The third part of to-day's service is the offering of the holy Sacrifice. The portions that are sung by the choir are expres-sive of the deepest desolation; and the history of our Lord's Passion, which is now to be read by anticipation, gives to the rest of the day that character of sacred gloom, which we all know so well. For the last five or six centuries, the Church has adopted a spe-cial chant for this narrative of the holy Gospel. The historian, or the evangelist, relates the events in a tone that is at once grave and pathetic; the words of our Saviour are sung to a solemn yet sweet melody, which strikingly contrasts with the high dominant of the several other interlocutors and the Jewish populace. During the singing of the Passion, the faithful should hold their palms in their hands, and, by this emblem of triumph, protest against the insults offered to Jesus by His enemies. As we listen to each hu-miliation and suffering, all of which were endured out of love for us, let us offer Him our palm as to our dearest Lord and King. When should we be more adoring, than when He is most suffering? These are the leading features of this great day. According to our usual plan, we will add to the prayers and lessons any instructions that seem to be needed. This Sunday, besides its liturgical and popular appellation of Palm Sunday, has had several other names. Thus it was called Hosanna Sunday, in allusion to the acclamation wherewith the Jews greeted Jesus on His entry into Jerusalem. Our forefathers used also to call it Pascha Floridum, because the feast of the Pasch (or Easter), which is but eight days off, is to-day in bud, so to speak, and the faithful could begin from this Sunday to fulfil the precept of Easter Communion. It was in allusion to this name, that the Spaniards, having on the Palm Sunday of 1513, discovered the peninsula on the Gulf of Mexico, called it Florida. We also find the name of Capitilavium given to this Sunday, because, during those times when it was the custom to defer till Holy Saturday the bap-tism of infants horn during the preceding months (where such a delay entailed no danger), the parents used, on this day, to wash the heads of these children, out of respect to the holy chrism wherewith they were to be anointed. Later on, this Sunday was, at least in some churches, called the Pasch of the competent,, that is, of the catechumens, who were admitted to Baptism; they as-sembled to-day in the church, and received a special instruction on the symbol, which had been given to them in the previous scru-tiny. In the Gothic Church of Spain, the symbol was not given till to-day. The Greeks call this Sunday Baïphoros, that is, Palm-bearing.

HOLY WEEK – PALM SUNDAY Source: St. Thomas Aquinas, Mediations & Readings for Lent (1937; repr., London: Sheed & Ward, 1976), 126-128.

CHRIST’S PASSION SERVES US AS AN EXAMPLE The Passion of Christ is by itself sufficient to form us in every virtue. For whoever wishes to live perfectly, need do no more than scorn what Christ scorned on the cross, and desire what He there desired. There is no virtue of which, from the cross, Christ does not give us an example. If you seek an example of charity, Greater love than this no man hath, than that a man lay down His life for his friends (John xv. 13), and this Christ did on the cross. And since it was for us that He gave his life, it should not be burdensome to bear for Him whatever evils come our way. What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things He hath rendered to me (Ps. cxv. 12). If you seek an example of patience, in the cross you find the best of all. Great patience shows itself in two ways. Either when a man suffers great evils patiently, or when he suffers what he could avoid and forbears to avoid. Now Christ on the cross suffered great evils. O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see, if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow (Lam. i 12). And He suffered them patiently, for, led as a sheep to the slaughter. He was dumb as a lamb before his shearer (Isaias liii. 7). Also it was in His power to avoid the suffering and He did not avoid it. Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me presently more than twelve legions of angels? (Matt. xxvi. 53). The patience of Christ, then, on the cross was the greatest patience ever shown. Let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us: looking at Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who having joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame (Heb. xii. I, 2). If you seek an example of humility, look at the crucified. For it is God who wills to be judged and to die at the will of Pon-tius Pilate. Thy cause hath been judged as that of the wicked (Job xxxvi. 17). Truly as that of the wicked, for Let us condemn him to a most shameful death (Wis. ii. 20). The Lord willed to die for the slave, the life of the angels for man. If you seek an example of obedience, follow Him who became obedient unto death (Phil. ii. 8), for as by the disobedience of one, many shall be made just (Rom. v. 19).

