St. Joseph Catholic Church York, Nebraska

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Holy Week - 2005

Palm Sunday - March 20, 2005

The palms which are solemnly blessed in the church and distributed by the priest on Palm Sunday should reverently be kept in the home throughout the year. Usually they are attached to a crucifix or holy picture, or put to the left and right of the statue on the family shrine. They are a sacramental intended to bring blessing and protection upon those who use them.

On Ash Wednesday or Palm Sunday of the following year these palms might be burned, perhaps best in the backyard, and the ashes buried in the ground. This little ceremony will teach the children that objects which have become sacramentals through liturgical blessing are not to be thrown away like other things but should be destroyed by nature’s agents (fire, water, soil).

EASTER TRIDUUM

Christ redeemed us all and gave perfect glory to God principally through His paschal mystery: dying He destroyed our death and rising He restored our life. Therefore, the Easter triduum of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire liturgical year. Thus the solemnity of Easter has the same kind of preeminence in the liturgical year that Sunday has in the week. The Easter triduum begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday.

Human beings in their more rational and logical modes of activity have a rather difficult time handling more than one concept at a time. It is only the more imaginative and symbolic modes of human activity which enable us to celebrate and experience at one and the same moment the realities of life and death, birth and burial.

The Easter Triduum is three days. The celebration of the Passover of the Lord is not some sort of historical re-enactment which finds us on Thursday evening in the Upper Room, on Friday afternoon at the foot of the cross and Saturday at the tomb. If it is not the Risen Lord who calls us together on Good Friday, then our celebration is not truly Christian. We do not celebrate Christ's death on Friday and His rising on Sunday. From the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday until and including Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday, we celebrate one Christ, once dead but now alive in glory for ever.

This is not to deny the different tone of particular moments during these three days celebrated as one. The Mass of the Lord's Supper reminds us that we are rooted in the paschal experience of the Hebrews who to this day celebrate their passage from slavery and their entrance into the promised land within the context of one meal where the death and the life of a people are relived. The celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday confronts every Christian with that one authentic glory of God which is won for us by an obedience which works unto death. The alleluias of the Easter Vigil are not facile. They are all the more hearty because they rise from hearts which have gone down into the tomb of baptism.

Every human being who has come to deeper love of another by surrendering a personal desire or opinion, every person who has come to that consolation born of accepting real grief at the loss of a loved one, all who have given new life to another by resisting the temptation to manipulate -- all these know what it means to hold life and death, birth and burial, in one symbol such as water, broken bread, poured out wine, a lamb sacrificed that a people might be saved. Triduum means three days. The Easter Triduum is three days. Easter is one liturgy, a festival in honor of the God who raised up Jesus from the dead.

The greatest mysteries of the redemption are celebrated yearly by the Church, beginning with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday until Vespers of Easter Sunday. This time is called "the triduum of the crucified, buried and risen"; it is also called the Easter triduum because during it is celebrated the paschal mystery, that is, the passing of the Lord from this world to His Father. The Church, by the celebration of this mystery, through liturgical signs and sacramentals, is united to Christ, her spouse, in intimate communion.

The Easter fast is sacred on the first two days of the triduum, in which according to ancient tradition the Church fasts "because the Spouse has been taken away." Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence; it is also recommended that Holy Saturday be so observed so that the Church, with uplifted and welcoming heart, be ready to celebrate the joys of the Sunday of the resurrection.

HOLY THURSDAY - March 24, 2005

Mass of the Lord's Supper -- St. Joseph 7:30 p.m.

With the celebration of Mass on the evening of Holy Thursday "the Church begins the Easter triduum and recalls the Last Supper, in which the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, showing His love for those who were His own in the world, gave His body and blood under the species of bread and wine, offering to His Father and giving them to the apostles so that they might partake of them, and He commanded them and their successors in the priesthood to perpetuate this offering.

Careful attention should be given to the mysteries which are commemorated in this Mass: the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priesthood and Christ's command of brotherly love.

The tabernacle should be completely empty before the celebration. A sufficient amount of bread should be consecrated at this Mass to provide for Communion at this celebration and on the following day.

During the singing of the "Gloria in Excelsis," the bells are rung and then remain silent until the "Gloria in Excelsis" of the Easter Vigil.

The washing of the feet of 12 chosen men which, according to tradition, is performed on this day represents the service and charity of Christ, who came "not to be served, but to serve."

Gifts for the poor, especially those collected during Lent as the fruit of penance are presented in the offertory procession. The Rice Bowl Collection will be taken up at this Mass. There are still some Rice Bowl boxes (with envelopes inside) available on a table in the vestibule of the Church.

At Holy Communion, you will be given the opportunity to receive the Lord in the Eucharist under the appearance of both bread and wine by intinction on the tongue.

After Holy Communion, there will be a procession of the Blessed Sacrament through the church to the place of reservation in the Mandeville Hall. The faithful should be encouraged after the Mass of the Lord's Supper to spend a suitable period of time during the night in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament that has been solemnly reserved. In the spirit of our Lord's request to the apostles during His agony in the garden, "Can you not stay awake one hour with me?", I am hopeful that all of you will make the sacrifice to come and spend an hour with the Lord, reflecting on the Paschal Mysteries we are celebrating. If the following schedule will not work for you, come at whatever time is convenient.

