An Explanation of the Ritual Used Here for Holy Week
On Palm Sunday, we will begin our liturgy in the memorial garden, where we will bless the palms and march in triumphal procession into the church. This is a reenactment of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, just as military heroes would march into a city after a victory abroad. The people of Jerusalem were welcoming Jesus as their King and Savior and Messiah, which is what the expression, “Hosanna” means (“Save us”). Jerusalem was the city of David, the dwelling-place of the king; so Jesus’s procession into Jerusalem showed that he was being received as Israel’s true King. And he comes not as we would expect, but humbly, mounted not on a horse but on a donkey. This not only shows us that he is one of us, a human being, but also that he is marching to his death. He is, as it were, marching into battle against our foe of death. “He entered not into glory but first he suffered pain.”
Our service will follow the traditional color-scheme. In the new rite, the priest wears red the whole time; but traditionally, he wears red for the procession only—red being a more festal color—then after the procession, he changes into purple, because as we know, the warm welcome given to our Lord quickly changed to disdain, just as our service will switch from red back to purple, the color of penitence, and we hear the long Passion Narrative read from St. Matthew.
On Maundy Thursday, we will not be doing the foot-washing, and instead we will try something that may be new to you: a vigil before the Blessed Sacrament. Foot Washing was not always done traditionally but came back in the new rite as an option in the ’79 Prayer Book; and it is an option which, I am afraid, keeps many people from attending due to the awkwardness of it. Maybe we’ll try it next year, but for this year, we will turn our attention to the Blessed Sacrament which, on this night, our Lord institutes.
You will hear, in the Canon of the Mass, some slight changes such as “as on this night,” to indicate that this is the very night on which the Eucharist was first given. This service is our time to break out into singing and joy, despite our Lenten heaviness, because of the wonder of the gift of Christ’s own Body and Blood, given to us through the sacred priesthood which on this night he bestows on his Apostles. Because of this joy which triumphs over the Lenten sorrow, the vestments, frontal, and hangings are all white, and the bells are rung at the Gloria—though for the last time before Easter. From this point on in the service, there are no bells, as we begin to see more and more the stripping of our Lord’s glory in approaching his death. The Creed, another symbol of our joy and triumph as Christians, is put away during this service; and so this night we inhabit two attitudes at once, joy and sorrow.
Good Friday is the one day on which it is not permitted for any priest to consecrate the Eucharist, because that is the day of our Lord’s death. So additional Sacrament is consecrated at this service of Maundy Thursday for use the following day (the Bread only) and carried out in Eucharistic procession to the prayer garden, where it will be displayed for adoration after the service. The congregation is welcome to join me in walking out there.
This represents our Lord’s going out to the Garden of Gethsemane (represented by our garden and the Easter flowers which will be set out there). This night we will have the opportunity to answer his request, “Could you not watch with me one hour?” In some parishes, the Sacrament is displayed through the entire night, and people sign up for time slots to keep a one-hour vigil until the Good Friday service; but here, It will be left out until the last person is done their prayers.
So the congregation processes out with me to the garden during this service; and when we walk back into the church, we will find that the lights have been turned off, and that the Altar is being stripped, as we hear Psalm 22 read. This stripping of the altar represents the stripping of our Lord’s glory in choosing to leave his throne in heaven and come to die as one of us.
When the Altar is stripped, there will be no dismissal—the people will leave in silence. You are encouraged to visit the Blessed Sacrament in the prayer garden for a time of silent prayer. You may bring a devotional book if you’d like. I ask you to do your best to respect this silence: not only for yourself but also for the sake of your neighbor, who may want to continue praying. It may feel like a somber way to leave the church, but it is on this night, after all, that our Lord is betrayed by Judas in the garden.
On Good Friday, because the Stations of the Cross is such a beloved devotion here, we will offer Stations at 11:15am. This is an optional prelude to the Proper Liturgy of the day, which begins at 12pm in the church and which is the more important service. This is one of the most ancient liturgies of our faith (the most important days are those which are also the most resistant to liturgical change).
The service begins in a time of silent prayer, the people kneeling, and the priest lying prostrate before the Altar. Then we hear the prophecy read from Isaiah and the Passion read from St. John. Then we make our response with the so-called “Solemn Collects,” which are prayers on behalf of the whole world. Our impulse, in confronting our Lord’s crucifixion, is to realize our condition before him as his suppliants—as those who are totally at his mercy. So we unite our many prayer requests with his death on the Cross—our requests for a) the holy Church of God; b) Bp. Brewer; c) all those who are in ministry; d) the President and all those in authority; e) catechumens (who are converts preparing for Baptism); f) for all who suffer; g) for those in heresy and schism; h) for the Jews; i) for all those who do not yet believe; and j) for the grace of a holy life and for the departed.
The service continues with the Veneration of the Cross, an ancient custom of paying our respect to the Cross “whereon was hung the world’s salvation” by a kiss. This is optional. You may (if you are so inclined) come forward from you pew and kiss the base of the wooden cross as an act of gratitude for the atonement which was purchased on it for you. During this devotion, a text called “The Reproaches” is read, which dates back to the 800s and recounts God’s blessings to his people and how we have responded to his love by crucifying him. This is a moving text which reminds us that it is our sin for which Jesus suffered.
From here, we move into the final portion of the service: the Mass of the Presanctified. “Presanctified” means “already consecrated,” because we will make our communion from the Hosts consecrated the night before, on Maundy Thursday.
This service, too, concludes with silence; and after the final collect, the people may leave as they feel ready. After this communion, there is no more Sacrament left in the church, to represent our Lord’s death. Again, please be respectful of your neighbor by not initiating conversation but leaving in silence to meditate on what our Lord has done for you.
This sorrow and penitence of Good Friday will be broken on Easter day by our joyful shouts of Alleluia, as we celebrate our Lord’s Resurrection! But let us prepare for it during this sacred time by walking with him through his Passion. To quote St. Thomas, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” For if we die with Christ, then we, too, will be resurrected.
