hour service beginning at II
o'clock. centering around tie seven last
words of Christ In nearly all OF the
churches short sermon will be preached
on each of the words. Saturday MORN
ing the celebration of the holy commun-
ion is carried out. and in the evening in
many Episcopal congregations baptisms
will take place.
Special music special ceremony and
many floral decorations will be the char
acteristic features Of the services Easter
Sunday.
The closing week Of Lent is one of deep
est interest to Catholics. No period is
filed with greater significance TO the re-
hgious nor are any services IN the church
more pregnant OF meaning or more con-
ducive to deeper spirit Of devotion than
those prescribed for the observance of the
concluding days of the penitential season.
Pain Sunday is appointed to honor the
triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusa-
lem said local pastor. when many of
the Jews cut OF branches from the trees.
which were strewn In the way through
which He was to pass. 1t is in memory of
this triumph that the palms are blessed,
distributed to the faithful and carried by
them In the solemn professions.
I'm the procession of this day the open
ing OF the door of the church by knocking
with the foot of the cross signifies not
only the triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
but also that the gates of the celestial
Jerusalem we're opened for all by Christ.
Next Wednesday. Thursday and Fri
day solemn Office commonly called the
tenebrae is performed The name of
tenebrae is given to 1t from the circum-
stances Of extinguishing. during the
course of it. all the candles which have
been prepared in the sanctuary for the
ceremony.
The rites of the church upon these
three days declare her concern and her
trouble for the sufferings of the Redeemer
and the sins of men. She lays aside every
expression of joy and festfvity.
Her offices are not commenced with the
usual Impressive invocations. The sacred
doxo.ogy. Gloria Patri,' is omitted at the
end OF the psalms. No hymns OF divine
praise are sung. No dominis voolscum
is said 10 ask blessing. The Psalms and
the lessons that constitute her ofi1Ie
breathe scarcely anything else but signs
and lamentations.
The six candles on the altar and the
fifteen candles placed on the epist e SIDE
all burning at the beginning of the officeS
signify the lights Of faith preached by the
prophets of Jesus Christ, OF which 1a1th
the fundamental article is the mystery
of the Trinity. represented by the trl-
angular candlestick.
AT the repetition of the fourteen anti
phons in the Mathis and Lauds fourteen
of the candles in the triangular cand e
stick are 'extingushed beginning at the
lowest on the left and so alternately;
the numbers at the antiphons show when
II candle is to be extinguished AT the
las+ six verses of the 'Benedictus those on
the altar are put out, to teach that the
Jews were deprived Of the light OF faith
when they put Jesus to death But the
fifteenth candle-that represents the nght
of the world Jesus Christ-is only hidden
for time under the altar ana al'ei in mau
brought out again. still burning. to SIGNIFY
that though Christ. according TO his hu-
mainly died and was laid In the sepulcner'
yet He was always alive
1.-The Thursday Of the week. being tfNe
day of the last Lords supper. when was
I'm instituted the sacrament of the eucharist,
is frequently called Absolution Thurs
day because the sentence or asoolutloh
was then pronounced over the pubic
penitents. We call 1t Maundy THURSDAY,
from the ceremony of washing the rect
during the office. The mass on this Gay
differs from the rest of the ofhce mai
of the holy eucharist is celebrated
subject therefore, of joy and thanks
giving expressed by the ringing OF the
bells and the white color of the vest
n,ents and ornaments OF the aitar- bu'
after the Gloria in Excelsis the bells
are silent during the remainder OF iniS
day. all Good Friday and Holy SATURDAY
until the recurrence of the same hymn
or the mentioned day.
After vespsrs the priest and his as
sisrants divest the affairs of the church
Of their coverings and other orna ments.
The antiphon 'Diviserunt and the PISA In
Deus Deus. Meus. said by the priest
and sung py Vine CnOlT during tHe tele-
monv sufficiently show that ii represents
the stripping Of our Saviour o. His gar
mants for which the soldiers cast lots.
"On this day the clergy of some
churches meet to perform the ceremony
Of washing the feet Hence. In each
church the superior washes the feet or
his interiors: many rich do the same to
the poor II teaches us to initiate the
humility of our Savior.
Good Friday the Catholic Church Of
fers no sacrifice nor is there any sacr1-
fee OF the holy eucharist. the priest re-
ceiving the sacred host which he had
consecrated the day before. So that. in
the office which Is performed instead of
the mass. the church is contented with
bare representation of the passion. and
it's chief business to expose to the faith
full Jesus Christ crucified for them.
Holy Saturday the Savior Is repre-
ssnted as coming out OF His grave. The
affairs deprived of their ornaments Ma
d. Thursday are again clothed with
tlem and a new fire is blessed TO il
Illuminate them. oils are blessed the
,ascial candle is set up. while the bap-
iismai fonts are blessed with much cere-
mony.
Rev DIR. $. Ii. Woodrow. pastor of
the First Congregational Church, 1T 10th
and CT streets. has announced that Holy
Week will be celebrated at his church as
:. week OF prayer and that special serv-
Jos will he held every afternoon from
50 until 5:15 o'clock. DIR. Woodrow Will
i'm charge and DIR. BiSchof Will play