Florida Catholic | Holy Week Is A Time To Sense God

Holy Week is a time to sense God

LINDA REEVES | FLORIDA CATHOLIC PALM BEACH BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 03.14.08

Franciscan Father Vincent Rubino prays the Stations of the Cross. “Through the Stations of the Cross, we journey with Christ, and we also journey inward to challenge ourselves,” said Father Brian King, episcopal secretary to Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito.
JASON COLLINS | FC

During Holy Week, Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito will preside at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola, 9999 N. Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, at the following times:

Chrism Mass: March 18, 11 a.m.
Holy Thursday: March 20, Mass of the Lord’s Last Supper, 7:30 p.m.
Good Friday: March 21, Passion service at 3 p.m.; bilingual Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m.
Easter vigil: March 22, 7:30 p.m.
Easter morning: 7:15 a.m., sunrise service, outdoors, at the Shrine of the Risen Christ

PALM BEACH GARDENS | Holy Week celebrations touch all five senses and are full of music, traditions, incense and meaning. But, due to day-to-day activities, some Catholics opt to miss these celebrations.

“To be honest, I haven’t been to Holy Week events in a long time,” said Michelle Sheldone a parishioner of the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola. “Maybe I should. When are they?”

Palm Sunday is March 16 this year and is followed by a week of celebrations and observances marking Holy Week. Many who usually participate have their own favorite worship days.

“I like Holy Thursday,” said cathedral parishioner Deborah Duxbury. “The traditions, incense, music, washing of the feet – it touches a chord. The ceremony is over the top and it makes me feel closer to God.”

To better understand some Holy Week traditions, the Florida Catholic talked to Father Brian King, episcopal secretary to Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito. Father King organizes Holy Week worship activities that involve the bishop.

CHRISM MASS

The chrism Mass will be celebrated in the Diocese of Palm Beach Tuesday, March 18, 11 a.m., at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola. Bishop Barbarito will preside.

“The chrism Mass is a beautiful celebration traditionally celebrated in the morning on Holy Thursday, but for pastoral reasons most dioceses transfer it to an earlier day (during Holy Week) to allow the priests an opportunity both to attend and to get back to their parishes to organize Holy Week services,” said Father King.

Many of the priests from the 53 parishes and missions of the Diocese of Palm Beach attend the chrism Mass to renew their priestly promises and those experiencing significant milestones are acknowledged.

“The priests gather around the bishop and, in the presence of the laity, renew their priestly commitment to prayer and service,” said Father King. “The chrism Mass is really a Mass for the priests to come together — to pray together during the Mass and to socialize afterward at a private luncheon just for the priests with their bishop.”

The chrism Mass is noted for the blessing of large quantities of oil that are distributed to the priests after the Mass.

“The oil of the sick and the oil of catechumens that are used by the parishes throughout the diocese for the sacraments of anointing of the sick and baptism are blessed at the Mass,” said Father King. “The bishop blesses the olive oil (extra virgin — first press and free of impurities) and the oil is later portioned into vials and distributed to the priests for use in their parishes.”

The sacred chrism, a mixture of olive oil and balsam, is also consecrated at the chrism Mass and used for the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and holy orders.

“The bishop blows into the sacred chrism to symbolize the breath of God — the Holy Spirit — coming upon the chrism. The bishop (and) the priests extend their hands in blessing over the chrism as it is consecrated.”

HOLY THURSDAY

“I’ve always liked Bishop Barbarito’s Mass of the Last Supper,” said Irene Hey of St. Vincent Ferrer in Delray Beach.

Catholics will celebrate Holy Thursday March 20, with the liturgy of the Lord’s Supper. The Mass commemorates Christ’s gift of himself in the Eucharist and his washing of the disciples’ feet, a sign that they should serve others in love.

Parishes schedule Masses at various times. Bishop Barbarito is main celebrant at the cathedral’s 7:30 p.m. celebration.

“At this Mass, in a special way, we remember the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper and Christ’s command to ‘do this in memory of me,’” explained Father King. “At the Last Supper, Christ also washed the feet of his 12 Apostles, and many parishes commemorate this by washing the feet of 12 parishioners.”

Father King explained that in the liturgical service the “washing of the feet” is known as the “mandatum,” which is Latin meaning “command” — being “sent to do something.”

“As Christ made himself a servant for our benefit, we must make ourselves servants for others,” he said.

The celebrant of a Holy Thursday liturgy may wash the feet of members of the parish community or use some similar sign of service. Bishop Barbarito will wash the feet of 12 men during the cathedral celebrations.

