Holy Week Rites from a traditional perspective

[Iotaunum]

I wanted to post this in the traditional section rather than liturgy as I feel it is mainly of interest to traditional Catholics and that they may know more about the issue. As Easter draws nearer we begin to think of Holy Week and the traditional rites the Church uses for the various days. Recently I have been reading more and more about the Pre 1955 rites and ceremonies for Holy Week. The rites were revised under the pontificate of Pius XII in 1955 and I think came into force in 1956. I can see both good points and bad points in the revised rites, such as; more participation (in the traditional sense), simplified and less time consuming ceremonies, times changed (re intoduced Vigil), etc and on the other hand lessons were reduced (from 12 to 4) and the rite of Blessing the New Fire and Paschal Candle were changed (beautiful rites), collects were reduced, portions of the Passion reading were omitted etc. So my question to Catholics who attend the Latin Mass (1962 Rite) is: Have we lost something in the Holy Week reforms? Would you like to see the Traditional rites restored, or have the changes been a good thing?

(P.S. - I do not intend to suggest that anyone could return to using these rites without the permission of the Holy See)

 

[utah_rose]

I wanted to post this in the traditional section rather than liturgy as I feel it is mainly of interest to traditional Catholics and that they may know more about the issue. As Easter draws nearer we begin to think of Holy Week and the traditional rites the Church uses for the various days. Recently I have been reading more and more about the Pre 1955 rites and ceremonies for Holy Week. The rites were revised under the pontificate of Pius XII in 1955 and I think came into force in 1956. I can see both good points and bad points in the revised rites, such as; more participation (in the traditional sense), simplified and less time consuming ceremonies, times changed (re intoduced Vigil), etc and on the other hand lessons were reduced (from 12 to 4) and the rite of Blessing the New Fire and Paschal Candle were changed (beautiful rites), collects were reduced, portions of the Passion reading were omitted etc. So my question to Catholics who attend the Latin Mass (1962 Rite) is: Have we lost something in the Holy Week reforms? Would you like to see the Traditional rites restored, or have the changes been a good thing?

(P.S. - I do not intend to suggest that anyone could return to using these rites without the permission of the Holy See)

I would like to have the choice of the old or new ones myself. I grew up with the old ones, and liked them. Also, the blessing of the water, etc. on Holy Saturday was never so late. I love the ceremony, but as a senior it’s difficult to drive at night and I believe more people would attend if it was earlier. Also, it must be terribly hard on the priests. I notice there aren’t many Masses on Easter, and I believe its because the Easter Tridium, particularly Holy Saturday exhausts the priests, and there are fewer of them.

 

[Warrenton]

The reduction of the readings was probably not so good, and the reforming of some of the old rituals was not so good either. An example is the old rtitual of banging on the church door with the processional cross. Everyone, Catholics and non Catholics, knew that ceremony, even if they knew it to make a joke out of it. That is the kind of thing that provides continuity in worship. Continuity is what sets Catholics and Orthodox apart from other sects.

The reforms, I believe, were based on the mistaken belief that we live in a new era. Many Catholics mistook “new” for “shocking.” This of course was understandable, given the horrors of the first 2/3ds of the 20th century. Because these shocks came at the same time as unprecedented and widespread luxury, people were simply unable to withstand them with the same sang froid as earlier Catholics withstood challenges.

Slowly, but at a quickening pace, the original rites are being restored. I am confident that the old holy week rites will also return, and that it will be a good thing. One point I believe will be gone for some time are the older forms of the prayers for Jewry. Jewish people have asked us to change them, and I think these changes will be more or less permanent in charity.

I also believe that the restoration will not be a complete one: the new rites will continue in use along side of the old ones. This is a good thing, because there need not be a competition between rituals. Some people, I guess, just don’t like chant and polyphony, or Latin. That is nothing new. Why force them? If a simplified liturgy enables them to adhere to the Church, then it serves its purpose.

 

[malphono]

As far as I’m concerned, one positive thing about the “revised” Holy Week Rites of 1955 was the restoration of the timings. Beyond that, I can say that I’ve never been thrilled with what was done to either the Palm Sunday or Good Friday Liturgies. The changes to Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday were less draconian, but I’d still prefer the original usages.

 

[laszlo]

In the fifities the tradition started with the humble obedience to the Magisterium, so everyone, the waste majority of the clergy and following them the laity accepted the changes as positives. The formerly empty churches were filled up, there was not even standing place free, the priests and servers were enthusiastic and well prepared, in most churches one of the priests explained the liturgy in details

The Palm Sunday liturgy was shortened by 10%, the Holy Saturday was shortened by one third related to the previous version, Holy Thursday actually get loner, because the washing of the feet previously was optional and not integrated into the Mass; Good Friday liturgy is the same length as was previously.

