Bryce

The Second Semester

Chapter 35 - Easter Part I

            The day following Palm Sunday was marked for Bryce by the second examination in his class in Eighteenth-century Britain.  At this point in the course, Professor Dickinson had covered material up to the loss of the American colonies with the recognition of American independence in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.  Although this also marked the end of the efforts of King George III to reverse the constitutional developments since 1714 and actually rule the realm himself, that aspect of things was only mentioned, and would be covered in more detail during the third part of the semester.  Bryce settled in, and wrote decent essays on the imperial policy of Pitt the Elder and on the position of Edmund Burke during the recently concluded conflict.  Comparing his answers with those of some of the other students after class, he thought he had done well.

            Damon likewise had an exam on that Monday.  In fact, it was at the same time as Bryce’s History exam, but in his case it was an examination in English.  Damon had improved his command of written and spoken English during the months he had been at the University, and he arrived with a better base than one might have expected, given his background.  In consequence, he was not at all worried about this examination, and he, too, felt good afterwards.  Meeting up, the two congratulated each other, and celebrated with cokes and snacks in the University Center.

            The fraternity meeting on Tuesday was pretty uneventful, especially when compared to that the previous week.  President Tom Blankenship announced that he had received official notice of the withdrawal of Cory Blaine from school for the remainder of the semester for reasons of health.  Harry Dwyer made a brief announcement to the effect that he was withdrawing from contention for the office of president for the coming academic year.  All that was merely follow up on the events of the previous week.  More of less also in that category, at the last minute Jason Todd entered the assembly room, remaining for the entire meeting, but taking no part in the discussions.  He refused to meet Bryce’s eyes when Bryce attempted to signal him that he would like to talk after the meeting, and disappeared so quickly it proved impossible to speak with him.  The major item of business was the next party, scheduled for the Friday after Easter.  This was once again the day before a scheduled trash pick-up.  Somehow, the scheduling had gotten out of sync, as it had been the previous practice to make certain these two events did not come on the same weekend.  As Tom pointed out, this was a result of the brothers insisting on scheduling parties on an ad hoc basis, rather than with the entire semester planned in advance, as had been done the previous semester.  One suggestion was to pick up trash again the coming weekend, even though it would be only one week since the last one.  This would avoid the clash between a Friday evening party and a Saturday morning pick up.  It was pointed out that this would also eliminated a possible pick-up on the day after the usual party scheduled for the Friday between the last lecture class and the first final exam in May.  After some discussion, this is what the brothers decided to do.  Terry Hoffman announced that he had a roster of those who had turned up last Saturday, and by implication those who had not, and thought those who carried out their obligations deserved the thanks of the entire brotherhood.  Tom asked those who had turned up last weekend to stand, and less than half of those present did so.  The standing brothers were then given a round of applause, with some of the others looking sheepishly guilty.

            The Wednesday of Holy Week, Bryce informed Damon, was called Spy Wednesday.  According to tradition, it was on this Wednesday that Judas Iscariot arranged with the authorities to spy on Jesus, and report when he would be in a vulnerable position, allowing him to be arrested without the prospect of a hostile reaction from the crowds.

            Thursday of Holy Week is called Maundy Thursday, from the antiphon “Mandatum novum do vobis,” translated as “a new commandment I give you,” which is sung at the beginning of the ceremony of the washing of feet.  Bryce had already explained to Damon that he would be spending a lot of time in church during Holy Week, on Thursday and Friday evening and at night between Saturday and Sunday.  This was, he said, the most holy period of the entire liturgical year, celebrating the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  These were the central mysteries of the Christian faith.  As St. Paul wrote, if Christ has not risen, our faith would be in vain.  These three services were collectively known as the Easter Triduum, which means “three days.” Damon indicated more interest than Bryce expected, and readily agreed to accompany his partner on all three occasions.

            When they arrived in the parking lot of St. Boniface Church on Thursday evening around quarter before seven, they encountered the Sandoval family, just as though it were a Sunday morning.  Together, they entered the brightly lighted church.  One of the features noted as different was the presence of a twenty-five branch candelabrum near the main altar.  Isobel Sandoval explained that this represented twelve Old Testament prophets who foretold the coming of the Messiah, the twelve apostles, and with the tallest candle in the very center representing Christ.  As the ceremony began, a soprano sang the Introit antiphon, and the organ then burst into the processional hymn.  The procession consisted of a thurifer swinging a well-supplied thurible, sending billows of incense throughout the church, followed immediately by a crucifer carrying the processional cross.  As the cross made its way down the center aisle, the members of the congregation genuflected or bowed and crossed themselves.  The crucifer was followed by twelve altar servers in cassock and surplice, carrying lighted candles in wind protectors, then by the choir in white robes.  Bryce was not counting, but there must have been about two dozen of them.  The choir was followed by the two deacons in full vestments, Deacon Jeffries carrying the gold bound book of the Gospels, and Deacon O’Malley following behind.  There followed, to the surprise of Bryce and his friends, not the pastor, Father Payne, but rather Father Fenwick, who had done such a good job back in January.

