THE PALM/PASSION SUNDAY LITURGY

The season of Lent comes to its highpoint in the celebrations of the Holy Week, in which all Christians are invited, in a special way, to participate in the Mysteries of Christ. The Holy Week begins with the Palm/Passion Sunday, which is the sixth Sunday in the season of Lent. On this day, the celebration mood is divided into two parts: the triumphant entry and the passion of Christ. The Triumphant Entry consists of the royal reception Jesus received from his admirers who paraded with Him from the Mount of Olives to the city of Jerusalem. This event was meant to reveal to the general public that Christ was the promised Messiah; it was a fulfillment of the prophecies of Zechariah 9:9 and Zephaniah 3:16-19.

The Messianic portrayal at the event is clearly shown in the act of Jesus riding on a lowly donkey, which signifies that the kingdom he has come to established is a kingdom of peace. In ancient times, kings preferred to ride on a donkey in times of peace (Cf. 1 Kings 1:38-41; 1 Maccabees 10:6-8). Secondly, it is shown in the acclamation of the “Hosanna” by the crowd. This word, meaning, “Come to our aid!” was formerly used to implore the divine supplication, but gradually it changed into a word of praise or a shout of jubilation. At the time of Jesus, it had taken a messianic overtone, in which the people express their joy in hope of the arrival of the Messiah, and pray that the Davidic kingship be reestablished. Thirdly, the joy of arrival of the Messiah is shown at the waving of palm branches, a symbol of the victory of a king and the symbol for the reign of peace in the ancient times. In this first part of the liturgy of Palm/ Passion Sunday, we are called to evaluate our place among the crowd (the oklos) who shouted “hosanna!” to the Messiah.

The second part of the day’s celebration takes a twist, when we now listen to the Passion Narrative and recall Christ the true Paschal Lamb who was led to his death after being betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, deserted by his disciples, falsely accused by the Jewish authorities and the crowds, ridiculed by Herod, and unjustly condemned by Pontius Pilate. Throughout this Holy Week, we are all to journey with Christ through his passion and death, reflecting on the many times we have shouted “hosanna” to Christ, professing our faith and belief in the Messiah, like the oklos at the Triumphant Entry, but suddenly shouting “crucify him!” by the many times we have gone astray when faced with little life situations.

The entire forty days’ journey of Lent leads towards the victory of the Cross. The Holy week is therefore, a time when our hope in the Resurrection of Christ is intensified.

THE SPY WEDNESDAY

The Wednesday of the Holy Week is traditionally called the “Spy Wednesday.” This is because it is the day when Judas Iscariot betrayed Our Lord to the Sanhedrin. In Germany, this day is called “Crooked Wednesday;” in some other countries it is called “Black Wednesday.” The name, “Spy Wednesday” is said to be of Irish origin, since the Bible never used the word “spy” in reference to Judas. Some Biblical exegetes believe the surname, Iscariot, to be the corruption of the Latin “Sicarius” meaning “murderer” or “assassin.”

Judas’ betrayal is believed to be the worst since the history of man. He was a close companion of Jesus, the one who held the treasury of the family of the Apostles from which he used to “help himself.” All through His ministry, Christ had through his word that gives life, called him out of his sinful ways to the Way of Life, yet he persistently resisted and rejected God’s invitation, God’s truth, God’s grace and ultimately God’s own Son. In a way that defies understanding, he was able to completely conceal his rebellion from everyone, such that, even when Jesus predicted that one of his disciples would betray him, Judas was not suspected. Judas was totally trapped in the darkness of corruption of sin that he became a willing instrument of Satan, so deep he had fallen into this trap that when Christ offered the final grace – “What you are going to do, do quickly” (John 13:27) – he resisted!

It is in Judas we see clearly, the enticement of sin and its consequent guilt and shame. Just as pain is an intrinsic and automatic warning of physical danger, so too, guilt is an intrinsic warning of spiritual danger. After Judas had fallen to the wimps of Satan, he became afraid of God, yet he did not turn to the One he knew could forgive him; he was afraid of men, he discarded and despised the Jewish leaders; he suddenly realizes the horrible ill he had done. The awareness of right and wrong is divinely built in every man and cannot be totally denied, no matter how much a person allow sin to silence this voice. However, “when sin increases, grace abounds all the more” (Romans 5:20). The deafness to this teaching was the ultimate failure of Judas when he despaired against God’s grace.

The “Spy Wednesday” is a day of deep reflection for all Christians. It is a day to call to mind the grave consequences of sin and the immeasurable grace that abounds whenever we sin. It is a day we examine the many times we have betrayed our most faithful friend, Jesus, and hid behind the veil of false piety by our spurious devotion and hypocritical worship and acclamation whenever we are pricked by our conscience, “You do not mean me, Master, do you?” (Matthew 26:23).

The early Christians used to fast on Wednesdays throughout the year in remembrance of the betrayal of Jesus. Some Christians still maintain the practice in their private devotion till date. Therefore, our Lenten journey becomes more intensified today, as we pledge our commitment to follow Christ, unwaveringly to his death so as to rise with Him on Easter Sunday.

THE MASS OF THE LAST SUPPER

The Mass of the Last Supper of the Holy Thursday is the first Mass Christ celebrated with his disciples. The commemoration of this first Mass, celebrated on the evening of Holy Thursday, marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum. This Mass commemorates the three gifts Christ left His Church on the eve of His passion, namely, the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Priesthood and the New Commandment of brotherly love. The new commandment of brotherly love was given in an exemplum by Christ himself when He who is God, stooped down to wash the feet of his disciples. By this gesture, He teaches the true meaning of what the Holy Eucharist is: the self-emptying of Himself to mankind; and what the Holy priesthood is: the self-sacrifice of the Baptized to the wood of the cross.