Here are the numbers in Kb (html bilingual text w/o rubrics)

Palm Sunday 169 - 153
Holy Thursday 103 - 102 (the previous with the Washing of the feets)
Good Friday 84 - 82
Holy Saturday 199 - 132

On that time everybody agreed that the shortening for Holy Saturday was necessary, people have some attention and bladder limit. (I start to understand this later only now; but any way on that time that was unthinkable that toilets can be inside or next to the churches).

 

[Iotaunum]

The reformed rites themselves are widely seen as a precursor of the Vatican II reforms and the New Mass. Indeed some of those responsible for the reformed Holy Week Rites (Fr Bugninni etc) were the main creators of the new rite of Mass. The more I think about and the more I read, I feel that the benefits of shorter times etc do not outweight the loss of tradition and beauty of the rites themselves. It is all very well to think that some ceremonies take up alot of time and are drawn out, but think of the Catholics who “endured” these rites in the past without complaining. I would like to attend the pre 1955 rites some day just to see them “in action” and experience them for myself, also to see the rites as they were observed under Pope St Pius X, my favourite Pope along with St Pius V.

Perhaps it may have been better to change the times -vigils etc, while leaving the traditional rites untouched?

 

[Lormar]

I would like to have the choice of the old or new ones myself. I grew up with the old ones, and liked them. Also, the blessing of the water, etc. on Holy Saturday was never so late. I love the ceremony, but as a senior it’s difficult to drive at night and I believe more people would attend if it was earlier. Also, it must be terribly hard on the priests. I notice there aren’t many Masses on Easter, and I believe its because the Easter Tridium, particularly Holy Saturday exhausts the priests, and there are fewer of them.

Utah Rose, I agree with every word you wrote. I, too, would prefer them to be earlier. Holy Saturday services used to be, before 1955, in the morning. I wish they would go back to that.

 

[laszlo]

Utah Rose, I agree with every word you wrote. I, too, would prefer them to be earlier. Holy Saturday services used to be, before 1955, in the morning. I wish they would go back to that.

The morning celebration was anachronistic related to the events which happened at the evening or afternoon.

In the fifties in most Churches the Holy Thursday mass started and 6PM, the Good Friday liturgy at 3PM, and Holy Saturday Liturgy at 5 PM. I personaly belive that Jesus was risen at 6:00:01 PM in our time calculation, that was the starting moment of the third day.

The pre 1955 rites used to be available (simulcast or recorded) at St Gertrud the Great church

sgg.org/for-newcomers/mass-streaming/

the 1955 version used to be available at the FSSP Florida mission as video or podcast

homepage.mac.com/anchoright/ctk/Christ_The_King_Sarasota/Video/Video.html

The text for both traditional version is available at my site ( divinumofficium.com ) w/ or w/o rubrics Latin English.

 

[Lormar]

The morning celebration was anachronistic related to the events which happened at the evening or afternoon.

Thank you, Laszlo, I am well aware of that.

Nevertheless, I prefer them in the morning. And apparently the Church had no problem with it either for hundreds of years.

.

 

[Phemie]

Thank you, Laszlo, I am well aware of that.

Nevertheless, I prefer them in the morning. And apparently the Church had no problem with it either for hundreds of years.

.

That was because it was forbidden to celebrate Mass between 12 p.m. and 12 a.m. Once Evening Masses were allowed, it made sense to celebrate the Vigil after dark.

 

[corsair]

This is the first year that my wife & I will be attending the Triduum in the 1962 Form. We got a “taste” of it last year at “Good Friday” services. It was the most emotionally draining experience of my life.

So this year we got a motel room just 2 miles from the church. Easter is also our 45 wedding anniversery.

 

[JReducation]

It may surprise some people to find out where the “newer rites” came from. Observe my quotation marks. They came from the religious life. I believe that Franciscans and Camaldolese were the first to use them back in the 1200s. Of course the 20th century Church had to adapt them a little more to fit the parish. But they are not too different from what you would see in a religious house of mendicants or monks (Dominicans, Carthusians and Carmelites excluded, because they had their own rites).

There was a reason why Franciscans and some enclosed monasteries had shorter rites. We had and still have very long Liturgy of the Hours on those days. And St. Francis did not like the fact that you needed several books. He asked Pope Innocent for a single book. Innocent gave him a missal that contained very simple rites, compared to those in use by the rest of the Church and a very simple breviary. Keep in mind, this was still the Roman Rite. It was just as simpler form. At the time, there were many forms of the Roman Rite.