After the service, the tabernacle is emptied and the altar is left bare of decoration. The cathedral service ends with a procession led by Bishop Barbarito to the chapel on the grounds.

“The faithful are invited to spend quiet time with Christ adoring the Blessed Sacrament until midnight to represent Christ’s request to his disciples that they ‘stay awake and keep watch with him,’” said Father King.

GOOD FRIDAY

March 21 is Good Friday. On this day, Catholics throughout the world commemorate the suffering and death of Christ when he sacrificed his life to save humankind.

“This day, along with Holy Saturday, are the two days in the liturgical year on which no Mass is celebrated,” Father King explained. “On Good Friday, a liturgical service is celebrated at which (time) the faithful hear the reading of the Passion.”

He said the word passion is from Latin. It means “suffering,” as a martyr would suffer, and refers here to the sufferings of Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. The Passion can be read during services as a whole document or in narrative parts with various readers.

Bishop Barbarito will preside during a Good Friday service March 21 at 3 p.m. at the cathedral, and the liturgical service will feature the Passion presented in narrative parts.

“The second part of the Good Friday service is the veneration of the cross,” said Father King. “The bishop genuflects before the cross, venerates it and then invites the faithful to come forward and make a sign of veneration to the holy cross. St. Paul reminds us in sacred Scripture that Christ (and Christianity) took a symbol of shame of derision and turned it into something beautiful and glorious. On this day, we remember in a special way the great sacrifice of Christ on the cross — the depth of his love.”

Traditionally, processions take place in Rome and Jerusalem on Good Friday. The pope and the patriarch of Jerusalem each walks with a congregation in a procession to commemorate the journey that Catholics believe Jesus endured while carrying the cross on which he was crucified.

At the end of the cathedral service, attendees are invited to receive Communion from hosts consecrated the previous evening during the Holy Thursday service.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

The traditional Stations of the Cross are a series of 14 pictures or crosses displayed at Catholic churches that commemorate Christ’s journey to Calvary and his death and burial. An alternate form, called the Way of the Cross, adds a 15th station for the Resurrection.

“In various ways, the faithful around the world wish to share in the Passion of Our Lord. One way is to symbolically walk the road to Calvary with Christ,” said Father King.

The Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola will hold a bilingual Good Friday Stations of the Cross service March 21 at 6 p.m.

During the devotion, Catholics move from picture to picture or pray in the pews as a priest travels from station to station meditating on the scenes. Parishes often schedule devotions of the Stations of the Cross throughout Lent, and booklets are often available with suggested meditations and prayers for each station.

“Through the Stations of the Cross, we journey with Christ, and we also journey inward to challenge ourselves,” said Father King.

EASTER VIGIL

Easter, when Catholics commemorate Christ’s resurrection, is the greatest feast of the Catholic Church and is first celebrated at the Easter vigil.

“Easter vigil, when all the (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) people are received into the Catholic Church, is my favorite day of Holy Week,” said Margaret Owers, a religion teacher at Sacred Heart in Lake Worth. “Since I have participated in the journey with many of them for several months, it is awe-inspiring to see these new converts received into the church and how much the Catholic Church means to them. Over the years, I have seen many of them become some of the most active and reverent participants in our parish.”

This year, parishes will celebrate the Easter vigil March 22 at various times during the evening. Celebrations at the cathedral begin at 7:30 p.m.

“According to Jewish and Christian custom, the day ends at sundown and the new day begins,” said Father King about Easter celebrations. “As the sun sets on Holy Saturday, fires are lit at Catholic churches around the world. Into this fire, the old paschal candle is burned and the old holy oils are burned.”

The paschal candle represents Christ and the oils are the sacred oils left over from the year.

“A new paschal candle is marked and blessed by the bishop,” said Father King. “From the fire of the old candle and the old oils, the new candle is lit. From this light, the faithful who are gathered light their candles and process into the darkened church behind the paschal candle.”

During vigil ceremonies, a hymn of triumph is chanted, followed by several Scripture readings telling the story of God’s care for his people over the centuries.

“The cantor intones, “Light of Christ” three times and the faithful respond, ‘Thanks be to God.’ As the faithful slowly fill the spaces in the church the darkness is conquered and, finally, after the third chant, the lights are turned on.

“The cantor then sings the ‘Exsultet’ — ‘Rejoice Heavenly Powers, Sing Choirs of Angels.’ This ancient chant recalls salvation history and God’s unconditional love of creation right through the death and resurrection of Christ.”

The heart of the Easter vigil is the baptism of new converts.

“Following the homily, all those who had been preparing for reception into the Catholic Church are baptized and confirmed in the presence of the community,” explained Father King.

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