THE MOST COMMON LITURGICAL ERRORS IN THE CELEBRATION OF THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT30/3/2024 The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night is the "greatest and most noble of all solemnities" as the Roman Missal highlights in its preliminary notes to the Proper of the Vigil. As celebrated today, among other things, beginning in total outdoor darkness and blessing the paschal candle outside the church, is one of the main fruits of the liturgical reform. By proposal of the liturgical movement, this was adopted ad experimentum for three years in 1951 per decree of Pope Pius XII, and officially instituted in 1954 for its celebration by the universal church. This helped us to go back to the original and ancient practice when Easter was celebrated by early Christians during the night, crossing midnight, and ending before the sunrise on Sunday. As the preliminary notes in the Missal explain:
1. By most ancient tradition, this is the night of keeping vigil for the Lord (Ex 12:42), in which, following the Gospel admonition (Lk 12:35-37), the faithful, carrying lighted lamps in their hands, should be like those looking for the Lord when he returns, so that at his coming he may find them awake and have them sit at his table. One common error is to begin the celebration of the Easter Vigil when there is still light outside. The norms in the Missal prescribe it must be celebrated after all light is gone, precisely so that the celebration is illuminated by the light of the paschal candle, which symbolizes the crucified Jesus Christ who is now risen: 3. The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil must take place during the night, so that it begins after nightfall and ends before daybreak on the Sunday. But there is another liturgical error, made a lot more frequently than the first: leaving the church in the dark longer than it should, all through the Liturgy of the Word until the singing of the Gloria, turning the lights on at that moment. This "error" (which strictly, is a liturgical abuse, as it violates the liturgical norms) is, most of the times, not done out of disobedience, but due to different reasons: a. Not paying attention to the rubric in the Missal. b. Not understanding the liturgical theology of the rite of the Lucernarium -which explains the existence of the rubric. c. Becoming used to celebrating Mass the own way of the priest and not the way of the Church. The Liturgical Norm The Roman Missal prescribes the following in rubric 17 (capital letters are mine, to highlight the text in question): 17. Then the Deacon places the paschal candle on a large candle stand... AND LIGHTS ARE LIT THROUGHOUT THE CHURCH, except for the altar candles. It is only the altar candles that are not lit. They will be the ones to be lit at the Gloria, as rubric 31 indicates: 31. After the last reading from the Old Testament with its Responsorial Psalm and its prayer, the altar candles are lit, and the Priest intones the hymn Gloria in Excelsis Deo, which is taken up by all, while bells are rung. The Liturgical Theology The liturgical theology behind the moment to turn the lights on is the following: The rite of the Lucernarium expresses how the Risen Lord (whose symbol is the Paschal Candle) sheds his light gradually: 1. From the Paschal Candle at the fire pit (the first time the deacon sings "Lumen Christi"). 2. To the local church (the second time the deacon sings "Lumen Christi" at a higher tone and the faithful share the flame taken from the Paschal Candle). 3. Through the entire world, when the deacon places the paschal candle at the solemn candlestand next to the ambo, and sings "Lumen Christi" at an even higher note". Because at this third moment the Risen Lord is shedding his life upon the entire world, all lights in the church are turned on. Even the Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) is sung with all the lights of the church on and all the faithful hold their lit candles. You just shouldn't be celebrating how the Risen Lord is shedding his light upon the entire world while your corner in the world remains in the dark. It is a contradiction even to what the deacon is proclaiming through the Exsultet: "Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, ABLAZE WITH LIGHT from her eternal King, let all corners of the earth be glad, KNOWING AN END TO GLOOM AND DARKNESS..." .. while our parish remains in darkness?? Let's pray that all priests and deacons are more attentive to the liturgical norms and celebrate "the great and most noble of all solemnities" they way the Church prescribes, so the beautiful rite of the Lucernarium truly communicates to the faithful what it is meant to, and the Light of the Risen Lord can illuminate the entire world, including every church where his glorious Resurrection is being celebrated at the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night. Be passionate about our faith!
