Holy Week in the City of Rome: Palm Sunday

Dominica in Palmis (De Passione Domini)

Three of the earliest Roman liturgical books, the Gelasian Sacramentary (7th c.), and both the Paduan (7th c.) and the Hadrian (8th c.) editions of the Gregorian Sacramentary already call the Sunday before Easter Dominica in Palmis ("Sunday for Palms") or Die dominico ad Palmas. Even so, none of these documents explicitly mention any observances of palm rites, which were by the time already being performed in various parts of Christendom. The references to palms is absent in the propers, and in all the Roman Epistolari and Evangeliari of the period - in fact, the original title for the day probably did not mention palms at all, since the rite did not probably reach Rome until about the tenth century. In Rome, Palm Sunday was simply Passion Sunday, due to the fact that the Passion account from Matthew's Gospel (chapters 26-27) was read on this day. After the Gospel is read, the pope then usually gave a sermon on the first half of the account, postponing his explanation of the remainder to the following Wednesday.

The Triduum as it was in the Church of Rome: Holy Thursday from the Gelasian Sacramentary, Part 2

(Part 1 here)

RECONCILIATIO POENITENTIS AD MORTEM.

Deus misericors, Deus clemens, qui secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum peccata poenitentium deles, et praeteritorum criminum culpas venia remissionis evacuas, respice super hunc famulum tuum et remissionem sibi omnium peccatorum tota cordis confessione poscentem deprecatus exaudi. Renova in eo, piissime Pater, quicquid terrena fragilitate corruptum est vel quicquid diabolica fraude violatum est: in unitatem corporis ecclesiae tuae membrum, perfecta remissione restitue: miserere, Domine gemituum, miserere lacrimarum, et non habentem fiduciam, nisi in tua misericordia, ad sacramentum reconciliationis admitte: Per.
Maiestatem tuam, Domine, supplices deprecamur, ut huic famulo tuo, longo squalore poenitentiae macerato, miserationis tuae veniam largire digneris, ut nuptiale veste recepta, ad regalem mensam unde eiectus fuerat mereatur intrare. Per.

The Triduum as it was in the Church of Rome: Holy Thursday from the Gelasian Sacramentary, Part 1

At Rome during the 4th to 6th century, Holy Thursday was a day for the reconciliation of the penitents. In the 7th century, there were two Masses in churches celebrated by priests: one in the morning to close out Lent, and the other in the evening to commemorate the institution of the Eucharist. But during noon, a Mass was celebrated by the Pope (=Bishop of Rome) and consecrated the chrism and blessing the oils. The ministers were also instructed to reserve a portion of the "sacrifice" consecrated in this Mass for the next day: reservant de ipso sacrificio in crastinum unde communicent, as the Gelasian notes in its rubrics.

The Sacramentary contains the propers for three Masses: one for the closing of Lent, another for the chrism, and yet another for the Last Supper.

Good Friday, Part 03

2.) FROM THE NEW ROMAN LECTIONARY:

First Reading

(Isaiah 52:13—53:12)

Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he will be exalted, and lifted up, and be very high;
(just as many were astonished at you) such was the disfigurement of his appearance - more than any man,
And his form more than the sons of men - so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Kings will shut their mouths because of him, for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall understand.

Who would have believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For he grew up before Him like a sapling, and like a root out of dry ground;
He had no form or majesty that we should see him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him.
He was despised and lacking of men - a man of pain, acquainted with illness;
Like a hiding of the face from him he was despised, and we did not esteem him.

But indeed he has borne our illnesses and carried our pains, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.
He was wounded for our rebellions, crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have wandered - we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has made the iniquity of us all to meet on him.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to slaughter, and an ewe silent before her shearers, so he opened not his mouth.
By humiliation and judgment he was taken away - and his generation, who considers?
For he was cut off from the land of the living, plague-stricken for the rebellion of his people.
They assigned his grave with criminals and with the rich in his deaths, for he had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth. But the LORD desired to crush him and weaken him.

If he makes his life a guilt offering, he shall see his seed and prolong his days,
And the delight of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see the labor of his life, and shall be satisfied by his knowledge.

