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Traditional Latin Mass
Holy Week and Easter Sunday are the center of the Catholic Churchs Liturgical Year. This season is especially solemn at Servants of the Holy Family where the Traditional Latin Mass is offered. The ceremonies and sacred events of each day have their origins in the life of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles.
The first celebration of Holy Week is Palm Sunday one week before Easter. The ceremonies of this day are filled with both joy and sadness. In the Blessing of the Palms and the Procession of the Palms, we relive Christs entry into Jerusalem a truly joyous recollection and proclamation of Our Lords Kingship. But the Procession also carries with it the memory of the Passion of Our Lord. And sorrow becomes entwined with our joy.
Holy Thursday follows, and there are four distinctive parts to this days ceremony. First, Mass begins in a solemn but festive manner, in honor of the anniversaries of the institution of the Priesthood, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist, the Real Presence of Our Lords Body and Blood.
After the sermon, is the Mandatum or commandment to love our neighbor. The Celebrant washes the feet of twelve men, in imitation of Our Lord doing the same to His Apostles during the Last Supper. This action is a symbol of the humanity of Jesus and His love for His disciples.
The Procession with the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose is the third part of the ceremony. Here, Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist is adored and honored by the faithful until midnight.
Finally, there is the Stripping of the Altars, which recalls the desolation of Christ during this night on which He was betrayed, arrested, stripped of His garments and scourged.
The most solemn of days within Holy Week is Good Friday. The Liturgy on this day also has four parts. First there are two lessons from the Old Testament and the chanting of the Passion of Our Lord, according to the Gospel of St. John.
The Solemn Collects are next these are prayers for the salvation of the members of the Church and all mankind. The Veneration of the Cross follows, where those gathered for these Holy traditions manifest their adoration to the Cross and what it means to their faith. Finally, there is the Reception of Holy Communion.
Holy Saturdays Easter Vigil prepares for the Midnight Mass. On Holy Saturday evening, the ceremonies begin with the Feast of Light or the Lucernarium.
This includes the Lighting of the Fire, the Procession with the Paschal Candle and the festive Chanting of the Exultet. The Baptismal Rite follows, consisting of the chanting of Four Lessons from the Old Testament, the Litany of the Saints, the Blessing of Baptismal Water, and the Renewal of the Baptismal Promises.
Then the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered at Midnight and again on Easter Sunday morning, liturgically renewing and making present the Bodily
Resurrection of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament bring this most Holy week to a close.
Holy Week and the Easter Celebration itself is the Churchs most sacred time. We look forward to this occasion and hope that you will join us in our Chapel or online to celebrate Our Lords sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection.