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The liturgical aspects that make of the Palm Sunday Mass unique and one of the most intense ones every year. After having prepared our hearts from the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday and for five weeks with our penance and our works of charity, on Palm Sunday we gather to begin, united with the whole Catholic Church, the annual celebration of the Easter Mystery, that is, the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, mysteries that begin with his entry into Jerusalem, the holy city. The liturgical name of this day is Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. Through the anamnesis and mimesis of the sacred Liturgy, we remember and relive the entry of Christ, the Lord, into Jerusalem to consummate his Easter Mystery. The anamnesis consists of remembering an event that occurred in the past with the purpose of bringing it to the present. Mimesis consists of mimicking the gestures of a past event to relive them here and now. In this way, this liturgical memorial puts us fully in the joy of the triumphal entry of Jesus into the Holy City, especially when the liturgical celebration begins with a procession (the Missal allows two additional forms of entry: the solemn entry, without procession, inside the church; and the simple entrance in which the Mass begins, practically, as usual). The anamnesis of the Entrance to Jerusalem is carried out by listening to the reading of the Gospel, which tells us this epic episode of the life of Jesus. In Year A, we hear the story made by Matthew (21:1-11), in which Jesus tells two of his disciples to go to the town in front of Bethphage and borrow an ass and a colt. In Year B, we may listen to the account of Mark (11:1-10), who speaks only of a colt and adds that some people in that town questioned the two apostles for taking it. We may also hear what John says (12:12-16), in whose version Jesus finds himself an ass and without further ado, He rides it to fulfill the Scriptures. Unlike the other evangelists, John does not detail the fact that the ass was covered with cloaks, which is a gesture reserved for a royal mount. In Year C, we hear Luke (19:28-40) telling a version very similar to Matthew and Mark, specifying that it was the owners of the colt who questioned the two apostles who borrowed it. The four evangelists are consistent in pointing out that Jesus was acclaimed when He entered Jerusalem, with hosannas and blessings to the King of Israel. Luke adds at the end that the Pharisees reproach Jesus by ordering Him to rebuke his disciples, to which Jesus replies by assuring them that "if they are silent, the stones will speak." The mimesis is carried out with the procession of the assembly into the church, each carrying olive branches or palm leaves, which are sprinkled with holy water at the beginning, and chanting songs of acclamation to Christ the King. Just as it happened in Jerusalem that glorious day, each of us feels the branches and palms in our hands, advances among the people and sings acclaiming the Lord, reliving and making present that glorious moment. A moment of great joy for Christ, his apostles, his disciples and for us, his Church. A joy that will soon be transformed into drama in the same liturgical celebration when the Gospel is proclaimed, which is distinguished from the gospels of the rest of the masses of the liturgical year in special ways:
A dramatic Gospel that confronts us year after year with the injustice of the trials against Jesus, the torture of his flagellation, the torment of his way to Calvary and the martyrdom of his death on the cross. A Gospel that moves even the most insensitive listener and that leaves many with a lump in the throat. The drama of the Passion unfolds, step by step, before us. Our imagination puts us right in front of the agony of Jesus in Ghetsemane, standing in front of the Sanhedrin, in the palace of Herod and the praetorium of Pilate, on the side of the road to Calvary and at the foot of the Cross. A Gospel that leaves us speechless and that for that reason, for the only time in the year, the Missal allows instead of a homily to remain silent if the celebrant prefers so. But what causes that lump in our throat? What is it that leaves us speechless every year? The horror of the passion of Christ or the shame of knowing that although He has died for us, we have not been able to respond faithfully to Him? The pain of seeing Him suffer for us or recognizing that we are not worthy of such suffering? Lent is not over yet. Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord is, in fact, the sixth Sunday of Lent. But with this celebration our Holy Week begins. It is for this moment we have prepared ourselves throughout Lent by praying more intensely, cultivating our generosity increasing our almsgiving and striving to keep the fast we traditionally observe. This week, Christ will institute the Eucharist and the priesthood on Holy Thursday, He will die for our salvation on Good Friday, from his grave He will descend to hell on Holy Saturday and will rise with all his glory on Easter Sunday. The mystery of redemption is about to be consummated and Christ invites us to witness his infinite love, living these sacred mysteries by his side. Be passionate about our faith! _________________________ © Mauricio I. Pérez 2024 Available in Amazon in paperback, Kindle and audiobook. Click on the image to order your copy.Well into the second decade of the 21st century, we have become used to the way of celebrating Holy Week: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord on the 6th Sunday of Lent; the Weekdays of Holy Week from Monday to Thursday; the Chrism Mass on Thursday, as the last liturgical act of