The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, and he shall divide the plunder with the powerful,
Because he laid bare his life to death and was numbered with the rebels,
And he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the rebels.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 31 (32):2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25)

R. (Luke 23:46) Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.
In you, O LORD, I have taken shelter!
Let me never be put to shame; in your justice deliver me.
Into your hand I entrust my spirit; you have redeemed me O LORD, God of truth.
R. Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.
Because of all my enemies I am a reproach - and to my neighbors, exceedingly, and horror to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street run away from me.
I am forgotten, like a dead man, from the heart; I am like a broken vessel.
R. Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God!"
My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and pursuers.
R. Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.
Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.
Be strong and let your hearts take courage, all you who hope in the LORD!
R. Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.

Second Reading

(Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9)

Brethren:
Since, then, we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us boldly approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

In the days of his flesh, He offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His devotion. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what He suffered; and having been perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ

(John 18:1—19:42)

Good Friday, Part 02

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

(continued)

Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium - now it was daybreak - and they did not go into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, "What charge do you bring against this man?" They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have handed him up to you." Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and pass judgment Him according to your law!" The Judeans said to him, "It is not permitted for us to put anyone to death" - to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death He would die.

Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, and called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are you the King of the Judeans?" Jesus answered, "Are you saying this from yourself or did others tell you about me?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Judean? Your own nation and your chief priests handed you over to me! What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be struggling to keep me from being handed over to the Judeans. But now my kingdom is not from here." Pilate then said to Him, "So you are a king!" Jesus replied, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world – to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice." Pilate said, "What is truth?"

And when he had said this he went back outside to the Judeans and said to them, "I find no cause of crime in Him. But you have a custom that I release someone to you at the Passover; so do you want me to release for you the 'King of the Judeans'?" They shouted again, saying, "Not this man, but Barabbas" (now Barabbas was an insurrectionist).

So then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they clothed Him in a purple garment. And they came up to Him again and again and said, "Hail, King of the Judeans!" And they struck Him repeatedly.

Again Pilate went out and said to them, "Look, I am bringing Him out to you that you may know I find no cause of crime in Him." Then Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And he said to them, "Behold, the man!" When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him; for I find no cause of crime in Him!" The Judeans answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, for He made Himself the Son of God."

When Pilate heard this word, he became more afraid, and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, "Do you refuse to talk to me? Do you know not that I have the authority to release you and the authority to crucify you?" Jesus answered, "You would have no authority at all over me unless it was given you from above. Therefore he who handed me over to you has the greater sin."

From then on, Pilate sought to release Him. But the Judeans shouted out, saying, "If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar! Everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar!" When Pilate therefore heard those words he brought Jesus out and sat on the judge's seat in a place called Lithostrotos, or in Hebrew Gabbatha - now it was the Preparation for the Passover and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Judeans, "Behold, your king!" Then these shouted out, "Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"

Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified. Therefore they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by Himself, He went out to the place called 'The Place of the Skull' (called in Hebrew Golgotha), where they crucified Him, and with Him two others: on the one side and on the other, in the middle of them Jesus. Pilate also had a notice written and placed on the cross. Now it was written: 'JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JUDEANS'. Then many of the Judeans read this inscription, becuase the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Judeans said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Judeans,' but, 'He said, "I am king of the Judeans."'" Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

Now when the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His garments and made four parts, one for each soldier, and also the tunic (now the tunic was seamless, woven from the top in one piece). Therefore the soldiers said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it" - to fulfill the scripture that says, "They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." Therefore the soldiers did these things.

Now standing beside the cross of Jesus were His mother, and the sister of His mother, Mary of Clopas, and Mary the Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that very hour that disciple took her to his own.

After this Jesus, knowing that all things were now consummated, said (in order to consummate the scripture), "I thirst!" A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on hyssop and brought it to His mouth. Therefore when He had received the sour wine, Jesus said, "Consummated!" And He bowed His head and gave over the spirit.

(Here all kneel and pause for a few moments.)

Then the Judeans, because it was the Preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and blood and water came out immediately. And he who has seen gave witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, "Not a bone of his shall be broken," and again another scripture says, "They shall look on him whom they pierced."

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Judeans), asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission, so he went and took away His body. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes - about a hundred litra. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the custom of the Judeans to prepare for burial. Now at the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid down. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Preparation of the Judeans, for the tomb was nearby.