            After incensing the altar, upon completion of the entrance hymn, Father Fenwick greeted the congregation, then announced that Father Payne had suffered a mild heart attack the previous day, and was currently in the hospital, where he was in satisfactory condition.  However, he would not be able to celebrate the Easter liturgies, and so the Archbishop had requested that he, Father Fenwick, preside.  It was definitely inappropriate, but Bryce felt like clapping.  He could tell that the Sandovals likewise were pleased, not with Father Payne’s problems, of course, but with the assignment of Father Fenwick as his replacement.  This seemed to augur that he would also be the permanent replacement when new assignments were made, effective at the beginning of July.

            When Father Fenwick intoned the hymn of praise, “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” the organ broke out in loud acclaim, accompanied by trumpets and drums, the church bells were rung, and the altar servers also rang bells and cymbals.  This was the first time since before Ash Wednesday, six weeks before, that the Gloria was sung, and it would not be repeated until the Easter Vigil service.  In fact, once the Gloria was complete, all bells and other musical instruments would be silenced until that time.

            The reading from the Old Testament was taken from the twelfth chapter of the Book of Exodus, where the Lord instructs Moses and Aaron how to prepare for the first Passover.  This was followed by a responsorial based on Psalm116, then the New Testament reading, taken from the eleventh chapter of St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, the earliest known account of the institution of the Eucharist.  By universal consent, this account was written before any of the Gospels as we now have them.  It is these words which are used in the consecration later in the Mass.  Then, at the reading of the Gospel, it was Deacon Jeffries who mounted the ambo and read out the account.  The Gospel reading was taken from the account by St. John, relating the event at Jesus’ Last Supper with his apostles when he washed their feet.

            Following this, Father Fenwick replaced Deacon Jeffries in the ambo, and delivered his sermon.  On Maundy Thursday we commemorate two important events, the institution of the Eucharist, and the sacramental priesthood.  As just read from St. Paul, Jesus told his followers that what had been bread was now his body, and what had been wine was now his blood.  This has been the teaching of the Church ever since, affirmed over and over in practice and in the doctrinal proclamations of general councils.  Sometimes we get nostalgic, and say things like, ‘if only I had been alive to meet Jesus in the flesh.’  But we in fact meet Jesus in the flesh every time we receive Holy Communion.  He is not hidden from us.  He is, in fact, actually within us at that point.  As St. John Vianney, the Curé d’Ars, repeated many times in his sermons, pointing to the tabernacle in which reposed the consecrated elements, “Il est la!”  He is there!  In commissioning the apostles present at the Last Supper to “do this in memory of me,” Jesus also instituted the sacramental priesthood.  Only a validly ordained priest could act in the name of Jesus in repeating the miracle of the Eucharist, that is, in bringing down on the altars of churches, and distributing to the faithful, the real body and blood of Jesus himself.  The reality of the presence of Jesus should not intimidate us into avoiding communion, but rather reassure us.  It was a gift of love, given by Jesus before his even greater gift of love the next day.  And, in a very real sense, it was a gift which keeps on giving.

            Following the sermon, in place of the usual recitation of the Nicene Creed, came the ceremony of the washing of feet.  Father Fenwick removed his chasuble and tied a towel around his waist, as Jesus was described as doing in the Gospel just read.  Accompanied by two altar servers, one carrying a basin of water, the other a stack of towels, he proceeded down the center aisle of the church, stopping at arranged places along the way, six on either side.  Those asked to participate in the ceremony had, by the time the priest arrived at their place, removed their right shoe and sock (or, in the case of some of the women, stocking).  There was one exception noted by Bryce.  One man had a prosthesis on his right leg, and so he removed his left shoe and sock.  As this ceremony developed, the choir and congregation sang the hymn, “A New Commandment,” an English version of the Latin “Mandatum Novum Do Vobis.”  When this was completed, they transitioned into the ancient Latin hymn, “Ubi Caritas et Amor.”  Bryce remembered this from his discussions with Father Miller last semester.  “Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est - where there is charity and love, there God is.”  He reflected on the meaning of the Latin caritas, remembering that it is the equivalent of the Greek agape used in St. John’s first letter, Theos agape estin - God is Love.”  The selfless, giving love which is exemplified above all in Jesus giving himself on the cross to redeem all humanity.

