The Gospel for Holy Week

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 4:03 am

solicitr wrote:
Soli, it's been quite a while since I've heard anyone call the Catholic Church the Whore of Babylon.
With some crowds it just doesn't pay to be droll.

<sigh>

Nor does it pay to be droll back, I guess.

I needed to put in some Luther jokes. Ah well, live and learn.

<sigh>

Post by **WampusCat** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:06 am

I missed all the other Holy Week services but showed up at the all night prayer vigil last night to hold down the 1:30-2:30 a.m. slot. It was definitely the highlight of my day.

And I'll be back tomorrow night for the Great Vigil of Easter. I'm chanting the Exultet, which is a glorious piece in word and music. It possibly dates to the 5th century, and was definitely around by the 7th century. I'm looking forward to it.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:20 am

I so envy all you people who can sing.

Post by **Lurker** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:38 am

True!!!
I can sing but I don't know if it's good enough.

I auditioned for the school choir and passed but I was too lazy to go to the practices.

(My mom said if it were any kind of sport practice I will be there all the time.) I was in a school musical, Grease, once, one of the T-birds, just to get close to the girl who played Sandy. (She didn't like me back.

) The parish choir leader even asked me to join the choir after he heard me sing during the mass. I never felt compelled to join. (I was sitting near the choir and I guess singing too loud.) In another thread I said I got 100's! on the karaoke machine.

If my mom reads this, she would know that I sucessfully tried to fail the audition at the St. Michael's Choir School. She was hoping I could get in.

What, leave one of the best hockey schools in the country for a chance to sing at Massey Hall. I was ten, I didn't know Massey Hall was a big deal!

Ok...got carried away there.

Post by **Elentári** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:20 am

In our church we had the Maundy Thursday evening Eucharist (with handwashing) 7:30-9pm, followed by a 1 hour vigil, after which we (the Choir) sang Compline. Nice end to the day.

Good Friday there is a children's service in the morning (with hot cross buns), and then we have the Good Friday Liturgy/Service of the Cross, 1:30pm-3pm. We usually sing Stainer's "God so loved the world", and some Bach chorales. This year we sang Archer's "My Song is Love Unknown", with my eldest son doing the first verse solo

Tonight (Saturday) we have our Easter Vigil service, which I totally love. First half is solomn, where we remember our Lord's sufferring, the lights go out, and the Choir sings Allegri's "Miserere Mei" - my son and I get to do the Sop 2 and Alto in the Concertina quartet - we process to the Baptistry, then the priest lights a fire in the font, and all the candles are lit from it as we renew our Baptismal vows. We process back to the choir, and after the Gospel reading of the resurrection we celebrate by ringing handbells that everyone has brought with them, and the organ sounds really loudly - it's such a joyful occasion - and we sing the first Gloria of Easter.

After the service we always have a Parish party, with Simnel cake!

Post by **Crucifer** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:44 pm

I would love to do the St Matthew Passion for Holy Week- but the congregation I'm afraid wouldn't sit through hours of Bach.

Ah. Well, it was by a guy called Philip Moore, who is, to the best of my knowledge, still alive and kicking...

But that's water under the bridge; the Whore of Babylon today has no problem with Protestant composers, ancient or modern. No Bach? No Handel? No Tallis? No Vaughan Williams? No way.

Except VW was a militant atheist! Shocking but true!

We had a communion with the consecrated host from Maundy Thursday service. The vigil tonight starts at 10, I think, and is a Eucharist with added bits at the beginning.
Widor mass for double organ, choir and Baritone chorus! w00t!

One year, in Cork, we had a vigil that started at 11, and then a dawn service on the beach where we all got thoroughly soaked by the Dean's overenthusiastic re-enactment of baptism, and then I had to rush in to sing Vierne in the Cathedral, after having had a BBQ on the beach...

I'm chanting the Exultet

Lucky sod.

Post by **Lalaith** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:26 pm

I hate being Baptist!!!

Post by **solicitr** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:11 pm

(Note: I'm just using Matthew throughout for consistency. John of course is the prescribed reading for Good Friday)

Holy (or Black) Saturday:

Nothing.

This is the only day of the year on which there is no liturgy or service at all. No bells may be rung, sacraments performed (except in extremis): the Catholic world waits and prays.

Post by **Elentári** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:41 pm

We have Matthew for the Passion reading on Palm Sunday...

Soli wrote:

Holy (or Black) Saturday...No bells may be rung...

Wonder if my Rector knows that?

[see my previous post!]

Post by **solicitr** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:25 pm

Ah... well, the Easter Vigil is Easter, technically not part of Black Saturday. Under the Old Rules it was midnight, but the time has been pushed progressively back into the evening for 'convenience.'

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:36 pm

Well, it makes it possible for at least families with older children to attend.