The Improperia

V: My people, what have I done to you? In what have I grieved you? Answer me!
V: Because I led you out of the land of Egypt, you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Agios o Theos!
Sanctus Deus!
Agios Ischyros!
Sanctus Fortis!
Agios Athanatos, eleison imas.
Sanctus Immortalis, miserere nobis.

V: Because I led you out through the desert for forty years, and fed you with manna from heaven, and brought you to an excellent land, you have prepared a cross for your Savior.

Agios o Theos...

V: What more ought I to do for you that I have not done? I planted you, indeed, my most beautiful vineyard, and you have become exceedingly bitter to me; for in my thirst you gave me vinegar to drink, and with a lance you have pierced the side of your Savior.

Agios o Theos...

V: For your sake I scourged Egypt and killed its first-born; and you have delivered Me to be scourged.
R: My people, what have I done to you? In what have I grieved you? Answer me!
V: I led you out of Egypt and drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea, and you have delivered Me to the chief priests.
R: My people...
V: I opened the sea for you, and you have opened my side with a spear.
R: My people...
V: I went before you in a pillar of cloud, and you have led me to the praetorium of Pilate.
R: My people...
V: I fed you with manna in the desert, and you have beaten me with blows and scourges.
R: My people...
V: I gave you the water of salvation from the rock to drink, and you have given me gall and vinegar.
R: My people...
V: For you I struck down the kings of the Canaanites, and you have struck my head with a reed.
R: My people...
V: I gave you a royal scepter, and you have given my head a crown of thorns.
R: My people...
V: I have exalted you with great strength, and you hanged me on the gibbet of the cross.
R: My people...

We adore your Cross, O Lord: and we praise and glorify your holy Resurrection; for behold, by the wood of the Cross, joy has come into the whole world.
(Psalm 66 [67]:2) May God have mercy on us, and bless us; may He cause the light of His countenance to shine upon us, and have mercy on us.
V: We adore your cross...

Good Friday, Part 01

1.) FROM THE OLD ROMAN LECTIONARY:

Prophecy

(Hosea 5:15; 6:1-6)

Thus says the LORD:
"In their affliction they will rise early to me, 'Come, and let us return to the LORD; for He had seized us, and He will heal us; He will strike, and He will cure us. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight. We shall know and we shall follow on, that we may know the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning light; and He will come to us like the former and the latter rain to the earth.'
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your mercy is like a morning cloud and like the dew that goes away in the morning. For this reason I have hewed them by the Prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth; and your judgments shall go forth like the light. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

Tract

(Habbakuk 3:1-4)

[NOTE: this is actually a passage using one a Vetus Latina translation instead of the Latin Vulgate]

O LORD, I have heard your hearing and was afraid; I have looked at your works and trembled.
V: In the midst of two animals you will be made known; when the years draw near you will be recognized; when the time comes you will be manisfested.
V: When my soul is in trouble, you will remember mercy, even in your wrath.
V: God will come from Lebanon, and the Holy One from from the shady and thickly covered mountain.
V: His majesty has covered the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise.

Lesson

(Exodus 12:1-11)

In those days the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
"This month is to be your beginning of months; it will be the first month of the year to you. Speak to the whole assembly of the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth day of this month let everyone take a lamb, by their families and houses. But if the number is less than may suffice to be able to consume the lamb, he shall accept his neighbor who has been joined with his house, according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb.
It shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one year; according to this rite, you shall also take a young goat, and it will be for you for a keeping until the fourteenth day of this month; and the whole multitude of the sons of Israel shall sacrifice it towards evening.
And they will take from its blood, and place it upon both the side posts and the upper doorposts of the houses, in which they will eat it. And they will eat the meat that night roasted by fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce. You shall not eat anything from it raw nor boiled in water, but only roasted by fire. You shall devour the head with its legs and intestines. Neither shall there remain anything from it until morning; anything that have been left over you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your waist, and you shall have sandals on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall consume it in haste - for it is the Passover (that is, the crossing) of the LORD."

