Holy Week 2024

Holy Week 2024

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday

8:00am: Liturgy of the Palms & Holy Eucharist
10:30am: Liturgy of the Palms & Holy Eucharist (with choir)

The double title in the Prayer Book, “The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday,” introduces the liturgy of the day. The Liturgy of the Palms, with its triumphal procession, moves into a penitential Eucharist dominated by the solemn proclamation of the passion Gospel.  Weather permitting, the liturgy begins in the Memorial Grove, where the people gather and set out in procession to the nave carrying the palm branches in procession in celebration of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Tenebrae

7:00pm: The Solemn Office of Tenebrae

A service of darkness . . . The name Tenebrae (the Latin word for “darkness” or “shadows”) has for centuries been applied to the ancient monastic night and early morning services (Matins and Lauds) of the last three days of Holy Week.

The most conspicuous feature of the service is the gradual extinguishing of candles and other lights in the church until only a single candle, considered a symbol of our Lord, remains. Toward the end of the service this candle is hidden, typifying the apparent victory of the forces of evil. At the very end, a loud noise is made, symbolizing the earthquake at the time of the resurrection (Matthew 28:2), the hidden candle is restored to its place, and by its light all depart in silence. Tenebrae provides an extended meditation upon, and a prelude to, the events in our Lord’s life between the Last Supper and the Resurrection.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Maundy Thursday

7:00pm: Holy Eucharist and Foot Washing

The name Maundy Thursday is derived from the Latin mandatum and refers to the new commandment (novum mandatum) in John 13:34. The Proper Liturgy celebrates the events of the Last Supper, the foot-washing and the institution of the Eucharist.  It is the only Eucharist celebrated between Wednesday and the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday evening. The distinctive elements of the liturgy are the washing of the feet, the reservation of the Sacrament for Good Friday communion, and the stripping of the altar.

Friday, March 29, 2024

Good Friday

12:00pm: Liturgy of Good Friday, Veneration of the Cross, and Mass of the Pre-Sanctified
7:00pm: Liturgy of Good Friday, Veneration of the Cross, and Mass of the Pre-Sanctified

The Good Friday liturgy consists of three parts: the Liturgy of the Word, the veneration of the cross, and communion from the reserved Sacrament. The Good Friday Liturgy of the Word lacks an entrance rite and begins immediately with the collect and readings. It is followed by the veneration of the cross. This is a ceremony brought home by pilgrims from Jerusalem, where, as the fourth century pilgrim Egeria tells us, the true cross was displayed at what was believed to be the actual site of the crucifixion for the faithful to venerate. The final part of the Good Friday liturgy, communion from the reserved Sacrament, is also called the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Holy Saturday

7:30pm: The Great Vigil of Easter

Holy Saturday, also called the Holy Sabbath and the Great Sabbath, is an empty day, the day when Christ rested in the tomb and all creation awaited the resurrection. According to tradition, the Vigil is celebrated at a convenient time between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Morning. In its present form, the Great Vigil consists of four parts:

  1. the Service of Light;
  2. the Service of Lessons;
  3. Christian Initiation; and
  4. the Holy Eucharist.

The Story of our redemption is told, not with the drama of Palm Sunday and Good Friday, but with the solid symbols of faith, fire, light, water, bread and wine, and with the proclamation of the Word of God. In the Great Vigil of Easter, we pass over with Christ from death to life, and with the church from Lent to Easter.

Sunday, March 31, 2024

Easter: The Feast of the Resurrection

8:00am: Holy Eucharist
10:30am: Holy Eucharist with Choir