I do understand the discipline of putting worship ahead of rest. But for many people who are old or sick or have small children, that's a practical impossibility. Churches I attend have always had an 11 PM Christmas Eve service (so it's Christmas when the service ends), but they also have one much earlier in the evening so everyone has the opportunity to attend.

Post by **MithLuin** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:59 pm

Well, there's always Sunday morning Easter services for everyone else. I mean, no one expects you to get your little kids up at midnight.

The Vigil is supposed to at least be after dark (7 or 8 PM at most churches around me), but Christmas Eve mass can be celebrated any time after 4 PM.

A lot of churches do a "blessing of food" this afternoon - while not a service, it's yet another reason to go to church

.

The Orthodox do actually celebrate the Vigil at midnight, if I understand correctly. It involves ringing bells and processing around the church three times singing/chanting. I'm sure the neighbors love that

.

Awww, Lali, I'm sure your church's Easter celebration is beautiful and joyful, too! I know Baptists aren't real big on liturgy, but the liturgy is meant to reflect the mysteries being celebrated. For Easter, that means JOY

. I somehow doubt your church misses out on that!

Post by **solicitr** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:00 pm

But Prim, there's nothing stopping them from attending in the morning.

Post by **Lurker** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:34 pm

We're going to attend the easter morning mass for obvious reasons.

Today, we are preparing to attend the Divine Mercy Novena at 3:00 pm. I guess non-Catholics don't know that, well, even Catholics I know never heard of it unless it is done in their churches. It's a 9-day novena which started yesterday after the Stations of the Cross.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:18 pm

What's a novena, Lurker?

Yes, of course Easter morning services are easy for families, soli; that's a perfectly good point.

But the Easter vigil is a different thing. It wasn't until I first went to a vigil service (in my father's church, when I was a teenager) that I felt the real impact of the transition from utter darkness to sheer joy, exultant music, brilliant light. We sang and processed through the church in darkness, following the ministers with candles, and then into the nave—and after the Easter Gospel the lights came on, the organ started playing joyously, and we could see the front of the church festooned with flowers. And had communion with champagne for wine.

I went to four of those services and they were meaningful and joyful, with an impact the Easter service itself didn't have for me then.

And it was at 10 PM.

Post by **Elentári** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 10:44 pm

Prim wrote:

But the Easter vigil is a different thing. It wasn't until I first went to a vigil service (in my father's church, when I was a teenager) that I felt the real impact of the transition from utter darkness to sheer joy, exultant music, brilliant light. We sang and processed through the church in darkness, following the ministers with candles, and then into the nave—and after the Easter Gospel the lights came on, the organ started playing joyously, and we could see the front of the church festooned with flowers.

Exactly, Prim - that's pretty similar to our Vigil service that I've just been to - except we don't celebrate mass today. It lasts an hour from 7:30pm, and then we had a little party in the church hall (which in our case is the Old Bishop's Palace because we are an ancient 12th century parish and Archbishop's Peculiar, i.e., somewhere the archbishop and his retinue would be able to stop at on journeys round the country) with wine, and Simnel cake. My kids couldn't get enough of it!

Post by **Andreth** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:06 am

A novena is a period of nine days of public or private prayer for a specific saint or holy day. It usually preceeds the saint's day or holy day. The one Lurker is refering to is the one leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday which is the second Sunday of Easter. Participants are granted special graces for reverently participating. Its origin goes back to the nine days that the Apostles and Mary spent in prayer between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost.

Oh look I found my Divine Mercy novena booklet in my Treasury of Novenas book.

Post by **Crucifer** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 3:34 am

Well, our vigil started at 9, and ended at midnight...

We started, symbolically, in the crypt, with the choir out of sight in the treasury, the beginning of genesis read out interspersed with the Benedicite, then a Jubilate followed by prayer. At 10, we went outside and lit the Paschal candle from a bonfire and all processed in to the cathedral in pitch black, then lit candles while the Archdeacon sang "The light of Christ" with the response "Alleluia" 3 times in higher tones, then he sang the Exsultet, and then a cantor sang the opening line of the Gloria, Organ Fanfare, all the lights come on, bells are rung, the altar is dressed, we put on surplices, 10 minutes of improvisation on the organ later, we sing Widor's magnificent Gloria for two organs, two choirs and baritone chorus.

to Widor.

Then we had a pretty normal Eucharist, with 6 confirmations.

Back in at 8 a.m. to rehearse for Easter Sunday Eucharist.

*is wrecked*

Post by **solicitr** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 4:00 am

WOW, Crucifer!

Our little church still has a way to go (would purge everything ever written by Marty Haugen or David Haas)

But we did pull off the Hallelujah from Beethoven's 'Mount of Olives'

Query: didn't you do the seven readings and seven Psalms?

Post by **solicitr** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 4:08 am

EASTER

Matthew 26: 61-66, 27:1-10, 16-20 wrote: 61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

[...]

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.