Tract

(Psalm 139:2-10, 14)

Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil person; rescue me from the unjust man.
V: Who have devised iniquities in their hearts; all day long they constructed conflicts.
V: They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; the venom of asps is under their lips.
V: Keep me, O LORD, from the hand of the sinner, and deliver me from unjust men.
V: Who have decided to supplant my steps; the arrogant have hidden a snare for me.
V: And they have stretched out cords for a snare for my feet; they have placed for me a stumbling-block near the road.
V: I said to the LORD, "You are my God; O LORD, hear the voice of my supplication!"
V: LORD, O LORD, the strength of my salvation; overshadow my head in the day of battle.
V: Give me not up by my desire to the sinner; they have plotted against me. Do not abandon me, lest they should triumph!
V: The head of those who encompass me, the labor of their lips, will overwhelm them.
V: So then truly the just will confess your Name, and the upright will dwell with your Face.

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

(John 18:1-40; 19:1-42)

At that time Jesus went out with his disciples across the torrent of the Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place because Jesus met there often with His disciples; so Judas obtained a cohort, and officers of the chief priests and Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that were coming upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered, "Jesus the Nazarene." Jesus said to them, "I AM." And Judas who betrayed Him also stood with them. Now when He said to them, "I AM," they moved back and fell to the ground. Again He asked them, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus the Nazarene." Jesus answered, "I told you that I AM. If you are seeking me, let these men go," (to fulfill the word He had spoken, "Of those whom you gave me, I did not lose one of them.")
Simon Peter then - who had a sword - drew it and struck the high priest's slave, cutting off his right ear - the slave’s name was Malchus. But Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into the sheath! The cup that the Father has given me to drink, shall I not drink it?" Then the cohort and the tribunus and the officers of the Judeans seized Jesus and bound Him, and brought him first to Annas - for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. (Now it was Caiaphas who counseled the Judeans that it was expedient that one man die for the people.)

And Simon Peter and another disciple was following Jesus - now that disciple was known to the high priest - and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. Then the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. Then said the maidservant who was the doorkeeper to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

The high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus answered him, "I spoke publicly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues and in the temple where all the Judeans come together, and I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them. Look, they know what I said." When He had said this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a strike, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered, "If I have spoken improperly, testify to the evil. But if rightly, why do you beat me?" Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?" Again therefore Peter denied it; and immediately a rooster crowed.

Holy Thursday

1.) FROM THE OLD ROMAN LECTIONARY:

Introit

(Galatians 6:14; Psalm 66 [67]:2)

We should glory in nothing except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life, and resurrection; by whom we are saved and liberated.
May God have mercy on us, and bless us; may He cause the light of His countenance to shine upon us; and may He have mercy on us.
We should glory in nothing...

Epistle

(1 Corinthians 11:20-32)

Brethren:
When you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For when it is time to eat, everyone proceeds with his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? In this I do not praise you!

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and giving thanks, broke and said, "This is my Body, which will be delivered for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my Blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the the death of the Lord until He comes.

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and in this manner let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and many are asleep. But if we examined ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord that we will not be condemned with the world.

Gradual

(Philippians 2:8, 9)

Christ became obedient for us to death, even to death on the cross.
V: For this reason God exalted Him and gave Him a Name which is above all names.

Gospel

(John 13:1-15)

Before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knew that His hour had come, that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He now loved them to the very end. And supper being ended - the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot of Simon to betray Him - because He knew that the Father had given all things into his hands and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, and taking a towel He girded himself. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Then He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, are you washing my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "You do not know what I am doing now, but you will know after these." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet to the age!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not only my feet, but also the hands and the head!" Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed has no need except to wash the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you" (because He knew who would betray Him; for this He said, "You are not all clean").

So when He had washed their feet and had taken His garments and had reclined again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and do so correctly - and I am these things. If I then, the 'Lord' and the 'Teacher', have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you."

Offertory

(Psalm 117 [118]:16, 17)

The right hand of the LORD has wrought strength; the right hand of the LORD exalted me. I will not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.

Communion

(John 13:12, 13, 15)

The Lord Jesus, after He had eaten with His disciples, washed their feet, and said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you, the Lord and Master? I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you."

2.) FROM THE NEW ROMAN LECTIONARY:

(Mass of the Lord's Supper)

First Reading

(Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14)

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, "This month is to be your beginning of months; it will be your first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'In the tenth day of this month every man must take for himself a lamb according to the house of their fathers – a lamb for each house. And if the house is too small for lamb, he and his neighbor who is near to his house are to take according to the number of souls - you will make your count for the lamb according to each man's need. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a son of a year; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
And it will be for you for a keeping until the fourteenth day of this month, and then all the assembly of the community of Israel will kill it between the two evenings. And they will take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they will eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh that night, roasted in fire; with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they will eat it.

