Your Palm Sunday notes

So, what was Palm Sunday like where you were?  Were there palms? Olive branches?  Was there a procession out of doors?  Did Father preach at all and was there any good points?  Was the Passion spoken or sung?  By deacons?  Was there a choral turba?

Let us know.

For my part, we had a sung Mass with the 1962 Missale Romanum this morning.  There was Gregorian chant.  We had a procession but just inside church.  I sang the Passion, the whole thing, in the different parts.  The Mass with distribution of palms, procession, Passion, everything, took about 1’20”.  Of course, as is proper, we began in red and switched to purple.  The color liturgical changes in our rites always make a deep impression on me.  They feel like a big changes of gears when on a long incline.

I want publicly to thank our MC, who does a great job.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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65 Comments

  1. I offered three Masses this weekend, ordinary form.

    At two of the Masses, we blessed the palms at the rear of church, the deacon proclaimed the first Gospel, and then the procession began with “All Glory Laud and Honor.” The antiphon specified in the Missal — “Hosanna to the Son of David” — was used beforehand.

    For the 10:30 am Mass, we had a procession inside church. Many folks took part. Incense led the way.

    For the Passion, we had two lay readers, as well as myself. The deacon deferred to me to read the parts of our Savior.

    My homily — after the Passion — was about 3 minutes, making three points: there is no Christ without the cross; no humanity without God; and Holy Week is our time to delve deeply into the mystery of the Cross which is our only hope.

    The rest of the music included “O Sacred Head Surrounded,” “Were You There?” and “Jesus, Remember Me.” We chanted both the Sanctus and Agnus Dei in Latin.

    The crosses in church were covered, but not the statues.

  2. iPadre says:

    My homily followed the 1st Gospel. I focused on Bethphage, known to be a Sacerdotal or Priestly city. It is believed that the priests procured the Pascal Lamb other sacrifices from there. Jesus, the Lamb of God travels to Jerusalem, by way of Bethphage. He is the perfect immolation, making the bridge between us and the Father.

  3. ocleirbj says:

    Novus ordo Mass. Red vestments, no statues or crosses were covered. Palms made into crosses were given out as we went in, and they were blessed during the opening rite. There was no procession. Opening prayers and the gospel of Jesus entering Jerusalem were proclaimed by the priest from the back, then he came up the centre aisle as we sang All Glory, Praise [should be Laud!] and Honour. The Passion narrative was read by two lay readers and the priest. He stood at the altar, while the readers were behind him, one on the left at the ambo and the other on the right with the choir. The reading was extremely well done, not overly “dramatic”, and very moving. At the end, the priest went to the ambo as if to preach, but instead he invited us to meditate on the Lord’s Passion, and sat down. A great hush fell for about 3 minutes. Even the squawky infants at the back were silent. Then followed the Creed and the rest of Mass. The offertory hymn was O Sacred Head Surrounded, and the recessional was Crown Him With Many Crowns. Can’t remember the Communion hymn, I never sing it anyway. :-)

  4. mamajen says:

    Novus Ordo… We began outside behind the church where palms were blessed and distributed. We then processed into church behind the singing choir. Lots of altar boys, and the ladies’ sodality were there. Incense in abundance (for which I was supremely grateful, as the baby had a smelly diaper halfway through the Passion, and it masked the smell)! The Passion was spoken. I think ours took about 1 hour 20 as well. Our first time attending at our parish, and it was very nice.

  5. monmir says:

    All statues covered , also the pocessing cross.the priest sang all part of the passion, all hymns etc in latin. Just beautiful and very meaningful. And magnificent vestments.
    So thankful for the TLM.

  6. rroan says:

    Solemn high TLM with two visiting seminarians (FSSP) serving as deacon & sub-deacon. Choral turba led by boys’ schola and men’s schola. Procession was supposed to go outside but due to rain went through the parish school building instead.

  7. Charivari Rob says:

    Ordinary Form.

    We’re a small parish that shares our pastor and vicars with two others, and the compromise to still having two Masses is that the first one must start only an hour before the second Mass and therefore must finish within that hour. So – blessing and distribution of palms inside church, one verse each of four good hymns (we’re a small congregation at this Mass, so we don’t take more time than that for offertory or Communion), and a short homily after the Passion (Father referred to cloaks/coats in that time likely being one’s most valuable personal possession (an angle I’ve heard him discuss previously) and challenged us to consider whether we would lay out our most valuable possessions before the Lord) left enough time for the full text of the Passion (read by Father, myself, and another layperson).

    Our second Mass is generally more populous and more music on any given Sunday. For Palm Sunday, we have a tradition with a neighboring parish about 3/4 mile away. We take turns each year, combining the Masses at that time. Both congregations gather at one church at the usual hour, then process through the streets to the other church for Mass. This year that included steady rain on a slightly chilly morning.

  8. Priam1184 says:

    A standard American Mass for Passion Sunday: red vestments, various laity playing the different parts of the passion narrative, but the homily had an interesting twist. Father began by differentiating between the pilgrims who were travelling with our Lord to Jerusalem and those who were already in the city. He stated that it was those who were already in the city, and not the pilgrims travelling with Jesus (who had lain down their cloaks for Him), who were the ones who would shout and scream “Crucify Him!”