Lent; the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, which marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum; the Liturgy of the Hours and the celebration of the Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday; the Tenebrae on Holy Saturday in the morning and the great celebration of the Easter Vigil on the Holy Night, in addition to local devotions in different countries, such as the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. For many of us, this is the only way we know to celebrate the Holy Week in the Roman rite — it’s celebrated this way since 1956, 68 years ago. It was at Easter that year that the new Ordinary of Holy Week instituted by Pope Pius XII at the end of the previous year came into use. It was, by the way, this change that decisively marked the liturgical reform that would lead to the promulgation of the first of the four constitutions of the Second Vatican Council, the Sacrosanctum Concilium on the Sacred Liturgy, on December 4, 1963. Before this reform, the celebrations of the Easter Triduum attended by our parents and grandparents — then called "offices" — were celebrated in the morning, including the Easter Vigil. A noticeable change after this 1956 reform is to celebrate the rites preferably at the same times that the corresponding mysteries took place: the Last Supper on Thursday afternoon, the death of the Lord on Friday at 3 and the Resurrection at midnight between Saturday and Sunday. Celebrating the Easter Vigil of the Holy Night after the sun has set completely on Saturday night — being Sunday already, liturgically — was one of the most important changes of the reform introduced by Pius XII. Other significant changes were the integration of the rite of the Washing of the Feet to the Evening Mass in the Lord's Supper. The "Sacred Triduum" became the "Easter Triduum". It is now recommended that the Liturgy of the Hours is prayed in all churches together with the people along the Triduum. A recent change, prescribed by Pope Francis in 2016, allows women's feet to also be washed on Holy Thursday. But how did it all start? How did the first Christians begin to celebrate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord? The birth of the Easter Vigil Let's start with the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, which is the highlight of the whole Holy Week. Jewish Easter is an annual holiday, which is always celebrated on the 14th of the month of Nisan, in the first full moon of the spring equinox. In those days, Jewish Passover was necessarily located in Jerusalem, but Christian Easter was not linked to that single date or that single place. To begin with, the first Christians celebrated the Easter mysteries of the Lord every week, on Sundays. This celebration was connected with the Last Supper, a memorial of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord, with a sense of anticipation of his glorious return. Later on, the Church began to celebrate Easter once a year, with the Vigil, in which prior preparation was required through fasting, which in its form and duration varied from one region to another. In several Churches, a 40-day fast was adopted, emulating the fast of Jesus the 40 days he spent in the desert after being baptized by John. This long fast was suspended on Saturdays and Sundays. There were communities in which the Easter fast began six days before Easter Sunday, starting the "Great Week of the Passion". Fasting was mandatory from Good Friday and throughout Saturday, up to and including the Easter Vigil. Being a Vigil, it was celebrated at night, illuminated by the full moon and by lamps and candles. "On this night... the darkness of the night is overcome by the light of devotion," preached in a homily Chromace of Aquileia in the year 407. St. Augustine called it "the mother of all vigils" (Sermon 219). The homilies of those times usually refer to the burning lamps, citing that verse of the psalm that resonates to date in the Vigil when the Easter Proclamation is singed: "And the night will be luminous like the day" (Ps 138:12). It is likely that the lighting of the lamps was accompanied by a rite, which was then consolidated into a true liturgy of the lucernarium, with the blessing of the new fire. Towards the end of the fourth century, in the West the custom of lighting a large Paschal candle became widespread, accompanied by an Easter proclamation, in connection with the baptismal font. The greatest example is the Exsultet, attributed to St. Ambrose, sung by a deacon, and which Augustine recounts with emotion, in The City of God, the time he was commissioned to sing it "by the side of the Paschal candle." The celebration could be introduced by a Paschal preface. The Easter Vigil included readings of the Old Testament: creation (Gen 1), the Passover lamb (Ex 12), the flee from Egypt (Ex 14-15), the sacrifice of Isaac (Gn 22), the song of Moses (Dt 33) and the dry bones (Ez 37). From the New Testament, "Christ is our Passover" (1 Corinthians 5,7-8) and one of the pericopes of the Resurrection in the Gospel. The homily was preached before the readings, after them or at both times. The celebration of Baptism during the Easter Vigil After the homily, baptisms were celebrated. Because baptism was administered by immersion in a pool, it was mainly given to adults. It was carried out in a building adjacent to the church, located near the entrance: the baptistery. In the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus we find the oldest description of the baptismal rites, which provided that the candidates should bathe on Holy Thursday, fast on Friday and gather with the bishop on Saturday, praying on their knees. They spent "all night" on Saturday in vigil, listening to readings and instructions