The Holy Thursday is called Mundy Thursday (from a Latin root, Mandatum) because, it was at this Mass of the Last supper that Christ gave his disciples the Mandatum Novum (a new commandment) and an exemplum for them to follow, where He stooped down to wash the feet of his disciples. The practice of feet washing of strangers, sojourners and guests has an ancient root in nations around the Middle East where the environment has high presence of dust and the people (usually the poor ones) go about barefooted and the rich simply put on a kind of sandal that does little or no good other than to protect the sole of their feet from the dusty paths of the environment.

Thus, in order to maintain hygiene in the face of such geographical constraint, a basin of water is usually placed by the doors of Jewish household to wash the feet of weary travelers and guests. This act was subsequently acquired and incorporated into the religious act of purification. However, not to offer water to wash the feet was considered rude, inhospitable and unwelcoming. And this task of washing the feet of a guest was usually reserved to a gentile slave (not even a Jewish slave), because, it is a task marked with condescension. However, the height of hospitality can be expressed when the host himself condescends to pour water himself on the feet of his guest.

On the Mundy Thursday evening, the Jewish norm of feet washing is given a new look when, not just a Jewish king, but the divine Creator, puts aside his divinity, laid aside his garment of glory and wrapped around his waist the towel of human nature, then condescended to wash the feet of his disciples – mere mortal men. By this very act, he welcomes his guests to the banquet of the Eucharist and makes them eligible to participate in the heavenly eschatological banquet where He would be the host of his faithful people. The Mandatum therefore lies in the commandment that, to be a Master means being the servant, modeled after in the irony of a creator who willingly takes the form of a servant. For this reason, therefore, in our seminary, this Mass is usually celebrated by the Rector himself.

On this day, therefore, the Church calls us to participate fully in the anamnesis of the event of our salvation. For the event is not just a story of the past but a memorial that bestows on us here and now the grace of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. We are called to go about, on our daily witnessing to the faith, to wash the feet of the poor, the underprivileged, the destitute, the marginalized in our society. We are called to be the servants in our various privileged positions as we anticipate Christ’s triumph over sin and death at Easter.

THE TENEBRAE SERVICE

Tenebrae means “darkness” or “shadows.” It is the public singing of the Matins and Lauds of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday in which candles are extinguished one by one as Christ goes through his passion. This custom dates back to the early period of the Church’s history. It acquires its name from the mood and manner of the ceremony, which involves the sorrowful and mourning ritual of extinguishing of candles after each psalm.  In ancient times, at it is still practiced in some Churches, the ritual involves a triangular stand with fifteen candles. These were put out one by one until, after the last candle was extinguished, a prayer was said in darkness, one candle was lighted, and the assembly dispersed in silence.

During the Matins on Good Friday in traditional Tenebrae, one by one, the candles are extinguished in the Church, leaving the congregation in total darkness, and in a silence that is punctuated by the strepitus (a loud clatter intended to evoke the earthquake that was said to happen at the moment of Christ’s death) meant to evoke the convulsion of nature at the death of Christ. It has also been described as the sound of the tomb door closing. Thus, the strepitus signifies the confusion and terror which accompanies the death of Christ and his burial. It is followed by silence and dismissal in silence.

Aside from the strepitus service, the Tenebrae is marked by an absolute silence, since all the faithful are lost in a deep sober reflection on the passion and death of Christ. It is a service where, in union with the Church, each faithful asks that God may bring to fulfillment his saving act on man.

THE CELEBRATION OF HOLY SATURDAY

On Holy Saturday, the Church is, as it were, at the tomb of the Lord, meditating on his passion, his death, his descent into hell, awaiting in prayer and fasting for his resurrection. On this day, the Church mourns for her Head who descended into the abode of the dead, called in Hebrew Sheol and in Greek, Hades, a place where the souls that are therein are deprived of the vision of God. Jesus did not go down there to deliver the damned nor destroy the hell of damnation; he went there to free the just souls who had gone before him. By this descent, Jesus brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment, which marks the last phase of his messianic mission (Cf. Luke 4:18-19).

According to ancient tradition, the night of Holy Saturday is a vigil for the Lord, in which the Holy mother Church anticipates the resurrection of Christ as it was promised before his death. On this day, it is not permitted to celebrate Mass alone without the vigil ceremony. The term vigil comes from the Latin word, “vigilia” which means “wakefulness.” Thus, vigil ceremony has come to be used to name the event when the faithful awake to pray and do devotional exercises in anticipation of a feast. Hence, the vigil held on Holy Saturday in anticipation of Easter Sunday is called Easter vigil.

 This vigil comes to an end before daybreak, modeled after the annual commemoration of the Hebrew Passover vigil when the Jews kept watch for the Lord’s Passover, a day they recall the salvific work of God when He saved them from the Egyptian slavery. The Easter vigil thus, commemorates the night preceding our true liberation, when Christ destroyed the bonds of sin and death with his resurrection from the dead. This night is considered as the mother of all vigils since it is the foundation of our faith and hope.

The liturgy of this night is so ordered, therefore, that every moment is meant to arouse in the faithful, a deep awareness of the saving work of God to man. Hence, the liturgy begins with that service of light otherwise known as the Lucernarium and the Easter proclamation (the Exsultet), where Christ is proclaimed, by the ceremonial acts, as the true light of the world. Next, the Church invites the faithful to meditate on the outstanding deeds of God in the history of human salvation, in the Liturgy of the word. This ceremony culminates in the proclamation of the resurrection of the Lord from the Gospel. After this part, the new members of the Church are reborn in Baptism, after which, the faithful are invited to the table of the Eucharist prepared by the Lord for His Church.