            The Mass proceeded as usual after that.  At communion time, the choir sang the hymn “Panis Angelicus - Bread of Angels,” written by St. Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century.  Bryce was reminded of a recording he had by Luciano Pavarotti, to the musical setting by César Franck.  As he received, Bryce was especially aware of what he was doing in receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist.  Returning to his place, he knelt, covered his eyes to shut out distraction, and spoke with his God.  Thank you, Lord.  Thank you for coming to me once again.  Thank you for all the benefits you have showered on me.  Thank you for my family and friends.  Thank you above all for Damon.  Thank you that SAT weathered this latest crisis.  Have mercy on us all, for we are all sinners, in need of your mercy.  Have mercy especially at this time on Harry and Cory.  They need your help, even if they don’t know it.  Have mercy on me, a sinner.  Oh, yeah, thanks for Father Fenwick, too.

            Following communion, rather than the usual dismissal rites, Father Fenwick again removed his chasuble, and in its place was vested in a great cope.  Using the cloth of the cope, he picked up the ciborium containing the consecrated species, and, accompanied by the deacons and the altar servers, began the procession to the altar of reserve, where the Blessed Sacrament would be deposited, while the tabernacle, where it usually was kept, remained empty, the door open.  Accompanied by the crucifer and thurifer, the procession made its way around the church, down one aisle and up another.  As they did, the choir and congregation sang the Latin hymn “Pange Lingua,” likewise composed by St. Thomas Aquinas. Bryce was struck by the last statement in the fourth verse: “Et si sensus deficit, ad firmandum cor sincerum sola fides sufficit - Though this truth evades the senses [the translation provided read] faith unveils the sacred sign.”  Not a good translation, Bryce thought.  Poetic license, perhaps.  A better translation of St. Thomas’ words would be, “even though the senses miss it, a sincere heart affirms it by faith.”  It’s true, there is no way the truth of the real presence of Jesus in the Sacrament could be discerned by the senses, i.e., by science.  That only pointed out the limitations of science, which misses a good chunk of reality because it is concerned only with the material universe.  This theme was repeated as the priest reached the altar of repose, and deposited the ciborium there, then knelt as the last two verses were sung, including the phrase, “praestet fides supplementum sensuum defectui.”  Again, Bryce felt the translation given in the missalette was insufficient.  There it read, “What our senses fail to fathom, let us grasp through faith’s consent.”  Bryce mentally played with the translation that faith supplements or fills in the defects of the senses.  That seemed to fit his understanding not only of the Latin , but of the theology behind it, better.

            With the conclusion of the hymn, Father Fenwick silently rose to his feet and departed, as did the altar servers.  The deacons began to strip the main altar of all the altar cloths, while a server returned and began to extinguish the twenty-four branch candelabrum.  As he did, the lights in the church were extinguished or dimmed.  The deacons departed, and the last candle, the one representing Jesus, was extinguished.  The congregation departed in silence.

            First thing Friday morning Bryce went out to a local bakery and purchased a half dozen hot cross buns.  These he shared with Damon, as it would be his only food that day.  Good Friday was a day of fast and abstinence.  That evening, just as the evening before, Bryce and Damon met the Sandovals shortly before seven o’clock.  As they entered the church, they found that, as used to be done everywhere but now only in more traditional congregations such as St. Boniface, all the statues and other images were covered with purple cloth in mourning.  The service on this day used to be called the Mass of the Presanctified, because of all the hosts distributed on this day were consecrated on the day before.  Good Friday is the only day in the year on which no actual Mass is said.  Now, it’s called the Friday of the Passion of the Lord, which is typical of the pedestrian translations favored by some liturgical committee somewhere with no sense of history.  For Bryce, and for many in the congregation at St. Boniface, old usages were important in witnessing to the long historical development of their faith.  When Damon remarked the evening before that, “You Catholics sure know how to put on a show,” Bryce replied, “We should.  We’ve been at it almost two thousand years.”

