Some Notes on the Restored Order of Service for Holy Week

The following comes from The New Missal for Holy Week (1956) and is offered as background information on the Rites for Holy Week as restored by Pope Pius XII.
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"The liturgical rites of Holy Week, besides possessing a unique dignity, contain special sacramental power and efficacy for nour­ishing the Christian life."

-Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites regarding the restored Order of Service for Holy Week.

"The faithful should be taught the supreme value of the Sacred Liturgy, which, at all times, but especially in these days, by its very nature, far exceeds the value of other kinds of devotions and customs, however excellent they may be."

-Instruction accompanying the Decree, IV, 3.

A NOTE ON THE CONTENT AND PURPOSE OF THIS MISSAL

In view of the fact that it is the intent of the Sacred Liturgy to provide an experience to be entered into, rather than a spectacle to be viewed, the "New Missal for Holy Week" aims at fostering devout and intelligent participation on the part of the laity. In order to attain this objective, those concerned with the preparation of this Missal have incorporated into it the following elements:

(1) A New Translation: With the exception of those pas­sages of the Old and New Testaments, which the liturgical text embodies without change or adaptation, the entire text has been newly translated by the editors. In the translation of the Ordinary of the Mass, the editors, with the permission of the Centre de Pastorale Liturgique, established in Paris, have used as normative the definitive French translation of B. Botte and C. Mohrmann.* The object has been to offer a more readable and more accurate text than is usually found in English. (* "L'Ordinaire de la Messe," Paris, 1953.)

The Scripture passages, referred to above, are reproduced by license of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D. c., which holds the copyright, from the new translation of the Old Testament (where available) and the New Testament, made by scholars of the Catholic Biblical Association.

(2) A Liturgical Commentary: The Commentary which introduces each of the major days, and the remarks which intro­duce each of the more important ceremonies provide a summary explanation of the meaning of the various rites, especially of those rites which have undergone change or modification. The biblical themes which are woven into the liturgy of these days have been given particular emphasis.

(3) A Full Description of the Ceremonies: Since the new Order of Service for Holy Week insists frequently that the cere­monies be carried out in full view of the people, it has been thought well to include a more than usually detailed account of the rubrics, so that the faithful can more readily follow the rites. It may be remarked here, that it has been supposed throughout that, in accord with the mind of the Sacred Congregation, the ceremonies are being solemnly celebrated. The reader is advised that, when the ceremonies are carried out by one priest, he performs most of the functions assigned to the deacon, subdeacon or lector.

Thus, the "New Missal for Holy Week" is presented in the hope that it will enable the faithful to appreciate the "unique dignity" and the "supreme value" of the liturgy of these great days, and thus to benefit the more from the "special sacramental power and efficacy" of the rites.

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More on Holy Thursday, The Mass of the Lord's Supper, Station at St. John Lateran, follows tomorrow.