    He then made a couple of statements that should be near and dear to the hearts of the readers of this blog: he talked facing toward Jerusalem with our Lord and then mentioned Pope Benedict bringing back the Extraordinary Form (this has always seemed a solidly 100% Novus Ordo parish and it is I believe the first time that I have ever heard the words “Extraordinary Form” mentioned there) and then, turning toward the Crucifix, he spoke about direction the priest faces when saying the Extraordinary Form, that it is not the “priest facing the wall” like some people want you to believe, but that the priest faces the same direction as the people toward the east and toward the Rising Sun and the Dawn who is the Lord Jesus Christ. He then when on to put his head down a little bit and say that “well things changed as they do, but even now the priest is not facing the people, he is facing the altar where the Consecration takes place and that the people and the priest are both facing that same altar and are therefore still facing the same direction together toward the Lord.

    I don’t know what it means but it was interesting to hear.

  9. Geometricus says:

    New FSSP parish in Mpls, EF mass (all statues covered) with Gregorian chant began outside in 43 degree weather with a stiff north wind, but thankfully the rain held off. Fathers had an altar in one of their garages in the alley between the school and the church.

    The FSSP pastor asked the visiting priest saying the English mass at 9 to please hold off blessing the palms and have everyone come out to the 10am blessing in Latin. The visiting priest (a local hospital chaplain) made the joke to the 40 people at the OF that these palms blessed in Latin will stay blessed all year, whereas if they were blessed at the OF mass it would only be good for 30 days. They laughed.

    Over a hundred were gathered out in the alleyway. We processed around the school, up the block and into the church, singing ‘All Glory Laud and Honor’ first in English, then the chant ‘Gloria Laus at Honor’ from the Liber.

    Three of us choir members were picked to chant the passion. Since I had the best lower range, I sang Christus. Favorite line to sing: “Pater mi, si non potest hic calix transire, nisi bibam illum, fiat voluntas tua.”

    Father spoke about the symbolism of our procession. The priest at the head of the procession represents Christ leading us to the church representing heaven, the palms symbolized victory, etc.

    Sang “O Bone Jesu” for offertory and “Adoramus te” (attr. to Palestrina) at communion after “Parce Dominum”.

  10. Russian Catholic Divine Liturgy this morning at St. Michael’s. We had pussy willows instead of palms. [Nice! Tradition!]

    Father Roman preached on how to tell if you’ve had a good Lent. Bottom line: you’ve repented and gone to confession. Then he reminded us that if you see that you haven’t had a good Lent so far it’s not too late, citing the parable of the workers in the vineyard. The importance of confession has been a consistent Lenten theme.

    Then uptown for Vespers in the Latin rite (1962).

  11. pannw says:

    Sung OF. We began in the crypt where Father blessed the palms and read the Gospel reading and explained our procession symbolized Christ’s triumphant return into Jerusalem, even though things would turn quickly when it became clear He was not going to be a King of power in the worldly sense. We processed outside and around the church into the front doors. Father wore the most beautiful red vestments. We were blessed to have 4 seminarians on break and one of our own altar boys serving. Father read the parts of Jesus, two seminarians the other parts. For his homily, Father chose to focus a bit on the richness of the Church’s liturgical celebrations during Holy Week, and he explained what each celebration would entail and means, starting with the Chrism Mass with the bishop on Wednesday. How Holy Thursday will culminate with the removal of the Blessed Sacrament to an Altar of Repose representing Christ’s withdrawal to the garden at Gethsemane. The Church will be open until midnight and we are welcome to stay with Him, as Peter, James, and John did. Even if we are unable to participate with Good Friday service, to try to keep the day, particularly from 12-3, the hours Our Lord spent on the Cross, in a prayerful way, but if we can attend, it culminates in a wonderful way with the veneration of the Cross, which is the means of our salvation. That like Good Friday, Holy Saturday is a quiet sort of day until the Vigil Mass which starts with a fire and the lighting of the Paschal Candle, representing Christ as the Light of the world and that as each small candle is lit from it, it’s light does not diminish, but spreads out lighting the whole Church. He strongly encouraged us to participate in the different celebrations if we could, because these liturgies are unique and help bring us further into the richness of the faith that we miss if we only celebrate Easter Sunday, because though of course joyful, the celebration of the Mass at Easter is the normal state of the Church. I’m not saying that nearly so eloquently as Father. I make it sound like Easter Sunday is no biggie, but that isn’t what Father was getting at. Really, it made it clear that every Sunday is a wondrous celebration. He just really emphasized the way the Holy Week celebrations add so much. It was great! Mass must have been at least an hour and 25 min, since I heard the bells in the bell tower chime the hour as the Canon had just started and Father did permit a seminarian to distribute Communion with him at the altar rail. He normally is the only one that does it. I don’t wear a watch so I’m not sure, but it seemed to fly by! It was beautiful. Can’t wait until next year when we have our statues and crosses veiled! Though I will miss them so. I found myself looking up at Jesus on the Cross all through the Passion.