            On that Friday, the congregation gathered in silence, just as they had departed the evening before.  In many ways, these three days were all one liturgy, intimately connected, not three separate liturgies.  Father Fenwick, the deacons, and six altar servers entered in silence.  Arriving at the foot of the altar, they prostrated themselves for several minutes.  Rising, they moved into the readings for the day.  The first reading was the passage known as the Suffering Servant from the fifty-second chapter of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, which the Church sees as a foresight of the sufferings of Christ.  This was followed by verses from Psalm 31, then a reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews.  This work was formerly also attributed to the Apostle Paul, but modern scholarship questions that attribution.  In any case, the selected readings refer to Christ as the true high priest, adding, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been similarly tested in every way, yet without sin.”  That seemed a comforting thought.  Then came the reading of the Passion Gospel from St. John, done in dialogue style, as had been done on Palm Sunday.  As they arrived at the scene of Christ’s hearing before Pilate, the words of Jesus, “I came into the world to testify to the truth,” were answered by those of Pilate, “What is truth?”  That struck Bryce as the perfect example of the modern philosophy called Postmodernism.  There was a lot in common between ancient skeptics and modern postmodernists.  Both had no real faith in the ability of human reason to arrive at objective truth. He found it odd that many who claim that science provides objective truth, then deny the possibility of objective truth when it comes to such things as morality.  Some kind of cultural schizophrenia, he guessed.

            Once again at the words, “And bowing his head, he handed over his spirit,” the entire assembly fell to their knees.  Bryce stole a glance at Damon, who had been affected by this ritual on Palm Sunday, and noted that he was very intense at this point.  Rising, the narrator continued the reading, giving the account of the burial under the auspices of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

            Then Father Fenwick mounted the ambo to deliver his second sermon of the Triduum.  “Many of you, I suspect, have seen the movie The Passion of the Christ.  In it, director Mel Gibson emphasized the suffering of Jesus.  Perhaps that is necessary from time to time to remind us just what it cost to free us from slavery to sin, with the consequence of eternal damnation.  But tonight I wish to discuss another aspect of what we have just heard.  Consider the love which inspired the sacrifice of Jesus.  Pilate is the perfect modern man.  He knows Jesus is innocent of any crime, and has been handed over out of jealousy, but he agrees to execute him anyway.  Like any modern politician, or business man for that matter, he acted on a calculation of what would cause the least trouble, not on what was right.  But Jesus acted out of love.  In the first part of the Gospel read this evening, St. John tells us that Jesus acted ‘knowing everything that was going to happen to him.’  These terrible events did not take Our Lord by surprise.  Remember, just before the arrival of Judas and the temple guards, Jesus underwent his Agony in the Garden, during which he exhibited his humanity, he entirely understandable reluctance, to undergo the trials which awaited him, yet he accepted.  ‘Not my will, but thine be done.’  And so, all through his passion, Jesus allowed these things to happen to him, not because he was weak, not because he  was overcome by superior strength, not out of ignorance, but ‘knowing everything that was going to happen to him.’  Why did he do this?  He told his disciples earlier, although they did not realize at that time what he was saying.  ‘I am the good shepherd.  I lay down my life for my sheep.’  Jesus chose to undergo suffering and death for the love of us.  Us!  Imagine that.  Us who deny him daily, like Peter, out of weakness, or ignorance, or self-interest.  Us, who are vacillating and unreliable.  Us, who treat each other in ways completely contrary to the example given us by Our Lord.  And at the end, notice what the Apostle John wrote.  He did not say the Romans killed Jesus.  No.  He said, ‘he handed over his spirit.’  Jesus voluntarily, like the good shepherd, chose to die for us.  In this way, he made it possible to reconcile sinful humanity with the offended majesty of God.  In this way, he saved us from the consequences of our sins.  In this way, he redeemed us.  Now, wouldn’t it make sense for us to treat each other better, if the Son of God thought we were loveable enough to die for us?”

            After the sermon came the solemn intercessions, in which the Church prays for the world.  These prayers involve kneeling and standing in a series of statements and petitions.  This would later be characterized by Damon is Catholic aerobics.  There were prayers for the entire Church, for the Pope, for the local bishop and all clergy, and for those who would be admitted to the Church at the Vigil Mass.  Then there were additional prayers for Christian unity, for Jews, for those who do not believe in Christ, for those who do not believe in God, and for public officials.  Bryce thought it interesting that praying for public officials came after praying for atheists.

            These intercessions marked the conclusion of the first major part of the Good Friday commemoration.  Then came the veneration of the cross.  Father Fenwick and two servers moved to the rear of the church, where he picked up a large, veiled wooden cross.  The cross was about five feet high.  They began the procession down the center aisle, stopping three times on the way.  At each stop, part of the cross was unveiled, and the priest intoned, “Behold the wood of the cross, on which hung the savior of the world.”  The people responded, “Come, let us worship.”  When the procession reached the foot of the altar, the cross was entirely unveiled.  Father Fenwick then kissed the cross, and invited others to do likewise.  The congregation, pew by pew, went forward to venerate the cross, most by kissing.  The cross was held by two altar servers, who wiped it after each kiss, just in case someone was sloppy about it.  From time to time, fresh servers took over the job, as the cross was heavy.  During the veneration of the cross, hymns were sung led by the choir, but the organ remained silent all through the service.  After this ritual, the communion hosts consecrated the day before were distributed.  Then, the priest, deacon, servers, and the entire congregation departed in silence.

