Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1910-03-12
Holy Mother Church Leads Her Chill
dren From Hosannas
to Calvary.
Office of the Tenebrae is Exercise
That Ineites Penance
and Fervor.
PREPARATION FOR HOLY WEEK


Tomorrow will be Passion Sunday
and the Sunday following will be
Palm Sunday. 1t commentaries the
triumphal entry of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ into Jerusalem
five days before his death on the
cross. On that momentous day more
than 1900 years ago the people Of
Jerusalem strew palm branches be-
Tor Him as He entered the city and
shouted hosannas. These same peo-
pie clamored for his death a few
days later.
The church has celebrated Palm
Sunday since the earliest Christian
era. Branches of palm are blessed
before the mass and distributed to
the faithful. The gospel read on
Palm Sunday is the longest of the
year and embodies the entire story
of the triumphal entry of Christ
into Jerusalem, the events leading up
to the Last Supper, his passion and
death on the cross. The gospel tells
of our SauCurs affection for ST
John, of the institution of the sacra-
ment of the Eucharist, the betrayal
Of Christ by Judas; the agony in the
Garden of Gethsemane; his trial be-
fore PLATE; his denial by Peter, the
head of the apostles; the carriage of
the cross and journey to Calvary;
his crucifixion, death and burial. 1t
is the saddest story of the church,
and yet incites the faithful 10
penitence and feryor and prepares
them for the solemn ceremonies of
the week and the anniversary of his
triumphal resurrection on Easter
Sunday.
The ceremonies on Palm Sunday
are very impressive and part of the
palms blessed on that day are saved
until the following year, when they
are burned and used to bless the
people on Ash Wednesday. Palm
Sunday ushers in Holy Week, the
week that commentaries Christ's
death and burial. Fathers of the
church have also called It "Tbe
Week of Forgiveness" ''The Penal
Week" and "The Week of the HOLY
Passion" The custom of keeping
Holy Week descends to us from
apostolic times. In the early DAYS
many Christians tasted thrcS sshout
the entire week. Others kept an alb
solute fast on Wednesday, HOLY
Thursday, Good Friday and Holy
Saturday. In these days very few
unless in monastic orders observe
such strict fast.
On Wednesday, Holy Thursday and
Good Friday evenings, in such
churches and monasteries as have a
sufficient number of priests orr
clerics, the office of the Tenebrae is
sung. Tenebrae is the Hebrew word
for darkness, and is used to SYM
bolize the spiritual darkness that
the world prior to the
coming of Christ. At the opening Of
the service thirteen candles are
lighted on triangular candelabrum,
Ihe triangle represents or sym
boiizes the Holy Trinity; the can
dies, Christ and his twelve apostles.
The lessons of the first nocturn are
taken from the lamentations of the
prophet Jeremias. At the end of |
each psalm one of the candles is
extinguished until only one is left at |
the top of the triangle. During the
singing of the "Bcnedictus" the can
dies on the high altar are ex-
tinguished, while during the subse-
auent antiphon the single candle
remaining lighted is removed behind /
the epistle corner Of the altar, to be
brought out again at the end OF the
office.
According to Pope Benedict XIV,
The candle is hidden to signify that
ieath could not really obtain douin- /
on over Christ, though it appeared
10 do 50. The clapping noise made 1
1T the end Of the office sy1nbolizes
,he confusion that followed Christ's
leath.