    Thank you, Jesus.

  12. tonyfernandez says:

    Frankly, hearing “Gloria, Laus, et Honor” is a gift enough for me. The Mass itself was beautiful as always, with palm branches decorating the church.

  13. Andrew says:

    I traveled a considerable distance from home on the west side of town to the only TLM in Miami at a small chapel on the east side:

    All statues and images were covered in purple.

    Palms.

    Procession out of doors.

    Father preached and there were many good points: the humility of the Son, the courage of the women who didn’t run away, the Blessed Mother’s sorrow.

    The entire Passion was sung.

    All together, including travel time, about five hours. And please, don’t call me a trad! I am just an ordinary catholic who doesn’t like anything unusual.

  14. St. Peter’s in Rome, front row seats.

  15. happyCatholic says:

    Auxiliary Bishop Rice preached at our parish, and he said this week is only “holy” if we make it so by allowing ourselves to be inconvenienced so as to fully enter into the triduum and not just sit at home and skip the liturgies and other opportunities to grow in grace. His exhortation was timely and a good motivation for the “home stretch,” and an adult family member commented after Mass, “I needed to hear/be reminded of that. That was good.”

  16. Diane at Te Deum Laudamus says:

    We had a beautiful Solemn High in the EF. Fr. Aidan Logan is with us this week and was the deacon.

    Fr. Perrone had a very brief homily in which he reminded people about the sacredness of this period, admonishing us to be reserved and to remember the Lord’s Passion.

    I took some brief iPhone video clips from the procession and Mass. I hope to have them up a little later at my blog.

  17. Dr. Edward Peters says:

    Chaldean rite, in Arabic (with my daughter who is studying Arabic) so the good points were lost on me. But the chanting wasn’t. Great stuff. :)

  18. APX says:

    We had palms and a small procession. This year we did the blessing of palms and reception of them in the newly named “Vatican II Hall” and knelt on the floor this year instead of receiving them in the church at the communion rail. I really didn’t like that. Too many people crammed into a small space.

    What was also different this year was that we did the Pre-1962 thing with half the choir on the inside singing something, while the other half remained outside and responded singing something else until the priest took the butt-end of the processional crucifix and banged on the outside door with it. Something about it symbolizing that the only way into Heaven is via the cross.

  19. majuscule says:

    OF Mass, rural parish. Since our grounds are large we gathered a ways from the church and had the palms blessed and processed across the parking area in to the church. In former years a parishioner would donate large palm branches that would be crossed forming an arch at the foot of our steps outside the church and along the walks on the grounds. But he is ill and cannot do this anymore.

    Our two-person choir was only half there, so singing was not as loud as usual. The back of the procession was not singing the same words as the front. The Passion was read by two lay people with the priest reading the part of Christ and the rest of us playing the part of the Crowd.

    Statues had been covered last Sunday and today the priest was vested in red. The homily was a little shorter than usual, but Father’s homilies tend to be long normally.

    We had a nice size group in our little church, with our newest member attending for the first time. There will soon be a baptism!

    We also went over what we will be doing for Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

  20. Mike says:

    Beautiful TLM in McLean, VA. Solemn High Mass. No homily, but the whole thing clocked in a little under two hours. Really solemn, and reverently celebrated. A peak at heaven.

  21. Mike says:

    Beautiful TLM in McLean, VA. Solemn High Mass. No homily, but the whole thing clocked in a little under two hours. Really solemn, and reverently celebrated. A peak at heaven.

  22. Mike says:

    That would be peek. Or, perhaps, both!

  23. Chatto says:

    Ordinary From, in the UK. For the first time ever, the antiphon ‘Pueri Hebraeorum (?)’ was sung by our wonderful choir mistress, albeit in English. Simple procession from the back of the church. All images were veiled last week.

  24. eiggam says:

    Ordinary Form. The Sanctus was in Latin and the location of the music and words was announced before Mass. There were multiple readers of the Passion, but it was not theatrical and the Deacon narrated well. The two altar boys used patens during Holy Communion. I’m not sure how we could have patens used where Extraordinary Ministers are distributing.

  25. tjmurphy says:

    Our statues and cross were veiled.
    Choir sang Hosanna to the Son of David.
    Gospel was read by deacon at entrance of the church followed by procession through the church. Choir sang Lift Your Voice followed by All Glory, Laud and Honor.

    Gospel was read by Pastor(Jesus) Deacon (narrator) lay person (voice) in his homily Father reminded us that the palms are symbolic of our frailty. How quickly things change. He reminds us every year that the same people who shouted Hosanna to The Son of David later in the week would be yelling Crucify Him.

    Choir sang Jesu, Rex Admirabilis and Ubi Caritas during communion both in Latin.

    Father reminded us of the availability of Confession during the upcoming week. He likes to say “if you think you don’t need to go to confession then you should be the first in line.” On the subject of confession, whenwe took the students from Religious Ed to confession last week, we had projected the image of Pope Francis kneeling at the confessional, reminding us that even the pope needs to go to confession.

