Holy Week Manual

This book is part of the Preparing Parish Worship™ series.

Easter Holy Week is a unique time in the Christian calendar, containing both dramatic lows and highs, as well as time for reflection and meditation. This lovely little book offers readers an inspiring guide from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. It vividly brings the events of Holy Week alive, enabling us to follow the mystery drama of the Passion. It also provides opportunities for prayer and contemplation, with each day accompanied by the gospel reading which the author describes.

This long-awaited companion volume to Howard E. Galley's classic The Ceremonies of the Eucharist provides clergy, liturgical assistants, and altar guild members with clear, step-by-step guidance for the liturgies of Lent and Easter. In addition to background material for the traditions and theology of each season, Mitchell includes specific preparations and instructions for each liturgy of the paschal cycle--Ash Wednesday through Pentecost--as well as Tenebrae, the Way of the Cross, the Vigil of Pentecost, the liturgies of the catechumenate, and the chrism mass. He also provides helpful ideas for how the often complex liturgies of these seasons can be done simply and well by small congregations. Based on the liturgies of The Book of Common Prayer and the latest edition of The Book of Occasional Services, this ceremonial guide also draws on the paschal liturgies of other Anglican traditions, including those in Canada's Book of Alternative Services.

In 1955 Holy Week was restored by Pope Pius XII, making it possible for many of the faithful to assist at the Masses and services of these days. Father Schmitz prepared a rubrical guide complete with diagrams for both the simple and solemn ceremonies. A simple ceremony with priest and four altar boys is outlined for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. A solemn ceremony with priest, deacon and subdeacon and the appropriate clergy and/or altar boys is also described. The complete Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites is reprinted before the rubrical instructions. Also Sermon recommendations are given for Palm Sunday and each day of the Sacred Triduum. Pastors, Masters of Ceremonies and Sacristans will find this book and its companion Holy Week Manual for Servers a valuable tool for the dignified celebration of the liturgy of Holy Week in the Roman Rite.St. Alphonsus writes: “a single bad book will be sufficient to cause the destruction of a monastery.” Pope Pius XII wrote in 1947 at the beatification of Blessed Maria Goretti: “There rises to Our lips the cry of the Saviour: 'Woe to the world because of scandals!' (Matthew 18:7). Woe to those who consciously and deliberately spread corruption-in novels, newspapers, magazines, theaters, films, in a world of immodesty!” We at St. Pius X Press are calling for a crusade of good books. We want to restore 1,000 old Catholic books to the market. We ask for your assistance and prayers. This book is a photographic reprint of the original The original has been inspected and many imperfections in the existing copy have been corrected. At Saint Pius X Press our goal is to remain faithful to the original in both photographic reproductions and in textual reproductions that are reprinted. Photographic reproductions are given a page by page inspection, whereas textual reproductions are proofread to correct any errors in reproduction.