Holy Week Manual for Priests

This work is designed for the Holy Week of the 1962 Missal as promulgated by Pope Pius XII in 1955. In the Instruction that accompanied the decree for the restored Holy Week Ordo the first point set forth reads: "Local Ordinaries should carefully see to it that priests, especially those who have the care of souls, should be well instructed not only about the ritual observance of the restored Ordo of Holy Week but also its liturgical meaning and its pastoral purposes." The ceremonies of Holy Week are perhaps the most beautiful, yet the most difficult of the liturgical year. Their beauty lies in the deep richness of their meaning and in their power to bring us so close to our Divine Saviour and the events that transpired in the last days of His mortal life. Unless these ceremonies are carried out with precision and accuracy, their wealth of beauty and meaning are lost. To bring the sacred events commemorated in Holy Week home to the faithful so that they may participate in them more fruitfully, we have undertaken this manual. If Holy Week ceremonies are difficult for priestly minds to grasp quickly, how much more so for the laity. To make this task a little easier for fellow priests during those days when pastoral duties are numerous and varied, has been our objective in setting forth these ceremonies according to the new regulations decreed by Pope Pius XII. If carried out correctly, these ceremonies have a deep beauty which all will learn to love and appreciate. But we priests must first study them and present them as correctly as possible. The effort on our part will be amply rewarded. We have tried to keep in mind all churches, large and small, churches where the ceremonies can be conducted in a solemn manner, where only a missa cantata is possible, and finally where there is no choir present. The anxiety of our brother priests for this type of book has been keen. We have worked under pressure; time was of the essence and so we beg your kind indulgence for possible errors and omissions. Our great objective was to present in as short a time as possible a complete working manual for the Holy Week services of 1956.