about the Christian life. At the crow of the rooster, the candidates were taken to the baptistery where they were immersed in the pool to be baptized. They were dressed in a white garment and, still in the baptistry, the rite of the washing of the feet took place involving the newly baptized, while the corresponding pericope in John’s Gospel was read. The neophytes went in procession to the church next, joining for the first time the assembly of the rest of the faithful, who welcomed them with joy. The celebration continued with the Eucharist. With that Easter Vigil began the time of the holy joy of 50 days until Pentecost, considered "the great Sunday" that had been extended for seven weeks, and prefigured in the Old Testament by the feast of the weeks. In other words, the Easter season, which extends for 50 days (seven times seven days), culminates in Pentecost, which is not only the last day, but the sum and synthesis of those 50 days. The entire Easter Vigil had a strong eschatological connotation, beautifully described by St. Jerome in his comment to Mt: "There is a Jewish tradition according to which the Messiah will come in the middle of the night, like the time in Egypt, when Easter was celebrated and the exterminator came and the Lord passed over the houses, and our foreheads were consecrated with the blood of the lamb. From here I deduce that the apostolic tradition has remained that on the eve of Easter the people are not dismissed before midnight, waiting for the coming of Christ, and only after making sure that He has passed, they all celebrate together." It was in the second half of the fourth century that the Easter celebration began to include, in addition to the Vigil, a Mass on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection. The celebration of the Easter Vigil allows us to grasp the essence of this feast: a rite of passage in which the threshold between death and life is crossed. Ancient authors interpreted the etymological sense of Easter in different ways: either as "the passing of the exterminating angel," or as a "pass of the people," or as a "passion of the Lord." The fact is that the meaning of the Christian Passover is the sacrifice of Christ, the ultimate Easter lamb. Easter begins to be celebrated in three days The desire to delve into the events of passion led to the extension of the liturgical celebration unfolding into a three-day triptych: the Holy Triduum of Good Friday (death on the Cross), Holy Saturday (Jesus' repose in the tomb and his descent into hell) and the Vigil at night until Easter Sunday. Origen describes the Triduum as "The first day is for us the day of the Passion of the Savior, the second is the one in which he descended to hell and the third is the day of the resurrection." The Easter liturgy in Jerusalem gave rise to the chronological representation of the Passion, after Emperor Constantine exalted in the fourth century the places of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, erecting on them the magnificent basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. This unique building included the Martyrium (place of the Cross), the Anastasis (Holy Sepulchre), an atrium and a baptistery. Thus, the procession of the Palms was born in Jerusalem on the Sunday before Easter: the people, together with the bishop, gathered on the Mount of Olives to listen to the Gospel that describes Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. From there, everyone descended in procession down to the city singing hymns and psalms. That week's celebrations had the Passion as their motif. Holy Thursday — called Coena Domini — commemorated the institution of the Eucharist. The sacrament of reconciliation was administered and the consecration of the holy oils took place. It was in the sixth century that, after the Mass, the "washing of the feet" of twelve poor people began to be performed by the bishop. On Good Friday, a reading, singing and prayer service was held. In Jerusalem, a relic of the Holy Cross was venerated and kissed, a rite that soon spread to many churches in the East and West, for which the relics of the Cross began to be disseminated. Good Friday concluded with the "Mass of the pre-sanctified", that is, with the communion of the sacred bread that had been consecrated the day before. Holy Saturday has always been a day in which the Eucharist is not celebrated. Only after sunset did the great Easter Vigil begin and Mass was celebrated on Resurrection Sunday. Conclusion For Catholics, Holy Week is the most important of the year. The last days of Lent, starting on Palm Sunday, prepare us definitively for the celebration of the Mystery of Redemption throughout the Easter Triduum. The Triduum is not made up of three celebrations, but by a single one, that unfolds like a triptych in three stages. Hence, the Evening Mass at the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday does not end with a blessing, since it will be given at the end of the Easter Vigil on the Holy Night. The Easter Triduum is not the preparation for Easter. It is, rather, Easter itself. At the end of the day, there cannot be an empty tomb in the Easter Vigil without a Cross in the Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord, and there cannot be a Cross without the Cenacle in the Evening Mass at the Lord's Supper. In order for Christ to rise on the Easter Vigil, he must first die on Good Friday. In order to die for us, He must take us in communion with Him to the cross and thus, He cannot die on the cross without first instituting the Eucharist on Holy Thursday. Be passionate about our faith! _______________ © Mauricio I. Pérez. All rights reserved. Click on the image to order this book.
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