If you seek an example in the scorning of the things of this world, follow Him who is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom. Lo! On the cross He hangs naked, fooled, spit upon, beaten, crowned with thorns, sated with gall and vinegar, and dead. My garments they parted among them; and upon my vesture they cast lots (Ps. xxi. 19). Error to crave for honours, for He was exposed to blows and to mockery. Error to seek titles and decorations for platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in his right hand. And bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, say-ing Hail, king of the Jews (Matt. xvii. 29). Error to cling to pleasures and comfort for they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink

(Ps. lxviii. 22).

Pastor: Rev. Fr. Joseph Terra, FSSP

Office: 602-374-5067 Cell: 480-231-0573 (for urgent messages)

Fax: 602-466-1623 Mail: 2312 E. Campbell Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85016

Email: contact@phoenixlatinmass.org Website: www.phoenixlatinmass.org

Notitiæ March 28, 2010

Sunday Masses

Propers: Readings:

Palm Sunday, Class I, Red and Violet (preceded by Blessing of Palms and Procession) Philippians 2: 5-11, St. Matthew 26: 36-75; 27: 1-60

Intention:

10:00 am Mass at St. Cecilia (Clarkdale, AZ) Pro Populo

Intention:

1:00 pm Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle (24th St. & Campbell Ave, Phoenix) Pro Populo

Weekday Masses

At St. Thomas the Apostle at 6:30 am (ending 7:15 am)

and 7:00 pm on Holy Days of Obligation

Monday, March 29 Thursday, April 1

Propers:

Readings: Intention:

Monday in Holy Week Class I, Violet

Isaias 50: 5-10; St. John 12: 1-9

Nora Aquinaldo

Propers:

Readings: Intention:

Holy Thursday, Mass of the Last Supper Class I, White and Violet, 4 p.m.

1 Corinthians 11: 20-32; St. John 13: 1-15

Ralph McInerny+

Tuesday, March 30 Friday, April 2

Propers:

Readings: Intention:

Tuesday in Holy Week Class I, Violet

Jeremias 11: 18-20;

St. Mark 14: 32-72; 15: 1-46 Nelia Aquinaldo

Propers:

Readings: Intention:

Good Friday, Liturgy of the Presanctified Class I, Black and Violet, 3 p.m.

Osee 6: 1-6; Exodus 12: 1-11;.

St. John 18: 1-40; 19: 1-42.

Wednesday, March 31 Saturday, April 3

Propers:

Readings: Intention:

Wednesday in Holy Week Class I, Violet

Isaias 62: 11; 63: 1-7; 53: 1-12; St. Luke 22: 39-71; 23: 1-53

Eddie Aquinaldo

Propers:

Readings: Intention:

Holy Saturday, Paschal Vigil and Mass Class I, Violet and White, 11 p.m.

Colossians 3: 1-4; St. Matthew 28: 1-7

Confessions Friday 5-5:30 pm and Saturday 3:30-4:30 pm at Saint Thomas the Apostle. Sunday before Mass at

Saint Thomas the Apostle, and at Saint Cecilia, if possible. Other times by arrangement.

From Dom Gueranger's "The Liturgical Year" Early in the morning of this day, Jesus sets out for Jerusalem, leaving Mary His Mother, and the two sisters Mar-tha and Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus, at Bethania. The Mother of sorrows trembles at seeing her Son thus expose Himself to danger, for His enemies are bent upon His destruc-tion; but it is not death, it is triumph, that Jesus is to receive to-day in Jerusalem. The Messias, before being nailed to the cross, is to be proclaimed King by the people of the great city; the little children are to make her streets echo with their Ho-sanna to the Son of David; and this in presence of the soldiers of Rome's emperor, and of the high priests and pharisees: the first standing under the banner of their eagles; the second, dumb with rage. The prophet Zachary had foretold this triumph which the Son of Man was to receive a few days before His Passion, and which had been prepared for Him from all eternity. ' Re-joice greatly, O daughter of Sion! Shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee; the Just and the Saviour. He is poor, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.' Jesus, knowing that the hour has come for the fulfilment of this prophecy, singles out two from the rest of His disciples, and bids them lead to Him an ass and

her colt, which they would find not far off. He has reached Bethphage, on Mount Olivet. The two disciples lose no time in executing the order given them by their divine Master; and the ass and the colt are soon brought to the place where He stands. The holy fathers have explained to us the mystery of these two animals. The ass represents the Jewish people, which had been long under the yoke of the Law; the colt, upon which, as the evangelist says, no man yet hath sat, is a figure of the Gentile world, which no one had ever yet brought into subjection. The future of these two peoples is to be de-cided a few days hence: the Jews will be rejected, for having refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messias; the Gentiles will take their place, to be adopted as God's people, and become docile and faithful. The disciples spread their garments upon the colt; and our Saviour, that the prophetic figure might be fulfilled, sits upon him, and advances towards Jerusalem. As soon as it is known that Jesus is near the city, the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of those Jews, who have come from all parts to celebrate the feast of the Passover. They go out to meet our Lord, holding palm branches in their hands, and loudly pro-claiming Him to be King. They that have accompanied Jesus from Bethania, join the enthusiastic crowd. Whilst some spread their garments on the way, others cut down boughs from the palm-trees, and strew them along the road. Hosanna is the triumphant cry, proclaiming to the whole city that Je-sus, the Son of David, has made His entrance as her King. Thus did God, in His power over men's hearts, pro-cure a triumph for His Son, and in the very city which, a few days later, was to clamour for His Blood. This day was one of glory to our Jesus, and the holy Church would have us renew, each year, the memory of this triumph of the Man-God. Shortly after the birth of our Emmanuel, we saw the Magi coming from the extreme east, and looking in Jerusalem for the King of the Jews, to whom they intended offering their gifts and their adorations: but it is Jerusalem herself that now goes forth to meet this King. Each of these events is an ac-knowledgment of the kingship of Jesus; the first, from the Gentiles; the second, from the Jews. Both were to pay Him this regal homage, before He suffered His Passion. The in-scription to be put upon the cross, by Pilate's order, will ex-press the kingly character of the Crucified: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Pilate, the Roman governor, the pagan, the base coward, has been unwittingly the fulfiller of a prophecy;

and when the enemies of Jesus insist on the inscription being altered, Pilate will not deign to give them any answer but this: ' What I have written, I have written.' To-day, it is the Jews themselves that proclaim Jesus to be their King: they will soon be dispersed, in punishment for their revolt against the Son of David; but Jesus is King, and will be so for ever. Thus were literally verified the words spoken by the Archangel to Mary, when he announced to her the glories of the Child that

SUNDAY COLLECT Almighty and everlasting God, who didst will that our Saviour should take upon Him our flesh and suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of His great humility; mercifully grant that we may both follow the exam-ple of His patience and also be made partakers of His resur-rection. Through the same our Lord. .

SUNDAY EPISTLE: Philippians 2: 5-11 Brethren, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Je-sus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a name which is above all names: (Here all genuflect) that in the name of Je­sus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. .

SUNDAY’S LAST GOSPEL: SAINT Matthew 21: 1-9 At that time, when Jesus drew nigh to Jerusalem, and was

come to Bethphage, unto mount Olivet, then He sent two dis-ciples, saying to them: Go ye into the village that is over against you, and immediately you shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them and bring them to Me: and if any man shall say anything to you, say ye that the Lord hath need of them: and forthwith he will let them go. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Pro-phet, saying: Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy King cometh to thee meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of her that is used to the yoke. And the disciples going did as Jesus commanded them. And they brought the ass and the colt: and laid their garments upon them, and made Him sit thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way: and others cut boughs from the trees, and strewed them in the way and the multitudes that went before and that followed cried, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord..

PARISH ANNOUNCEMENTS

Easter Triduum Schedule, All Cere-

monies at St. Thomas the Apostle:

Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lord's Supper, with Washing of Feet: 4 p.m. Good Friday: Solemn Liturgy: 3 p.m. Holy Saturday: Easter Vigil: 11 p.m. Easter Sunday: Holy Mass: 1 p.m.

Holy Week Ceremonies: Please make sure that you

make an effort to take part in these most solemn ceremonies of the whole year’s liturgy. Although these are not Days of Obligation, the sublime mystery of our Salvation is recalled and relived by the Church, and we ought to be present and participating. Families should strive to make their assistance at these ceremonies an important part of the practice of their Faith each year. Either your Daily Missal or the Sacred Trid-uum Missal (provided for use at church) should be used to help you follow them more attentively.

Good Friday FAST: Remember that April 2nd is Good Fri-

day and therefore it is a day of obligatory fast and abstinence.

If you might forget, perhaps you should mark your calendar.

FSSP Prayer Requests

March 28: Fr. Angelo Van der Putten March 29: Deacon John Shannon March 30: Fr. Edmund Castronovo March 31: Fr. Jose Salgado April 1: Fr. Joseph Hearty April 2: Fr. Dominic Gentile April 3: Fr. Denis Bouchard

was to be born of her: ' The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David, His father; and He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.' Jesus begins His reign upon the earth this very day; and though the first Israel is soon to disclaim His rule, a new Israel, formed from the faithful few of the old, shall rise up in every nation of the earth, and become the kingdom of Christ, a kingdom such as no mere earthly monarch ever coveted in his wildest fancies of ambition. This is the glorious mystery which ushers in the great week, the week of dolours. Holy Church would have us give this momentary consolation to our heart, and hail our Jesus as our King. She has so arranged the service of to-day, that it should ex-press both joy and sorrow; joy, by uniting herself with the loyal hosannas of the city of David; and sorrow, by compassionating the Passion of her divine Spouse. The whole function is divided into three parts, which we will now proceed to explain. The first is the blessing of the palms; and we may have an idea of its importance from the solemnity used by the Church in this sacred rite. One would suppose that the holy Sacrifice has begun, and is going to be offered up in honour of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Introit, Collect, Epistle, Gradual, Gospel, even a Preface, are said, as though we were, as usual, preparing for the immo-lation of the spotless Lamb; but, after the triple Sanctus! Sanctus! Sanctus! the Church suspends these sacrificial formulas, and turns to the blessing of the palms. The prayers she uses for this blessing are eloquent and full of instruction; and, together with the sprinkling with holy water and the incensation, impart a virtue to these branches, which elevates them to the supernatural order, and makes them means for the sanctification of our soul and the protection of our persons and dwellings. The faithful should hold these palms in their hands during the procession, and during the reading of the Passion at Mass, and keep them in their homes as an outward expression of their faith, and as a pledge of God's watchful love. It is scarcely necessary to tell our reader that the palms or olive branches, thus blessed, are carried in memory of those wherewith the people of Jerusalem strewed the road, as our Saviour made His triumphant Entry; but a word on the antiquity of our ceremony will not be superfluous. It began very early in the east. It is probable that, as far as Jerusalem itself is concerned, the custom was established immediately after the ages of persecution. St. Cyril, who was bishop of that city in the fourth century, tells us that the palm-tree, from which the people cut the branches when they went out to meet our Saviour, was still to be seen in the vale of Cedron. Such a circumstance would naturally suggest an annual commemoration of the great event. In the. following cen-