    In my parish we will chant Morning Prayer on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and we end the night after adoration of the blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday with Night Prayer.

    This year, the first in my memory we will be singing Popule Meus during the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday.

    Hope everyone has a blessed Holy Week.

  26. Jeannie_C says:

    Ordinary Form. Statues, images, crucifixes have been veiled since last weekend. We began our procession out in the foyer (it snowed earlier in the day and was still quite chilly and windy outside). We and our palms were blessed, sprinkled, and we processed singing “All Glory Praise And Honour”. The Passion was read by layreaders and the Deacon. Father changed his vestments at the appropriate time. Throughout Lent we have sung the Kyrie as well as the Agnus Dei in Latin, with more and more voices joining in on the latter – indicates to me people would appreciate more of this in future. As always, a beautiful and reverent Mass.

  27. mburn16 says:

    Pretty much as I could have told you it would be from memory. Procession from the entry door of the chapel (we haven’t started outside in years, the weather never cooperated) into the main sanctuary, preceded by reading of the entry narrative, blessing of the palms (real palms), and sprinkling rite. Passion was read dramatically by Father and several lay readers. No veiling of the (few) statues inside the sanctuary, but we use a different cross for the procession that is sans corpus.

    Hymns:

    “Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna in the Highest!” (entry procession)
    “Watch and Pray” (mid-passion)
    “Were you there?” (mid-passion, possibly my favorite hymn)
    “Crucem Tuam” (Communion)

    The “homily” was exceptionally short, limited only to calling on us to reflect. A longer commentary from our Priest is posted in the bulletin.

  28. ChesterFrank says:

    Were there palms? Yes
    Olive branches: No. Why did you not ask about branches from the genus Salix?
    Was there a procession out of doors? No
    Did Father preach at all? Yes
    Was there any good points? A very definite Yes, Father spoke of God’s love for us.
    Was the Passion spoken or sung: It was spoken though the deacon was absent.
    Was there a choral turba? Father would have to explain to this laity what a coral turba is. Is that something Latin?
    It was a good and liturgically proper service, though I don’t think Palm Sunday can ever be overdone. It is difficult to have a very large procession in a very small town.

  29. I had the pleasure of experiencing the most reverent and movingly celebrated ordinary form mass that I have ever experienced – no exaggeration. That is saying a lot too, as the parish always – always – celebrates mass in the most proper and reverent way imaginable. The music was moving, and beautiful, and truly pulled you in to the sacrifice and the passion.

    And as the icing on the already wonderful cake, the table altar was gone and mass was said ad orientem, on the glorious high altar!

  30. de_cupertino says:

    Not my home parish, for I am away on business. However Sunday I attended a beautiful EF mass.

    Covered crucifix and statues. Red for the procession, then purple vestments for the mass. Everything chanted or sung. The palms were not the flimsy single reed style I’ve seen in the US, but rather 18-inch branches with fronds down both sides the whole length of the branch. They were incensed and blessed. The procession was outdoors and down to the end of the parish/school grounds and back.

    Father preached, but mostly in Cantonese (which I understand rather less well than Latin).

    The brief bits I could understand of his English was that Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday are separate in the EF, but now have been merged to “Palm Sunday of the Passion of our Lord” in the new rite. I’m not sure what the significance of this is.

  31. Nun2OCDS says:

    Solemn high TLM with palms. Procession was inside the church. The Passion was sung; there was no homily. Lasted just under two hours.

    Hopefully the liturgies of the Triduum will be as reverent, silent and as well attended. Perhaps the silence today was (at least in part) due to being tired after standing for the singing of the Passion?!

    Although unintended seeing the vestments, tabernacle veil and frontal changed from red to violet adds a bit of drama(?). It seems to mark the change to greater emphasis on Our Lord’s passion which we will observe in the coming days.

  32. capchoirgirl says:

    Palms in abundance–solemn procession outside into the sanctuary. Gospel was read (we chant it on Good Friday. Well, the choir does, anyway.). All statues veiled since last weekend. Not sure what the choir sang (the entrance was “All Glory, Laud and Honor”) during the offertory and communion but it was lovely. Recessional was “Jesus, Remember Me”. About 1 h 15 minutes?

  33. jfk03 says:

    St Peter Ukranian Greek Catholic Church, Ukiah, CA.

    Yesterday was Lazarus Saturday. The raising of Lazarus is also commemorated on Palm Sunday. Pussy willows (they don’t have palms in the Ukraine), and also large, leafy palm branches (probably from Palm Springs). Red vestments. Outdoor procession with singing, incense and palms. Matins and Divine Liturgy consumed about 3.5 hours. A very beautiful service and a very fine sermon to accompany it.

  34. Gregg the Obscure says:

    Sung Antiphon!
    procession with palms, but inside only (actually that was prudent given the cold, rain and snow in Denver today);
    sang a couple verses of ‘All Glory Laud and Honor’;
    passion read by Deacon and two lay readers;
    a brief homily from the vocally-challenged pastor on how we as Christians are called to bring the presence of God into the lives of others;
    weirdest moment – after the first communion hymn the cantor sang the Psalm (“My God, my God, O why have You abandoned me”) again;
    closing with the Taize ‘Jesus Remember Me’.

