Walk with Christ through His Passion and enter more deeply into the most solemn days of the Catholic year.
Volume 6 of Dom Prosper Guéranger’s monumental The Liturgical Year is devoted to Passiontide and Holy Week—the final and most solemn portion of Lent, when the Church turns her attention almost entirely toward the suffering and death of Our Lord.
After the first four weeks of Lent, the Church enters Passiontide with an even greater spirit of mourning and recollection. Dom Guéranger explains that these final two weeks are set apart so that the faithful may contemplate Christ’s Passion more intensely and prepare to commemorate the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.
The volume begins with the history, mystery, and traditional spiritual practices of Passiontide before following the Church day by day toward Calvary and the tomb.
Readers will explore:
- The history and spiritual meaning of Passiontide and Holy Week
- Traditional practices and prayers for these solemn days
- Passion Sunday and the final days before Holy Week
- The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Palm Sunday, including the blessing of palms, procession, Mass, and Vespers
- Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week
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The traditional Office of Tenebrae
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Maundy Thursday, including the blessing of the Holy Oils, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, stripping of the altars, and washing of feet
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Good Friday, including the solemn prayers, Veneration of the Cross, Reproaches, and Mass of the Presanctified
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Holy Saturday, including the blessing of the new fire, Paschal Candle, prophecies, blessing of the baptismal font, and the ancient ceremonies leading toward Easter
Dom Guéranger does more than describe these ceremonies. He explains why the Church prays as she does, connecting the ancient liturgy with Scripture, Catholic doctrine, Church history, and the events of Christ’s Passion.
The result is a remarkable companion for Holy Week. Familiar ceremonies—the palms, veiled images, extinguished candles of Tenebrae, stripped altars, Veneration of the Cross, and lighting of the Paschal Candle—take on greater meaning as Dom Guéranger reveals the theology and history behind them.
Particular attention is given to the Sacred Triduum. The treatment of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday alone occupies a substantial portion of the volume, guiding the reader through the Church’s ceremonies almost step by step.
The Liturgical Year was written so Catholics could enter more fully into the worship of the Church rather than simply observe the calendar from a distance. In few places is that purpose more evident than here.
Volume 6: Passiontide & Holy Week is an ideal companion for Catholics who want to make Holy Week more than an annual observance—to understand its ancient ceremonies, meditate more deeply on the Passion of Christ, and arrive at Easter having truly walked with Our Lord from Jerusalem to Calvary.
By: Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated by: Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Series: The Liturgical Year, Volume 6 of 15
Season: Passiontide & Holy Week
