Liturgical Reminders and Reflections

for the Holy Week and Easter

Celebrations

General Knowledge

•Lent starts from Ash Wednesday and it ends on the evening of the Lords Supper.

•Holy Week starts from Palm Sunday of the Lords Passion until the vespers of the Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord.

•Paschal Triduum starts from the Evening of the Lords Supper until the vespers of Sunday, the highlight or the center of this Triduum is the Easter Vigil.

•Pentecost fifty days of joyous celebration begins Easter Sunday and concludes on Pentecost Sunday.

Holy Week – is the celebration wherein the Church celebrates the mysteries of salvation accomplished by Christ in the last days of his earthly life, from his messianic entry into Jerusalem, until his blessed Passion and glorious Resurrection. Historical Names of Holy Week

• Paschal Week• Greater Week• Week of the Lords Passion• Week of the Sorrowing

PALM SUNDAY – is the grand opening of the Holy Week, commemorating the messianic entry of Jesus in Jerusalem as King and the proclamation of His passion. Historical Names of Palm Sunday

• “Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Christ”

• “Passion Sunday”

• “Palm Sunday”

• “Sixth Sunday of Lent”

Holy Week

The weekdays of this week are dedicated to the celebration of

penance, abstaining from celebration of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, since these have their

natural place in the Easter Vigil. The Rites of the Holy Week

• Blessing and Procession of Palms• Transfer of the Blessed

Sacrament (Holy Thursday) • Celebration of the Lord’s Passion• Easter Vigil

Spiritual Content/Message of Palm Sunday

1. The procession shows that we are on our way to Him all our life. We are just “travelers or passing through” this earth going to our heavenly homeland.

2. The contrast of glory and passion in today's liturgy is a picture and an image of human and especially Christian life.

3. Palm Sunday is the beginning of the week dedicated to the commemoration and mediation of the passion of Christ but leading up to Easter.

Holy Thursday – Chrism Mass

•The Chrism Mass is one of the principal expressions of the fullness of the Bishops priesthood and signifies the close unity of the priests with him.

• During this mass the Bishop consecrates the Chrism and blesses the other oils.

3 Kinds of Oil during the Chrism Mass

1. Oil of Chrism2. Oil for the Sick3. Oil for the Catechumens

The Sacred Paschal Triduum

• Christ accomplished his work of human redemption and of the perfect glorification of God principally through his Paschal Mystery. “Dying He has destroyed death, and by rising restored our life.”

• The Paschal Triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord shines forth as a high point of the entire liturgical year.

The Sacred Paschal Triduum

• The 2 major liturgical celebrations mark the first day of the Triduum:

1. Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Thursday)2. Lord’s Passion on Good Friday

-The two liturgies are celebrated on one and the same day, reminds us of the intimate

connection between the Eucharist and the Sacrifice on the Cross.

The Sacred Paschal Triduum

Content and Message of Holy Thursday Evening

Christ instituted the 3 principal mysteries such as;

1. The institution of the Holy Eucharist.2. The Institution of the Priesthood.3. The new commandment of Love.

Friday of the Passion of the Lord

-It is the commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus which was the passage way to his glory and exaltation.

Liturgies of Good Friday

It is divided in 4 parts;1. The Opening Rite2. Liturgy of the Word3. Veneration of the Cross4. CommunionService

Holy Saturday-It has its special character, marked with a quite day, paschal fast and had no liturgy of its own.

-The church awaits at the Lord’s tomb in prayer and fasting, meditating on his Passion and Death and on his Descent into Hell and awaiting his Resurrection.

2 Mysteries of Holy Saturday

1. The Rest of Jesus in the tomb

2. The Descent of Jesus to the Dead

Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

-The 3rd day of the Paschal Triduum we reach the high point of the Liturgical Year. “What Sunday is to the week, the solemnity of Easter is to the liturgical year.”

Various Names of Easter Vigil

1. “Paschal Vigil”

2. “Easter Vigil”

Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

The Liturgy of the Easter Vigil

1. The Service of Light (Blessing of Fire, Lighting of the Paschal Candle, Procession and Easter proclamation)

2. The Liturgy of the Word (9 Readings – 7 OT/2 NT)

3. The Liturgy of Baptism (Litany of Saints, Blessing of Water, Baptism, Renewal of Baptismal promises, sprinkling of baptismal water, No Creed but Prayers of the Faithful)

4. Liturgy of the Eucharist (Offertory by the converts, double Alleluia at the Dismissal)