  35. MarkG says:

    I was visiting someone at the local hospital (it was a long time Catholic hospital but was sold to a state university medial school but retains some Catholic identity).
    The priest was very nice and friendly and made everyone feel welcome since most everyone wasn’t a “regular”.
    I had never visited the Chapel, so never knew it was so nice, and that the Chapel was so large for a hospital Chapel. I’m guessing 1950s and doesn’t look to have been modified for the new Mass, except for adding a small altar.
    Would make an excellent place for a TLM and with only one Sunday Mass there is plenty of open time.
    The Mass was a new Mass, not TLM, and all in English. The first Sunday new Mass I’ve attended in many years.
    It did have a Tabernacle on the main altar, and 3 High Mass candles (which were lighted even though it wasn’t a sung Mass or Solemn Mass?) and they did use a gold plated chalice and gold plated ciborium in traditional design, all of which is very unusual for this area.
    Only a handful of people attended and received palms. The priest said that lots of people watched on the TV system from their rooms, and he was going to go distribute palms and Holy Communion to the rooms.
    The priest wore red vestments the whole Mass (not sure why, maybe to save time?). Gothic design, not traditional, but not too modern.
    The Mass was very short and simple, which seems appropriate for a hospital where people are probably tired.
    The Communion rail and gate were still in tact, but the gate was left open the whole time, and Holy Communion was distributed with the people standing in line.
    The Gospel seemed very short compared to the TLM Passion Gospel, but maybe this is the norm for the new Mass.

  36. kpoterack says:

    A Latin Novus Ordo Mass at Christendom College in Front Royal, VA. Chanting of the Passion in Latin with the ‘turba’ parts sung by the choir in four-part harmony. Good homily. The Offertory, the Improperium, was sung by the choir – the version by Orlando Lassus. All the other propers were sung in chant by the schola, including the Christus Factus set – which wasn’t sung too slowly! ; ^ )

  37. OrthodoxChick says:

    Um, is it a sin if I’m happy for all of you and the wonderful Masses that you experienced, but depressed for myself at the same time at having experienced something…something…else? It’s too depressing to recount so I’ll just shut up now and go pout and sulk somewhere.

  38. mrshopey says:

    I went to two.
    The first was what I was used to. We processed from outside the door with palms, singing, after the Gospel was read. There were two men reading with Fr, solemnly, with us responding with *chorus* section. There was no homily due to time restraints.

    The second started outside but had red banners, choir, trumpet – went all out! It was very exciting till we got to the gospel which, unlike the first, we were told to sit down and it was more theatrical (drums and cymbals) than solemnly. The drums got so loud, and I was all the way in back, I had to cover my ears in the end. The positive thing was it did irritate me enough that I wasn’t as weepy as I usually am during the reading of the passion. Not sure if that is good/bad or neither. They have yearly times where we can make suggestions, so I will include loosing the drums/cymbals and cutting back and the theatrics.
    I spent most of the Mass picking up dropped palms and handing them back to people. I don’t think people realize they are different than ordinary palms as they are blessed. Maybe something else to include in the suggestions.
    Overall, they were both good. I would take the readers from the first and put it with the grand procession of the second! But blessed we have Mass, really.

  39. Menagerie says:

    We started in the yard of the rectory where Father blessed the palms and distributed them, then proceeded into the Church. We did the passion reading, then he gave a very short sermon on Satan and how he will absolutely do his best to stop our observations and prayers and actions during Holy Week. Then he forcefully urged us to attend all masses and services during the Triduum. This has been a theme for him the last several weeks. So you think the Holy Thursday or Vigil mass will be too long? How many movies or sporting events do you enjoy that last longer? That has been his ongoing message. As Catholics, we do not settle for giving God the minimum observance.

  40. benedetta says:

    Our Palm Sunday was very like yours, Father. There was an excellent homily today where we are.

  41. Standard Utility Class Ordinary Form Mass for Palm Sunday at the parish I go to in Kendall Park NJ.

    Shortened entrance rites: use a shortened 3rd option to bless palms, no preliminary gospel, choir comes prancing in waving palm branches over their head and lay them on the floor of the sanctuary in front of the altar in the shape of a cross.

    No first reading, no repsonsorial psalm, no second reading, no acclamation(according to the celebrant “I’m allowed to delete the first two readings for pastoral reasons…”) direct into the Passion after the opening prayer. (“The congregation may sit and listen to the presentation of the Passion”. Was waiting for a waiter to come and take drink orders…IT’S THE PASSION, darn it, not a political address.)

    Holy water stoups have been dry and filled with thorn branches since last week (“We await the saving waters of Baptism at the Easter Vigil” says the sign in amongst the thorn branches. And Satan is pleased that access to a powerful sacramental is denied as we enter the holiest part of the year.

    Statues are covered, though.