"This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the passover of the LORD. I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and I will smite the firstborn in the land of Egypt - from man and to beast - and on all the gods of Egypt I will pass judgments. I am the LORD!
And the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and the plague will not fall on you for destruction when I strike the land of Egypt. And this day will be to you a memorial, and you will celebrate it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generation; you shall keep it as a feast as a statute forever."

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 116 [115]:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18)

R: (cf. 1 Cor 10:16) Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
How can I repay the Lord for all His acts of kindness to me?
The cup of salvation I will lift up, and call on the name of the LORD.
R: Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of His godly ones.
O LORD, truly I am Your servant; am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds.
R: Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call on the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
R: Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.

Second Reading

(1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Gospel

(John 13:1-15)

The Mozarabic Holy Week, Part 1 - Palm Sunday (2)

Here we continue to the propers of Palm Sunday in the Mozarabic Rite:

(Epistle)

Sequentia Epistole Pauli Apostoli ad Galathas (1:3-12).
R: Deo gratias.
Fratres. Gratia vobis & pax a Deo Patre nostro: & Domino Jesu Christo, etc.
R: Amen.

(Gospel)

Lectio sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem (11:55-12:13).
Illo in tempore. Proximum erat Pascha Judeorum, etc.
R: Amen.
Dicat Presbit: Dominus sit semper vobiscum.
R: Et cum spiritu tuo.

Lauda.

(Psalm 135:1-2)

Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus: quoniam in seculum misericordia ejus.
V: Confitemini Deo deorum.
R: Quoniam in seculum [misericordia ejus].
V: Confitemini Domino Dominorum.
R: Quoniam in seculum, etc.

Sacrificium.

(John 11:55; 12:13b,1a,2a,3)

In tempore illo proximum erat Pascha & ascenderunt multi Hierosolymis de regione: ut sanctificarent seipsos:
P: Clamantes Osanna: benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
V: Venit Jesus Bethaniam ante sex dies Pasche cum discipulis suis: & fecerunt illi cenam magnam & discumbentibus cum eo: accepit Maria libram ungenti nardi pistici preciosi: & unxit pedes Jesu: domus enim impleta est ex odore unguenti.
P: Clamantes, etc.

Missa.

Catholicam fidem fratres charissimi cordis integritate servantes. Deum Patrem Deum Filium Deum fateamur & Spíritum Sanctum. Nec tamen deos plures affirmare gentiliter audeamus: sed in tribus unum Deum fiducialiter adoremus. Una quippe est Trinitas essentia: nec est altera creatrix & eterna substantia. Nullus ergo ibi differentes po-

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testates: ubi unam potestatem permanere cognovimus: temeraria disputatione confingat. Nullus impares gradus: ubi summa equalitas reperitur interserat. Non est Pater a Filio quem generavit antiquior: neque Filius est gignente posterior. Non est etiam donatoris: doni: vel potestas separata naturaliter vel voluntas. Simul indivídua Trinitas condidit tempora: simul pereuntia restauravit. Simul Pater & Filius & Spiritus Sanctus ad fideles veniunt: simul impios deserunt: simulque super humiles requiescunt. Istam proinde fidem delectemur usque ad sanguinem vindicare: si volumus Dei Patris heredes exsistere. Ut hac fidei firmitate muniti ad celeste regnum perveniamus inlesi.
R: Amen.

Alia Oratio.

Deus fidelis qui fidelia promissa confirmas: dum vocatas gentes ex fide justificas: tu cognitionem nobis tribue Trinitatis: ut pacifici conversemur inter fílios unitatis: quo istius sancte confessionis sacrifício competenter oblato: visitationem tuam mereamur ex alto.
R: Amen.
Per misericordiam tuam Deus noster, [in cujus conspectu sanctorum apostolorum et martyrum confessorum atque virginum nomina recitantur.]
R: Amen.

Post nomina. Oratio.