The simpler rite allowed and continues to allow for all of the services to be celebrated without running into each other. When you try to squeeze in the long liturgies of the Easter Triduum and all of the hours of the Divine Office, it was almost impossible to do it.

Then there was the issue of cost. You needed several books. Francis was against having so many liturgical books. The focus in the enclosed monastery and in the mendicant orders is to give worship to God through the life of prayer, obedience, and penance. Francis introduced poverty and brotherhood into the mix. He wanted to celebrate the Triduum with great solemnity without violating poverty and preserving brotherhood. To preserve poverty, they needed simpler books. To preserve brotherhood they simplified the rituals so that all the brothers could participate, not just those who knew Gregorian chant and Latin. We had and have brothers from all walks of life and cultures. Francis saw the unity in the diversity.

He was not alone in this vision. The Benedictine family continued to grow and to subdivide. One of those branches are the Camaldolese. In the 1500s, there was a Franciscan reform. The brothers went to their old friends the Camaldolese to teach them simpler liturgical expressions. Exactly how identical they were back in those days is hard to tell. But if one visits a Camaldolese house and a Capuchin Franciscan house, one can see overlaps.

Fast forward the clock, if you look at the newer rites of the 20th century and the rites celebrated by the friars in earlier centuries, they’re almost identical. It seems that the reformers of the rites during the 20th century took a lot from the older religious houses.

What makes it different is that most parishes don’t have the Liturgy of the Hours that goes with those rites. For the clergy and religious who are bound to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours and the rites of the Triduum, they are three very full days of prayer and adoration. There is very little down time. Even those diocesan priests who use Christian Prayer, find very little down time between the many liturgical acts.

For those who may wish to get the full impact, you may want to try to celebrate the Hours for those three days and attend all of the services at your parish. It’s quite beautiful and quite full.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Frosty]

You are right, Br. JR. All the services during the Triduum are rich and beautiful. At my parish, we begin with an early Mass on Holy Thursday, followed by morning prayers. After the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the evening, there is adoration until midnight. Good Friday begins with morning prayers then the Stations of the Cross. At noontime, there is a Passion Play presented by the high school students which is very well done and extremely moving. The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion is at 3pm. There are morning prayers again on Holy Saturday morning. The church is then quiet until the Easter Vigil begins, this year starting at 9pm. We have 12 new members being welcomed into the Church this year at my parish so the Vigil Mass will not likely be over till after midnight.
I know that by the time the Vigil Mass is over, I am exhausted, both physically and emotionally. But exhilarated as well. I don’t know how my pastor is still on his feet once Easter morning comes.

The first time I attended the Easter Vigil was when I was 9 years old in 1956 after the Rited for Holy Week were revised. My parents had always taken me to Good Friday services in the years after I received my First Communion. That year we went with my grandparents and I can remember Grand Dad being excited about the changes. he was of the opinion that with the change in time, more people would attend the Vigil. That night, the church was not full . . .perhaps about three quarters . . . but Grand Dad said anything was better than the handful that used to turn up. The service was so long that by the time it was over. half the people had left. I was wide-eyed for most of it but my older brothers fell asleep after the first hour. Actually, as I stared about me, I did notice many people asleep. I had my missal with me but I gave up trying to follow along in pretty short order. I had no idea what was going on, but the whole sensory experience touched a chord deep within me. It’s something that’s never left me even after all these years. I’ve only missed the Easter Vigil Mass 4 times since then. Now I understand all the rituals and symbolism involved and that sense of awe at the majesty of the Vigil Mass is just as present to me in the Rite as it is celebrated today as it was 55 years ago.

 

[JReducation]

You are right, Br. JR. All the services during the Triduum are rich and beautiful. At my parish, we begin with an early Mass on Holy Thursday, followed by morning prayers. After the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the evening, there is adoration until midnight. Good Friday begins with morning prayers then the Stations of the Cross. At noontime, there is a Passion Play presented by the high school students which is very well done and extremely moving. The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion is at 3pm. There are morning prayers again on Holy Saturday morning. The church is then quiet until the Easter Vigil begins, this year starting at 9pm. We have 12 new members being welcomed into the Church this year at my parish so the Vigil Mass will not likely be over till after midnight.
I know that by the time the Vigil Mass is over, I am exhausted, both physically and emotionally. But exhilarated as well. I don’t know how my pastor is still on his feet once Easter morning comes.