    Legion of EMHCs to take care of the 3-time-a-year congregants. Didn’t see anyone sitting out, so I guess the congregation full of occasional Mass goers was good to go. Not judging, just commenting.

    Big mass confession (25 priests, no waiting) a week ago thursday. No confession scheduled until the Saturday Morning of the Octave. “There is to much to do setting up the church to be able to offer it…”.

    IOW, you can be assured that the creativity has not abated…after all, Who Am I to Judge?

  42. Denis Crnkovic says:

    @OrthodoxChick – my sympathies. We had a very lackluster liturgy today (OF) accompanied by a less than inspiring choir singing some rather schlocky piece at Communion. The refrain was “We love you, we love you.” It would have been more appropriate for Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands at a beach party. My brother, however, had a much better experience at his church back east, where he directs the chant choir. They sang an entire Gregorian Mass (EF) during which the celebrant sang the St Matthew Gregorian passion – all of it. I hear it was stunning.

  43. Gregg the Obscure says:

    Orthodox Chick – I am sad for your disappointment, but at the same time I rejoice that you have been granted the grace of suffering for the sake of your love of the Lord and your reverence.

  44. eiggam says:

    @MarkG, as I followed the Passion in my Magnificat at the Novus Ordo, I noticed a fair amount of text bracketed for a shorter form. Maybe that is why it was shorter at the hospital.

  45. edm says:

    And now for something completely different…
    In our Anglocatholic (yes, Episcopal) parish
    All statues, crucifixes and processional crosses veiled in violet since last Saturday night
    Antipendia and vestments: Oxblood red with black and violet orphreys
    Pueri hebraeorum, Hosanna filio David, Introit, Gradual, Tract, Offertory, Communion: Plainsong in English
    Gospel at the Liturgy of the Palms chanted with lighst and incense
    Distribution of Palms kneeling at the rail
    Procession to outdoors with ceremonies at the Main Door
    Hymns in Procession: All Glory, Laud and Honor; Ride On, Ride On, in Majesty
    Setting of the Mass: Congregational, Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena, Willan
    Passion read by Celebrant and two servers at three lecterns in front of the Rood Screen
    Sermon about 8-10 minutes
    Offertory Hymn: When I survey the wondrous Cross
    Communion Hymn: Thomas Tallis’ “The Third Tune” I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
    AtCommunion also Anthem: God So Loved the World, Stainer
    Recessional Hymn: Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow
    About 1 hour 40 minutes

  46. ByzCath08 says:

    Byzantine Ruthenian Divine Liturgy…

    Blessing of pussy willows and palms started outside of the church with matins. After blessing the willows and palms, everyone reverenced the Gospel and icon of Entry into Jerusalem. The procession began into the church where the Divine Liturgy began.

    The homily theme was on the contradictions of Christianity focusing on:

    Two processions into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. First was Pontius Pilate making a political entry. Next was Jesus making a spiritual entry.

    Two kingdoms represented on Palm Sunday. The secular kingdom(Pilate) and God’s kingdom (Jesus Entry into Jerusalem)

    Two gates that were used in Jerusalem. Pilate, entering through the West gate representing the setting sun and darkness. Jesus, entering through the East gate representing the sun rise and light.

  47. Sonshine135 says:

    Father and Deacon were decked out in Red Vestments and Birettas. The procession was so large, Father was into the opening prayer by the time we got into the church. We had olive branches. All statues were covered as was the crucifix on the altar. Father’s homily was awesome. He mentioned how while everyone was celebrating the triumphal entry into Jerusalem of the Messiah, that Jesus sat upon the ass knowing that he was being led there as a lamb to slaughter.

    Interestingly enough, while I was saying my rosary quietly before Mass, I became overcome with grief. I realized that after 2,000 years, so many people, even some who profess our faith, would still look the crucify Him, and do so on a daily basis.

  48. Chon says:

    I went to the local Maronite parish. There was a blessing of the palms, with a procession outdoors around a small park. It was Palm Sunday as a celebration, “Hosanna Sunday.” They save the Passion for Holy Week, the way I remember it was also in the Roman Church in the early 60’s. (That’s why I go east on Palm Sunday).

  49. Shonkin says:

    As always, my parish had a Novus Ordo Mass. (The Diocese of Western Montana has TLM in a church 150 miles from where I live, on two Sunday afternoons a month. That’s it.)
    Indoor procession (it was snowing as usual). Palms blessed while we stood at our seats and held them up. Red vestments.
    Spoken Passion — the priest saying the Savior’s parts, the deacon and a lector taking turns on the rest.
    Very short, but very relevant sermon. The main point: It’s a week until Easter. Stay the course and don’t backslide.