Offerentium quesumus Domine, vota multiplica: & omnes in commune vere credulitatis instrumento perlustra. Sicque nobis per hoc sacrificium quod tibi cum voto fidei dedicamus adesto placatus: ut & viventibus veniam: & defunctis requiem impetremus eternam.
R: Amen.
Quia tu es vita vivorum, [sanitas infirmorum ac requies omnium fidelium defunctorum in eterna secula seculorum].
R: Amen.

Ad Pacem. Oratio.

Deus qui es unitas sancta et Trinitas indivisa adauge in nobis fidei donum: & beate charitatis affectum. Quo utroque a te ditati ex munere heredes efficiamur promissionis etérne.
R: Amen.
Quia tu es vera pax nostra [& charitas indisrupta vivis tecum et regnas cum Spiritu Sancto unus Deus in secula seculorum].
R: Amen.

Inlatio.

Dignum & justum est omnipotens Pater: nos tibi semper gratias agere: per Jesum Christum filium tuum Dominum nostrum. Quem tu clementissime Pater ante secularia tempora genuisti: nec divisionem vel mutationem generando sensisti. Sed essentialiter totus in Filio: totus in temetipso sine ulla tui diminutione mansisti. Nihil tibi retrahens: cum condidisse omnia cognoscaris ut exsistens unigenitus ab ingenito consubstantialis: coeternus: equalis una tecum divinitatis plenitudinem possideret. Una & perpetuitate gauderet et unius dominationis qualitate regnaret. Simul cum Spiritu Sancto regnante: qui procedens de utroque non est genitus aut creatus: sed creator universitatis et Dominus. Ipse etiam creavit carnem Christi: quando pro salute gentium crucem voluit pati. Quem a te pro pignore celestis hereditatis accepimus: cujus nomen in baptismate confiteri salutiferum credimus: ut regnati ad imaginem Trinitatis: computari mereamur filii Dei Patris omnipotentis. Quem conlaudant omnes angeli ita dicentes:
R: Sanctus. Sanctus. Sanctus, etc.

Post Sanctus.

Hoc cantant angeli: hoc resonant celi: benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini: benedictum quod venit regnum patris nostri David osanna in excelsis. Christe Dominus ac redemptor eternus.

Post Pridie.

Christe Dei filis quem olim ob hodierne solennitatis festum turba multiplex Hebreorum cum ramis & palmis ovantibus animis susceperunt. Concede nobis: ut sicut illi presentia tua gavisi sunt: ita hec sacrificia pietatis tue obtutu sanctificentur. Quo ex his libantes: ita per veram fidem ratamque dilectionem: vivam tibi preparemur in hostiam: ut securi accedamus ad tue Passionis sacratissimam cenam.
R: Amen.

Ad confractionem Panis. Antifona. Tu Domine da escam nobis in tempore opportuno: aperi manum tuam: & imple omnem animam benedictione.

Ad orationem Dominicam.

Emunda Domine conscientias nostras fidei Catholice confessione sincera: & cordis contritione coninua: ut semper a te exaudiamur e celis: cum pro nostris delictis ad te proclamaverimus e terris.
Pater noster, etc.

Benedictio.

Respiciat vos placata divinitas: & sensum vobis sapientie salutaris infundat.
R: Amen.
Catholice fidei vos docu-

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mentis enutriat: & sanctis operibus perseverabiles reddat.
R: Amen.
Gressus vestros ab errore convertat: & viam vobis pacis ostendat.
R: Amen.
Per misericordiam ipsius Dei nostri, etc.
Dominus sit semper vobiscum.
R: Et cum [spiritu tuo].

Ad Accedentes.

(Lk 23:42; Mt. 5:3,12a; Ps. 125 [126]:2)

Memento nostri Domine dum veneris in regno tuo.
V: Beati pauperes spiritu: quoniam ipsorum est regnum celorum.
P: Memento...
V: Gaudete & exsultate: quoniam merces vestra copiosa est in celis.
P: Memento...
V: Gloria & honor Patri & Filio & Spiritui Sancto in secula seculorum amen.
P: Memento...
Com. Repletum est gaudio os nostrum: & lingua nostra exultatione.

Oratio.
Reple Domine cor nostrum leticia: qui nobis dare dignatus es sacri corporis tui Eucharistíam. Ut quiq escarum perceptione reficimur: spiritualibus beneficiis adimpleri feliciter mereamur.
R: Amen.
Per misericordiam tuam Deus noster, etc.
Dominus sit semper vobiscum.
R: Et cum [spiritu tuo].
In nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi perficiamus cum pace.
R: Deo gratias.