ADORATION SCHEDULE: at St. Joseph Church (the lower level) - Mandeville Hall

Last Names: R to Z from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m.

A to H from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m.

I to Q from 11:00 to 12:00 midnight

GOOD FRIDAY - March 25, 2005

Celebration of the Lord's Passion -- St. Joseph 3:00 p.m. // St. Joseph 7:30 p.m.

On this day, when "Christ our passover was sacrificed," the Church meditates on the Passion of her Lord and Spouse, adores the cross, commemorates her origin from the side of Christ asleep on the cross and intercedes for the salvation of the whole world. On this day, in accordance with ancient tradition, the Church does not celebrate the Eucharist. Good Friday is a day of penance to be observed as of obligation in the whole Church, and indeed through abstinence and fasting. We are to be reminded that Good Friday is a strict day of "fast and abstinence." Fasting means eating only one full meal with two smaller meals, which together do not equal the full meal. No snacks or eating between meals allowed. Fasting obliges all Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59. Abstinence means eating no meat nor soup nor gravy made from meat. Abstinence obliges all Catholics over the age of 14. To willfully disregard this precept is considered a grave matter and is to be confessed as such.

The order for the celebration of the Lord's Passion (the Liturgy of the Word, the adoration of the cross, and Holy Communion), that stems from an ancient tradition of the Church, should be observed faithfully and religiously, and may not be changed by anyone on his own initiative.

The priest and ministers proceed to the altar in silence and without singing. The priest and ministers make a reverence to the altar. The priest prostrates himself. This act of prostration, which is proper to the rite of the day, should be strictly observed for it signifies both the abasement of "earthly man," and also the grief and sorrow of the Church. The faithful, for their part, as the ministers enter should be standing and thereafter should kneel in silent prayer.

The general intercessions are to follow the wording and form handed down by ancient tradition, maintaining the full range of intentions so as to signify clearly the universal effect of the Passion of Christ, who hung on the cross for the salvation of the whole world.

The cross is to be presented to each of the faithful individually for their adoration, since the personal adoration of the cross is a most important feature in this celebration.

During the Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday, a collection is to be taken up in all the Catholic Churches of the world for the Holy Land. This money is used to maintain the Catholic shrines in the Holy Land, to alleviate suffering there among the Christian population, and to help retain a Catholic presence in the place where Christ redeemed the world. Please use the envelope in your “February/March” packet mailed to your home dated March 25 and labeled "Holy Land" for this collection.

HOLY SATURDAY

On Holy Saturday the Church is as it were at the Lord's tomb, meditating on His passion and death, and on His descent into hell, and awaiting His resurrection with prayer and fasting. On this day the Church abstains strictly from the celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass. Holy Communion may only be given in the form of viaticum. The celebration of marriages is forbidden, as also the celebration of other sacraments, except those of penance and the anointing of the sick. The faithful are to be instructed on the special character of Holy Saturday. Festive customs and traditions associated with this day on account of the former practice of anticipating the Easter celebration on Holy Saturday should be reserved for Easter night and the day that follows.

THE EASTER VIGIL - March 26, 2005 -- St. Joseph 7:30 p.m.

The Easter Vigil is to be the highlight of the liturgical year in our parishes. It is to be celebrated with the utmost splendor and solemnity. It is hoped that there will be more people at this Mass than in any other in our parishes throughout the year. Please make plans to participate in the greatest Feast of the year and invite others to join you.

According to a most ancient tradition, this night is "one of vigil for the Lord," and the vigil celebrated during it to commemorate that holy night when the Lord rose from the dead is regarded as the "mother of all holy vigils." For in that night the Church keeps vigil, waiting for the resurrection of the Lord, and celebrates the Sacraments of Christian Initiation.

The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil takes place at night. It should not begin before nightfall; it should end before daybreak on Sunday. This rule is to be taken according to its strictest sense.

From the very outset the Church has celebrated that annual Pasch, which is the solemnity of solemnities, above all by means of a night vigil. For the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith and hope, and through baptism and confirmation we are inserted into the paschal mystery of Christ, dying, buried and raised with Him, and with Him we shall also reign. The full meaning of vigil is a waiting for the coming of the Lord.

The order for the Easter Vigil is so arranged so that after the service of light and the Easter proclamation (which is the first part of the vigil), holy Church meditates on the wonderful works which the Lord God wrought for His people from the earliest times (the second part or Liturgy of the Word) to the moment when together with those new members reborn in baptism (third part), she is called to the table prepared by the Lord for His Church, the commemoration of His death and resurrection, until He comes (fourth part). The celebration of the Eucharist forms the fourth part of the vigil and marks its high point, for it is in the fullest sense the Easter sacrament, that is to say, the commemoration of the sacrifice of the cross and the presence of the risen Christ, the completion of Christian Initiation and the foretaste of the eternal Pasch. It is fitting that in the Communion of the Easter Vigil full expression be given to the symbolism of the Eucharist, namely by consuming the Eucharist under the species of both bread and wine. At Holy Communion as we did on Holy Thursday, you will be given the opportunity to receive the Lord in the Eucharist under the appearance of both bread and wine by intinction on the tongue.

The celebration of Easter is prolonged throughout the Easter season. The 50 days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday are celebrated as one feast day, the "great Sunday."