The first time I attended the Easter Vigil was when I was 9 years old in 1956 after the Rited for Holy Week were revised. My parents had always taken me to Good Friday services in the years after I received my First Communion. That year we went with my grandparents and I can remember Grand Dad being excited about the changes. he was of the opinion that with the change in time, more people would attend the Vigil. That night, the church was not full . . .perhaps about three quarters . . . but Grand Dad said anything was better than the handful that used to turn up. The service was so long that by the time it was over. half the people had left. I was wide-eyed for most of it but my older brothers fell asleep after the first hour. Actually, as I stared about me, I did notice many people asleep. I had my missal with me but I gave up trying to follow along in pretty short order. I had no idea what was going on, but the whole sensory experience touched a chord deep within me. It’s something that’s never left me even after all these years. I’ve only missed the Easter Vigil Mass 4 times since then. Now I understand all the rituals and symbolism involved and that sense of awe at the majesty of the Vigil Mass is just as present to me in the Rite as it is celebrated today as it was 55 years ago.

I believe that people who were not involved in the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, which begin on Palm Sunday and run through to Vespers on Easter Sunday felt the empty pockets left by the shorter rituals of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. The religious, on the other hand, were relieved to have a few hours of quiet time to pray and rest.

When Holy Thursday arrives, I’m talking about early in the morning, beginning with Matins to Easter Sunday evening, you’re on a fast moving train with one liturgical service following another and several non liturgical services in between, such as Stations of the Cross and Rosary, an extra Lectio Divina.

For priests and religious in a parish there are Passion Plays and the usual dosage of sick calls and overseeing the preparations for the parish services. It is exhausting and leaves little time to pray and be silent, which is what should happen between the services. These priests, brothers and sisters can’t afford the silence and solitude when they have to oversee all of the preparations and take care of the usual parish obligations. They truly appreicate the respite offered by the shorter services, which do not feel so short when you throw in the Liturgy of the Hours.

For religious living in community, whether they run a parish or not, they have community functions during the day. These do not go away.

If you’re a religious community that runs a parish, you must attend all of the services in the parish church, all of the hours of the Liturgy of the Hours, all community meals, all community recreations, observe all of the community’s Easter traditions.

When the services were longer, this was impossible for religious who worked in parishes. They found themselves asking for permission to miss a community function or one of the hours of the Divine Office or more. They missed community meals and community recreation during these days.

When these changes came to those communities that were caught in this tight spot, they appreciated it. Now they could serve the people and remain faithful to the religious life.

The diocesan clergy also appreciated it, because they too got to stop and spend time alone in prayer or rest.

It sounds like your parish and many others, try to integrate the lay faithful in as many parts of the internal life of the priests and religious as they can by celebrating parts of the Liturgy of the Hours with the faithful. I think that’s great.

If they can celebrate all of the Liturgy of the Hours at a time when the faithful can attend, that would be even better. I know that many of the lay faithful cannot do it, because they have children and grandchildren. But there are some who would like to follow along. Again, if you can’t do it at the parish, get a breviary or go to one of the online breviaries and try to follow along. It’s a beautiful time of year and you’ll find that the length of the services are just right. They allow you to pray, think, be silent, rest and care for yourself and your home.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[malphono]

I’ll probably regret posting this, (I often do these days), but I will offer another comment.

Reading some posts in this thread, one would get the impression that the 1955 “revised” Holy Week Rites shortened the services from 4 hours to 45 minutes. That, of course, it not the case. The difference in length between the pre-1955 Rites and the “revised” Rites is really quite minimal.

 

[JReducation]

I’ll probably regret posting this, (I often do these days), but I will offer another comment.

Reading some posts in this thread, one would get the impression that the 1955 “revised” Holy Week Rites shortened the services from 4 hours to 45 minutes. That, of course, it not the case. The difference in length between the pre-1955 Rites and the “revised” Rites is really quite minimal.

You are right. The greatest cut, which was really not cut at all, but an option, is the number of readings that you must do at the Easter Vigil.

The other rituals got shorter prayers. However, in 1955, there were no readings from the OT. Those were thrown into the mix after 1962. The long Gospel was shortened and an OT reading was added. Instead of a two to three hour service, you have a 90 minute service, with the Easter Vigil and the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday taking longer.

Remember folks, along with the fact that all of this had to be prepared and led by the parish priest, these priests had their own obligations to fulfill. As I said earlier, if the priest was ALSO a religious, he had double the number of prayers and duties. No one was excused from family life for the Triduum. If you were assigned to a parish, you had to find a way to get yourself back to your religious community for prayer, meals, recreation, manual labor, lectio, and silence. Up until WW II, I think, there was saying in religious houses.

“No matter what the needs and demans of the apostolate, our life must go on.”

Malphono is right. It was not cut down to 15 minutes. It was cut down to fit everything into a 72 hour period.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF