St. Michael’s Russian Catholic Church
(Courtesy of Walter Petrovitz and Mauro Carrasco)
The Procession of the Dead Christ.
The Burial of the Body of Christ – The Office of Compline
The vigil before the sepulcher continues throughout the night.
(Above and below) New Vestments – the folded chasubles courtesy of the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny
(Above and below) The singing of the Passion
THE ANNUNCIATION AND PASSION.
by John Donne
TAMELY, frail body, abstain to-day ; to-day
My soul eats twice, Christ hither and away.
She sees Him man, so like God made in this,
That of them both a circle emblem is,
Whose first and last concur ; this doubtful day
Of feast or fast, Christ came, and went away ;
She sees Him nothing, twice at once, who’s all ;
She sees a cedar plant itself, and fall ;
Her Maker put to making, and the head
Of life at once not yet alive, yet dead ;
She sees at once the Virgin Mother stay
Reclused at home, public at Golgotha ;
Sad and rejoiced she’s seen at once, and seen
At almost fifty, and at scarce fifteen ;
At once a son is promised her, and gone ;
Gabriell gives Christ to her, He her to John ;
Not fully a mother, she’s in orbity ;
At once receiver and the legacy.
All this, and all between, this day hath shown,
Th’ abridgement of Christ’s story, which makes one—
As in plain maps, the furthest west is east—
Of th’ angels Ave, and Consummatum est.
How well the Church, God’s Court of Faculties,
Deals, in sometimes, and seldom joining these.
As by the self-fix’d Pole we never do
Direct our course, but the next star thereto,
Which shows where th’other is, and which we say
—Because it strays not far—doth never stray,
So God by His Church, nearest to him, we know,
And stand firm, if we by her motion go.
His Spirit, as His fiery pillar, doth
Lead, and His Church, as cloud ; to one end both.
This Church by letting those days join, hath shown
Death and conception in mankind is one ;
Or ’twas in Him the same humility,
That He would be a man, and leave to be ;
Or as creation He hath made, as God,
With the last judgment but one period,
His imitating spouse would join in one
Manhood’s extremes ; He shall come, He is gone ;
Or as though one blood drop, which thence did fall,
Accepted, would have served, He yet shed all,
So though the least of His pains, deeds, or words,
Would busy a life, she all this day affords.
This treasure then, in gross, my soul, uplay,
And in my life retail it every day.
(in 1608, as in 2016, the Annunciation and Good Friday fell on the same day)
(Above) Flectamus Genua
(2 above and 2 below) Ecce Lignum Crucis
(Above) the Adoration of the Holy Cross
(Above) Vexilla Regis prodeunt
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The Mass
(above) Ringing of bells at the Gloria.
The Procession
The Altar of Repose
The Stripping of the Altar
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The following churches will offer the Sung Office of Tenebrae this Wednesday evening:
St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, 7 pm (Traditional Mass at 6 pm)
Tenebræ responsories (Lassus & anon. German, ca. 1550)
Miserere (George Malcolm)
Church of the Holy Innocents, New York, 8 pm (Traditional Sung Mass at 6 pm)
St. Anthony of Padua, Jersey City, 7:30 pm
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21
Mar
Also known as Palm or Pussy Willow Sunday (there are no palms this time of year in Russia). As celebrated at St. Michaels’ Russian Catholic Chapel, New York.
(Photo courtesy of Thomas Stadnik)
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Palm (or Olive Branch) Sunday in the Traditional Ambrosian Rite. As celebrated at the church of the Traditional Ambrosian Rite Catholics in Milan: Santa Maria della Consolazione.
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(Above) The full schedule of Traditional services at St. Anthony’s
JERSEY CITY – The Office of Tenebrae of Holy Thursday will be anticipated on Wednesday, March 23 at 7:30PM as part of this year’s schedule of Holy Week services at the historic downtown church of St. Anthony of Padua, located at Monmouth St. between 6th and 7th.
This ancient service generally referred to as the Holy Week Office of Shadows or Darkness consists of the Office of Matins and Lauds for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The name derives from the Latin meaning of Tenebrae which means “shadows.” It is also referred to as “Christ’s Funeral.”
As the name suggests, the service is conducted in a darkened church while the choir chants Psalms, Lamentations, Responsories and Lessons. After the completion of each Psalm one candle is extinguished from the “hearse” holding fifteen candles gradually reducing the lighting throughout the service. The six altar candles are put out during the Benedictus, and then any remaining lights in the church. The last candle is hidden, and the service ends with the strepitus (Latin for “great noise”) symbolizing the earthquake that followed Christ’s death. This beautiful and moving service is very rarely experienced in parish churches.
The resident choir, Cantantes in Cordibus will lead the Gregorian chant and other musical settings by Allegri. Its director, Maestro Simone Ferraresi, studied at the Conservatory of Music in Ferrara, Italy where he earned his degree with highest honors; at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna he studied with world renowned pianist and musicologist Paul Badura-Skoda. Maestro Ferraresi specialized in interpretation of classical composers; at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he was awarded the Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music – the highest examinable award given by the Royal Academy. He was also awarded three special prizes for best performance in the final recital. He is the founder and artistic director of the Ferrara International Piano Festival.
St. Anthony’s Church is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Sites. The church, built in the Victorian Gothic Style, is a pristine example of a church untouched by modern elements and remains a true example of Roman Catholic aesthetic rarely seen today. The church parking lot is located on 6th St. between Coles and Monmouth Street and is easily accessible from the Grove Street PATH, the Newport PATH and Light Rail stop.
Through the generous support of Very Rev. Canon Joseph Urban, Pastor of St. Anthony’s, this is the first time Tenebrae will be available at St. Anthony’s. We invite everyone to attend this moving service during the most important and significant week of the Liturgical Year. Please visit the parish website at stanthonyjc.com for more information about the other traditional services during Holy Week.
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