Palm Sunday (of the Lord's Passion)

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

(Matthew 21:1-11)

And when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village lying before you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you will say, 'The Lord needs them,' and at once he will send them." This was done to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, meek and sitting on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of an animal under the yoke.'" And the disciples went and did as Jesus had commanded them.
They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and He sat on them. And a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road; and some were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. And the crowds proceeding ahead of him and those following were shouting, saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!" And when he had come into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds would say, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee."(Mark 11:1-10)

And when they drew near Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sends two of His disciples and says to them, "Go to the village lying before you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat; untie it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately'." And they went and found a colt tied by a door, outside in the street, and they are untying it. And some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They spoke as Jesus had told them, and they allowed them.
And they bring the colt to Jesus and throw their cloaks on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others, branches cut from the fields. And those who went ahead and those who followed kept shouting, "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"

(Luke 19:29-40)

And it happened that when He drew near Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called 'of Olives,' He sent two of the disciples, saying, "Go into the village lying before you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' so you shall say to him: 'The Lord needs it.'" So those who were sent ahead went and found it just as He had told them. And as they were untying the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They said, "The Lord needs it."
And they brought it to Jesus, and they threw their cloaks on the colt, and had Jesus get on it. And as He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. As He drew near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the works of power they had seen, saying, "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." And answering, He said, "I tell you: if these keep silent, the stones would cry out!"

(John 12:12-19)

The next day the great crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him; and they were shouting, "Hosanna! 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD', even the King of Israel!" Jesus found a little donkey and sat on it, as it is written, "Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion: behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!" (His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.) So the crowd that had been with Him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify. For this reason the people also met Him, for they heard that He had performed this sign. Therefore the Pharisees said among themselves, "You see that you can do nothing; look, the world has run off after Him!"

Now from an apocryphal Gospel:

(Gospel of Nicodemus, first Greek form, chapter 1:2-4)

...The Jews say to Pilate, "We beseech your excellency that He [Jesus] stand at your judgment-seat and to try Him." And Pilate having called them, says, "Tell me how can I, a governor, try a King?" They say to him, "We do not say that he is a king, but He says that He is." And Pilate having called the messenger, says to him, "Let Jesus be brought with gentleness." And the runner going out, and recognising Him, did Him reverence, and taking the kerchief which was in his hand, he spread it on the ground, and says to Him, "Sir, walk on this and go in, for the governor calls you." And the Jews seeing what the messenger had done, cried out against Pilate and said, "Why had you ordered him to come in by a messenger, and not by a herald? For as soon as he saw Him the messenger reverenced Him, and spread out his kerchief on the ground, and made Him walk on it like a king."

And Pilate having called the messenger, says to him, "Why have you done this, and spread your kerchief on the ground and made Jesus walk upon it?" The runner says to him, "Lord governor, when you sent me to Jerusalem to Alexander, I saw Him sitting upon a donkey, and the sons of the Hebrews held branches in their hands, and shouted; and others spread their cloaks under Him saying, 'Save now, you who are in the highest; 'blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"
The Jews cry out, and say to the messenger, "The sons of the Hebrews shouted in Hebrew; how do you know it in Greek?" The messenger says to them, "I asked one of the Jews, and said, 'What is it they are shouting in Hebrew?' And he interpreted it to me." Pilate says to them, "And what did they shout in Hebrew?" The Jews say to him, "HOSANNA MEMBROME BARUCHAMMA ADONAI*."
Pilate says to them, "And this 'Hosanna' and the rest, how is it interpreted?" The Jews say to him, "Save now in the highest; 'blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.'"
Pilate says to them, "If you bear witness to the words spoken by the children, in what has the runner done wrong?" And they were silent. And the governor says to the messenger, "Go out, and bring him in whatever way you wish." And the messenger going out, did in the same manner as before, and says to Jesus, "Enter, the governor calls you."...

* Transliteration of the Hebrew הושיעה נא במרומים ברוך הבא בשם יהוה, Hoshiana bam'romim; Baruch haba (b'shem) Adonai.