  50. babochka69 says:

    Byzantine (Ruthenian) Divine Liturgy – palms and pussy willows were blessed, followed by a procession around the church, singing the troparion for the feast. I got poked in the eye by a pussy willow branch about 10 minutes in, so the branch had to be confiscated. The poking was accidental, and there were no sword fights to break up this year, perhaps because I took the time to remind the children ahead of time that pussy willows and palms are not weapons. Chances are, it is just because the kids are getting older. The homily followed up on the theme for Lazarus Saturday: The Great Fast is over and we now enter into Holy week, where Jesus’ glory is shown. It ended with “Go to Confession. “

  51. Gratias says:

    Much improved reverence at our NO parish In Los Angeles. Palms but we brought our own olive branches stolen from a neighbor. Agnus Dei in Latin, all sang it with enthusiasm so it could be great if we could have it outside of lent too. Short homily. No applause! I hope this is a trend for the whole Archdiocese. We will try to make the trip to the TLM Holy Thusday, but it is over an hour drive. I wonder if Benedict’s idea of the EF improving the reverence of the Ordinary Mass is giving fruit, for this was much better than previous years.

  52. JonPatrick says:

    EF Mass, palms were distributed before Mass and blessed by Father with holy water then incense going up the aisles (2 separate times), reading of the Gospel and procession inside the church with red vestments, choir singing the Pueri Haebrorum etc. Father changed into violet vestments for the Mass. Just the shorter form for the passion reading in Latin then English. We are somewhat time constrained as there is the OF Mass immediately following plus Father has to drive to say a later Mass some distance away. The pastor of our parish came out to help distribute communion as there were a lot of people maybe 300 or so. Mass took about 1 hour 15 minutes. Unfortunately I do not remember enough of the homily.

  53. JonPatrick says:

    2 things I forgot to mention, crosses covered but not statues, also we sang the Vexilla Regis at the offertory, one of my favorites.

  54. OrthodoxChick says:

    Gregg the Obscure & Denis Crnkovic,

    Thank you for your sympathy. I think the Lord took pity on me too and gave me a little something to pick me up. I fell asleep last night with the t.v. on (tuned to EWTN). And when I awoke bright and early this a.m., I caught the last few minutes of a new program EWTN’s airing called “Extraordinary Faith”. That was cheering itself. However, at the tail end, they previewed their next episode. Now, I was not entirely too with it, having just awoken, but I thought I heard and caught of glimpse of Fr. Z. offering the EF Mass in Boston from last year and I *think* that’s going to be their next episode. How’s THAT for a great pick me up?!

    If that’s their next episode, count me in!!!

  55. pappy says:

    This is probably the opposite of what Fr. Z intended, but once again St. Joan of Arc parish in Minneapolis has “jumped the shark“. Giant puppet procession & mass

    http://www.startribune.com/galleries/255101911.html

  56. LarryW2LJ says:

    Personally, this was the best Palm Sunday I have had in years! I help facilitate our Parish’s Bible Study group (I’m not the teacher, more the logistics guy). Anyway, for the last seven weeks, we focused on the “Last Seven Words of Christ” for Lent. It all came together yesterday and as a group we joined in with the Procession of Palms into the Church for the 11:30 Mass. The procession was well attended and was complete with incense. We tried to sit together as a group the best we could, and it was just grand – being together with these folks who have tried to journey through Lent together.

    Our Pastor, Fr John was the celebrant. We have the Novus Order Mass, as I have stated several times before. But it is done reverently, with nothing that would make you feel uncomfortable, and I consider myself as one who leans towards the Traditional side in Liturgical matters. The hairs on the back of my neck always stand on edge whenever I witness something “unusual”. Fortunately, that happens next to never in our parish.

    Fr. John, one of our Deacons and one lector read the Passion. Fr. gave a shortened but good homily (as he always does – the man is a gifted speaker). It’s a shame that he had to include this, but Fr. made a very big point of emphasizing that this is a week for prayer and reflection. You would think people would know that – but let me stop, lest I go off on a tangent. He enumerated the many opportunities for that, and exhorted the faithful to take full advantage of them.

    After Mass, my son and I volunteered at the St. Mary’s soup kitchen in Plainfield, where we helped serve lunch to about 135 souls. It was a very warm day here in Central NJ, so our guests took the opportunity to gather into the nice, cool Church basement, where the kitchen is located.

    On another personal note, I was given the honor of representing our parish at the Chrism Mass, being held tonight at St. Francis Cathedral in Metuchen, NJ. I will bring the filled bottles back to our Church either tonight, if I can meet up with Fr after the Mass – or tomorrow morning, if that doesn’t happen.

    May you all have a very blessed Holy Week and a very blessed Triduum.

  57. frival says:

    Regular OCP OF Mass, although they skipped the Entrance Antiphon. Palms were distributed before Mass. Red vestments throughout Mass and the Gospel was the OCP standard – lector as “Voice”, Deacon as “Narrator”, congregation as “Crowd” and Priest as “Christ”. All Glory, Laud and Honor was the entrance but the songs went on a rather rapid downhill from there. The homily was short but consisted of a call to rededicate ourselves to making Holy Week not just the series of days before Easter; he enumerated the days and times and meaning of each of the liturgies for the Triduum and reiterated his call to those who don’t normally do anything special during this Holy Week.

    In the announcements he also mentioned that he will be hearing Confessions before today’s (Monday’s) evening Mass and again after Mass for at least a couple of hours but I believe he will stay as long as there is a line. This is the first time I can recall having Confession available outside of the usual Saturday hours aside from First Confession or Penance services at the parish. I have some slim hope this might start a trend.