tury, we find this ceremony established, not only in the churches of the east, but also in the monasteries of Egypt and Syria. At the beginning of Lent, many of the holy monks obtained permission from their abbots to retire into the desert, that they might spend the sacred season in strict seclusion; but they were obliged to return to their monasteries for Palm Sunday, as we learn from the life of Saint Euthymius, written by his disciple Cyril. In the west, the introduction of this ceremony was more gradual; the first trace we find of it is in the sacramentary of St. Gregory, that is, at the end of the sixth, or the beginning of the seventh, century. When the faith had penetrated into the north, it was not possible to have palms or olive branches; they were supplied by branches from other trees. The beautiful prayers used in the blessing, and based on the mysteries expressed by the palm and olive trees, are still employed in the blessing of our willow, box, or other branches; and rightly, for these represent the symbolical ones which nature has denied us. The second of to-day's ceremonies is the procession, which comes immediately after the blessing of the palms. It repre-sents our Saviour's journey to Jerusalem, and His entry into the city. To make it the more expressive, the branches that have just been blessed are held in the hand during it. With the Jews, to hold a branch in one's hand was a sign of joy. The divine law had sanctioned this practice, as we read in the following passage from Leviticus, where God commands His people to keep the feast of tabernacles: And you shall take to you, on the first day, the fruits of the fairest tree, and branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. It was, therefore, to testify their delight at seeing Jesus enter within their walls, that the inhabitants, even the little children, of Jerusalem, went forth to meet Him with palms in their hands. Let us, also, go before our King, singing our hosannas to Him as the conqueror of death, and the liberator of His people. During the middle ages, it was the custom, in many churches, to carry the book of the holy Gospels in this procession. The Gospel contains the words of Jesus Christ, and was considered to represent Him. The procession halted at an appointed place, or station: the deacon then opened the sacred volume, and sang from it the passage which describes our Lord's entry into Jerusalem. This done, the cross which, up to this moment, was veiled, was uncovered; each of the clergy advanced towards it, venerated it, and placed at its foot a small portion of the palm he held in his hand. The procession then returned, preceded by the cross, which was left unveiled until all had re-entered the church. In England and Normandy, as far back as the eleventh century, there was practised a holy ceremony which represented, even more vividly than the one we have just been describing, the scene that was witnessed on this day at Jerusalem: the blessed Sacrament was carried in procession. The heresy of Berengarius, against the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, had been broached about that time; and the tribute of triumphant joy here shown to the sacred Host was a distant preparation for the feast and procession which were to be instituted at a later period. A touching ceremony was also practised in Jerusalem during to-day's procession, and, like those just mentioned, was in-tended to commemorate the event related by the Gospel. The whole community of the Franciscans (to whose keeping the holy places are entrusted) went in the morning to Bethphage. There, the father guardian of the holy Land, being vested in pontifical robes, mounted upon an ass, on which garments were laid. Accompanied by the friars and the Catholics of Jerusalem, all holding palms in their hands, he entered the city, and alighted at the church of the holy sepulchre where Mass was celebrated with all pos-sible solemnity. This beautiful ceremony, which dated from the period of the Latin kingdom in Jerusalem, has been forbidden for now almost two hundred years, by the Turkish authorities of the city. We have mentioned these different usages, as we have done others on similar occasions, in order to aid the faithful to the better understanding of the several mysteries of the liturgy. In the present instance, they will learn that, in to-day's procession, the Church wishes us to honour Jesus Christ as though He were really among us, and were receiving the humble tribute of our loyalty. Let us lovingly go forth to meet this our King, our Saviour, who comes to visit the daughter of Sion, as the prophet has just told us. He is in our midst; it is to Him that we pay honour with our palms: let us give Him our hearts too. He comes that He may be our King; let us welcome Him as such, and fervently cry out to Him: 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' At the close of the procession a ceremony takes place, which is full of the sublimest symbolism. On returning to the church, the doors are found to be shut. The triumphant procession is stopped; but the songs of joy are continued. A hymn in hon-our of Christ our King is sung with its joyous chorus ; and at length the subdeacon strikes the door with the staff of the cross; the door opens, and the people, preceded by the clergy, enter the church, proclaiming the praise of Him, who is our resurrection and

our life. This ceremony is intended to represent the entry of Jesus into that Jerusalem of which the earthly one was but the figure--the Jerusalem of heaven, which has been opened for us by our Saviour. The sin of our first parents had shut it against us; but Je-sus, the King of glory, opened its gates by His cross, to which every resistance yields. Let us, then, continue to follow in the foot-steps of the Son of David, for He is also the Son of God, and He invites us to share His kingdom with Him. Thus, by the procession, which is commemorative of what happened on this day, the Church raises up our thoughts to the glorious mystery of the Ascen-sion, whereby heaven was made the close of Jesus' mission on earth. Alas l the interval between these two triumphs of our Re-deemer are not all days of joy; and no sooner is our procession over, than the Church, who had laid aside for a moment the weight of her grief, falls back into sorrow and mourning.