Peter J. Elliott - Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year: A Manual for Clergy and All Involved in Liturgical Ministries

CEREMONIES OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR

PETER J. ELLIOTT

According to the

Modern Roman Rite

~

A Manual for Clergy and All

Involved in Liturgical Ministries

IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO

Nihil Obstat: Very Reverend Peter J. Kenny, D.D.
Diocesan Censor
Archdiocese of Melbourne

Imprimatur: Reverend Msgr. Christopher Prowse, B.A., B. Theol., S.T.L., S.T.D.
Vicar General
Archdiocese of Melbourne
January 21, 2002

The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed. They do not necessarily signify that the work is approved as a basic text for catechetical instruction.

The English translation of the Table of Liturgical Days according to Their Order of Preference in the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar from Documents on the Liturgy, 1963-1979: Conciliar, Papal, and Curial Texts 1982, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. (Adapted to reflect changes in the Missale Romanum, 2002.)

Proclamation of the Birth of Christ, Proclamation of the Date of Easter on Epiphany , and the Reception of the Holy Oils Blessed at the Chrism Mass 1994 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc., Washington, D.C. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Roxanne Mei Lum

2002 Ignatius Press, San Francisco
All rights reserved
ISBN 0-89870-829-x
Library of Congress Control number 2001094793

Printed in the United States of America

Pro peregrinatoribus

Sundays in Advent

Christmas

Epiphany

Ash Wednesday

Sundays in Lent

Rites of Christian Initiation

Stational Celebrations in Lent

The Way of the Cross

Veiling Crosses and Images

Passion (Palm) Sunday

Holy Week

The Easter Triduum

Evening Mass of the Lords Supper

The Celebration of the Lords Passion

Holy Saturday

The Easter Octave

Easter Season

The Ascension of the Lord

Pentecost Sunday

Rogation and Ember Days

Trinity Sunday

Corpus Christi

Sundays in the Season of the Year

Solemnities in the Season of the Year

Notable Feasts and Memorials

Celebration of Ecclesial Anniversaries

Weekday Mass

Mass Celebrated in Latin

Popular Devotions

The Solemnity of All Saints, November 1

All Souls, November 2

Christ the King

1. Table of Liturgical Days, According to Their Order of Precedence

2. Table of Movable Feasts from A.D. 2002

3. Cycle of Readings from A.D. 2002

4. The Proclamation of the Birth of Christ

5. The Proclamation of the Date of Easter on Epiphany

6. Reception of the Holy Oils Blessed at the Chrism Mass

7. Tenebrae

8. National Celebrations

Australia

Canada

England

Ireland

New Zealand

Scotland

South Africa

United States of America

Wales

9. Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary

10. Diagram, A Eucharistic Procession

Foreword

The liturgy of the Catholic Church is the action by which Jesus Christ unites the members of the Church in glorifying God. It makes people holy through words, music, action and signs.

What we do as we celebrate the Eucharist, the sacraments and sacramentals is intended to be the most powerful means of union with our God, with the saints in heaven and with each other, and is to be a foretaste of the praise of God given in joy and peace by the saints in heaven.

As we move through the whole of the year, the Church is united with the mysteries of Christs earthly life so as to come closer with love as a priestly people to her Lord and Saviour.

Monsignor Peter Elliott provides scholarship and many years experience of and love of the liturgy in Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year . His previous work Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite has helped many people to celebrate the liturgy with attention and devotion. He has also achieved wide experience in the Archdiocese of Melbourne as a priest, as an author of many books, and as an official of the Pontifical Council for the Family in the Vatican. For the last four years he has been Episcopal Vicar for Religious Education in the Archdiocese of Melbourne and has led the publication of To Know, Worship and Love , the religious education texts for the whole of primary and secondary schooling.

Monsignor Elliott has provided the present work as a guide to the most important moments of the Church year from Advent and Christmas to Holy Week, Corpus Christi and to the Solemnity of Christ the King. His book also has been a long-awaited guide to those who wish to celebrate the events of the Church year with dignity, devotion and deep faith. The Church of Melbourne is deeply grateful to Monsignor Elliott for this book, which will be widely welcomed throughout the English-speaking world.

May it be a fitting instrument to guide the Church in proclaiming and celebrating the mystery of Christ in her liturgy, so that the faithful may live from it and bear witness to it in the world.

+ Denis J. Hart
Archbishop of Melbourne

November 1, 2002

Solemnity of All Saints

Preface

This work is a sequel to Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite , a guide to the ceremonial of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours, published by Ignatius Press in 1995. A Spanish translation of this book was published in 1996 under the title Guia pratica de liturgia , by Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona.

In Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year , I offer detailed guidance to the ceremonial of the rites proposed in the Missal and other authoritative books to be celebrated on the principal solemnities and feasts and during the seasons of the Roman Calendar. This work should be used in conjunction with Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite . It presupposes the celebration of the Mass presented in that book and is cross-referenced accordingly. It is in accord with the revised General Instruction of the Roman Missal (2002) prepared for the third edition of the Missale Romanum . In a further volume in this series I hope to present the ceremonies of the sacraments and funerals.

In the first place, I thank the Most Rev. Denis J. Hart, Archbishop of Melbourne for all his patient assistance. Advice and assistance were also given by the Most Rev. Geoffrey Jarrett, Bishop of Lismore; Rev. Msgr. James OBrien; Rev. David Cartwright; Rev. Charles Portelli; Rev. Gregory Pritchard, Rev. Anthony Robbie and Rev. Joseph Illo. In no way are they bound to the opinions and interpretations in this book.

In describing the ceremonies of Holy Week, I was inspired by the Venerable English College, Rome, as I have assisted at these celebrations there while working in the Roman Curia. I thank the Rector at that time, Msgr. Adrian Toffolo, and the staff and students for the experience of noble liturgy, at once ordered, prayerful and pastoral.

Finally, I express my gratitude to the dedicated staff of Ignatius Press. Their interest and advice have once again been most encouraging.

Rev. Msgr. Peter J. Elliott, E.V.
Melbourne 2002

Abbreviations

CB Ceremonial of Bishops

CCC Catechism of the Catholic Church

CIC Codex Iuris Canonici, Code of Canon Law

CLE Circular Letter concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts

CMRR Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite

GIRM General Instruction of the Roman Missal (revised 2002)

LY General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar (Roman Missal)