  58. LarryW2LJ says:

    An additional note before I forget. As usual, our choir was awesome. I’m no music expert, but I have heard our choir and the Diocesan choir sing at the same venue. I daresay our choir is on par with the Diocesan choir, which is also breathtaking.

    That being said, we left the Church in silence. A reminder of the events that we will be commemorating this week. And surprisingly, the congregation actually did maintain that silence for the most part – waiting until outdoors for the usual chit-chat.

  59. derek72 says:

    Ordinary form mass – we process from the parish hall attached to the church. Palm Sunday is odd in my normally very traditional parish. For the past several years the “gospel” is now a passion play put on by our youth group. There is a narrator and the rest are dressed in black with white mime faces. The congregation sits throughout the presentation (with no participation) and other youth sing modern songs at key moments. The text is not the gospel, and it feels like the musical interludes get longer each year. My wife is tired of the 20 minute rant I go on every year afterwards. Everyone in the parish gushes about how wonderful it is, but I can’t help but feel this is a play that should be put on outside of mass (it’s a production, not liturgy). How can I even approach this subject with out being “that guy”? We did get a great homily afterwards about fully participating in the Triduum.

  60. Mike says:

    TLM: Blessing of palm (I think) branches and of congregants outdoors before processing indoors to Missa Solemnis, complete with deacon, subdeacon and schola. Passion was sung by Father and two assistants (visiting deacons or priests, perhaps). Father preached on Jerusalem: not only is Jerusalem a city and a metaphor for the Church, it is the new Jerusalem that we approach on our Christian journey toward the blessedness of Heaven.

    I was struck that there weren’t more in attendance, but that may have been for several reasons, chiefly unusually warm weather for mid-April and the time of day (late afternoon) as well as non-promotion of TLM — and the sound preaching that invariably accompanies it — in our diocese. The promotional gap is one I’ve tried to close with a website; also, Juventutem is doing praiseworthy work with social media to attract followers to the ancient traditions of our liturgies.

    (Since it is, as we Washingtonians say, “tourist season,” I had been remiss were I not to urge Father’s readers to visit beautiful, historic St. Mary Mother of God Church in Chinatown, particularly for Missa Solemnis on the second Sunday of the month from September through June.)

  61. e.e. says:

    OF Mass yesterday. There was a procession, but only inside due to the thunderstorm outside. But a full solemn entrance and procession we did, walking around the attached church hall and circling back into the church. Red vestments; statues and cross not covered. Gospel was read by two lay readers and the priest. Father briefly discussed the symbolism of Palm Sunday and how even riding on the donkey was a fulfillment of the prophecies about the Messiah. Then, he went on to discuss confession and the obligation to confess our sins once a year — and that there were two more opportunities this week (after the Holy Thursday Mass and before the Good Friday liturgy) and he greatly encouraged us to take advantage of the opportunity for confession.

  62. Mike says:

    Solemn High Mass!… priest, deacon, sub-deacon, MC and 8 altar servers in our diocese’s Latin Mass Community for Palm Sunday! It was beautiful! Started with red vestments. We had the blessing of palms then a procession out of the church down the sidewalk and around the church property and then back into the church! Change of vestments to violet. The rest was a normal Solemn High Mass and there was no sermon following the chanting of the Passion. The sermon came before the Mass! Holy Week as begun!

  63. Wiktor says:

    EF sung Mass. Palm branches were blessed at a side altar, then distributed among faithful. Indoor procession to the main altar (that disappointed me a bit).
    Then father changed red cope for violet chasuble.
    Passion sung by three choralists in surplices, who descended from their place into sanctuary.
    No preaching, just announcements.

  64. Uxixu says:

    Red vestments (no change).
    Blessing outside (though Father blessed more for late comers after Mass instead of hand shaking).
    No extra procession just the normal entrance and “gathering hymn” (and Father was sprinkling holy water on his way)
    Passion spoken with the celebrant as the Savior, with the lay readers (one man, one woman) doing the other roles (deacon just stood silently). Can’t recall ever hearing the layman give us the concluding proclamation of the Gospel… at least it wasn’t the woman?
    Brief homily

  65. jaykay says:

    In my church in Ireland:

    *red vestments, (no change) but including a beautiful old dalmatic for the Deacon which has been repaired and brought back into service
    *Choir opened with “All glory, laud and honour”
    *Blessing of palms at the rear of the church but no procession (we haven’t had one for years) while choir sang “Lauda Hierosalem” and “Benedictus qui venit”
    * Gospel read by Deacon, Priest as Christ and lay reader as all “others” – very well done
    *medium-length homily, serious – sombre even – in tone, very appropriate
    *choir chanted Sanctus & Agnus Dei
    *Deacon intoned “Ite Missa Est” which we weren’t expecting, but responded well (as he’s to do the Exultet I’m wondering if he’ll be up to it, but on the other hand it’s great to have a Deacon to do it anyway)
    *final verses of “All glory…” for recessional

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