            Although Bryce and Damon dutifully fulfilled their obligations to help their fraternity brothers pick up trash along the highway on Saturday morning, that was not what was most on their minds.  Bryce did have a hearty breakfast, having fasted the previous day.  Saturday passed mostly in quiet reflection and study.  The next act in this drama would take place late on Saturday night, in what was called the Vigil Mass.

            As on Palm Sunday, the priest and the congregation gathered outside the church, near the entrance to the old school building.  There, a new fire was lighted from scratch, and then coals from the new fire inserted in the thurible, incense was heaped on the coals, and the new fire censed.  A large (four foot) candle of beeswax was produced.  Into the wax various symbols were inserted as the priest prayed, “Christ yesterday and today; the Beginning and the End; the Alpha; and the Omega.  All time belongs to him, and all the ages.  To him be glory and power, through every age, and forever. Amen.”  Then the priest inserts into the candle five grains of incense while praying, “By his holy and glorious wounds, may Christ the Lord guard us and protect us.  Amen.”  Then, Father Fenwick used the new fire to light the paschal candle, which he lifted high as he sang, “The Light of Christ,” to which the people answered, “Thanks be to God.”

            The people then go ahead of the priest, deacons, and servers, and find places in the darkened church.  As they enter, each person is given an unlighted candle.  When the priest reaches the church doors, he intones again, “The Light of Christ,” receiving the same response.  Then, servers, light small candles from the paschal candle, and pass the light on to those at the ends of the pews on the center aisle.  Those people then pass it on to those next to them, and so on.  As the procession passes down the center aisle, the lights continue to spread, until, by the time it reached the sanctuary, the entire church is ablaze with light.  There, at the foot of the altar, the priest sings for the third time, “The Light of Christ,” and received for the third time the response, “Thanks be to God.”

            Deacon Jeffries, who had processed with the lectionary, placed the book on its stand, and began the hymn called, from the first word in Latin, the Exultet.  He sang out in a deep voice, “Exult!  Let the hosts of heaven exult!  Let the angels who minister before God exult!  Let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud ...” and in similar manner proclaimed rejoicing that Jesus Christ, “who for our sakes paid Adam’s debt ... and ... wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness ....  This is the night when Christ broke the prison chains of death and rose victorious from the netherworld. ... O Love, O Charity beyond all telling ...  O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a redeemer ....”  Then, the individual candles are extinguished, and the lights are turned on in the church.

            There followed a series of seven readings from the Old Testament, each accompanied by a psalm and a prayer.  Then, Father Fenwick began the Gloria, at which the organ and choir, accompanied by trumpets and drums, as on Maundy Thursday, broke into joyous music, which was picked up by the entire congregation.  As the Gloria was being sung and bells rung, altar servers removed the veils from the statues.  The Church was no longer in mourning, but rejoices in the Resurrection.

            There followed a reading from the Epistle to the Romans on the significance of baptism, and then a reading from the Gospel of St. Mark recounting the discovery of the empty tomb on that first Easter by the women who came to anoint the body of Jesus.

            Then, those who were to be baptized were introduced and prayed over.  The first part of the Litany of the Saints was recited, calling on the apostles and martyrs to pray for us.  The water to be used in baptism was blessed, as the paschal candle was lowered into the basin, and blessed oils were infused into the water.  Those who had never been baptized were then baptized.  On this occasion, there were eleven individuals, each accompanied by his or her godparents.  The newly baptized were presented by their godparents with a white garment and a candle, symbolical of a pure soul and the light of Christ.  Then, those who had been baptized in another communion were solemnly received into the Church as they promised to “believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.”  Everyone, including the congregation, then made or renewed their baptismal vows, in which they renounced Satan and all his empty promises, and recited the Apostles Creed.  A second part of the Litany of the Saints was prayed, including all the patron saints of the newly baptized and received.

            By this time, it was well past midnight.  The new members of the Church returned to their places, and Father Fenwick began the Mass, picking up with the offertory prayers.  From this point, it was almost the same as an ordinary Sunday Mass.

            As they left the church, Damon said to Bryce, “We need to talk.  Maybe next year I’ll be one of those dudes with the white garment.”  Bryce was ecstatic.  He kissed Damon.