Palm Sunday Following the Asperges, if it takes place, the priest, vested in amice, alb, cincture, and red stole, (and cope, if available) proceeds to bless the palms placed in front of the altar, or at the Epistle corner. The following antiphon is sung or recited: Antiphon: Matthew xxi: 9
Collect: O God, whom to love above all is righteousness, multiply in us the
gifts of Thine ineffable grace; and since in the death of Thy Son Thou
hast given us the hope for those things in which we believe, grant us
through His resurrection to attain the end for which we long. Who with
Thee and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, one God, world without end.
The Subdeacon sings the Epistle in the usual manner and place, and at its close kisses the hand of the priest: Epistle: Exodus xv: 27; xvi: 1-7 A reading from the Book of Exodus.
The chants below are arranged for antiphonal recitation. Those on the Gospel side recite those passages numbered "1" and those on the Epistle side recite those numbered "2." Gradual: John xi: 47-49, 50, 53 1. The chief priests and the pharisees gathered a council and
said, * "What are we to do, for this Man does many miracles?
Matthew xxvi: 39, 41 1. On mount Olivet He prayed to His Father, * "Father, if it may
be, let this chalice pass from Me.
The Munda Cor Meum and the request for the blessing are said as usual. Gospel: Matthew xxi: 1-9 + The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.
Then follows the blessing proper: [Priest:] The Lord be with you.
[Priest:] The Lord be with you.
[Priest:] Let us pray. O God, who, by a wonderful order and
disposition, hast been pleased to manifest the dispensation of our
salvation even by means of things insensible; grant, we beseech Thee, that
the devout hearts of Thy faithful may profitably understand what is
mystically signified, when on this day the multitude, taught by a heavenly
illumination, went forth to meet their Redeemer, and strewed branches of
palm and olive at His feet. The branches of palms, therefore, signify His
triumphs over the prince of death; and the branches of olive proclaim the
coming of a spiritual unction. For that blessed company of men understood
that these things were then prefigured; that our Redeemer, compassionating
human miseries, was about to fight with the prince of death for the life
of the whole world, and, by dying, to triumph. For which cause, they
dutifully ministered such things as signified in Him the triumphs of
victory and the riches of mercy. And we also, with full faith, retaining
this as done and signified, humbly beseech Thee, O holy Lord, Father
almighty, eternal God, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, that in Him
and through Him, whose members Thou hast pleased to make us, we may become
victorious over the empire of death, and may deserve to be partakers of
His glorious resurrection. Who liveth . . . world without end.
[Priest:] Let us pray. O God, who, by an olive branch didst
command the dove to proclaim peace to the world: sanctify, we beseech
Thee, by a heavenly ; benediction these branches of olive and other
trees; that they may be serviceable to all Thy people unto their
salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
[Priest:] Let us pray. Bless, ; we beseech Thee, O Lord, these
branches of palm or olive; and grant that what Thy people this day bodily
perform for Thine honor, they may perfect spiritually with greatest
devotion by gaining a victory over the enemy and ardently loving every
work of mercy. Through our Lord . . . world without end.
The celebrant sprinkles the palms three times, while reciting the antiphon Asperges me. He then incenses them three times, and proceeds: [Priest:] The Lord be with you.
The celebrant distributes the palms to the clergy and people. All kneel to receive and kiss the branch of blessed palm. Meanwhile, the following antiphons are sung or recited for as long as the distribution continues. 1. The Hebrew Children bearing branches of olive, went forth to
meet the Lord, crying out, and saying: Hosanna in the highest
The antiphons may be repeated if the distribution is not finished. The priest then concludes: [Priest:] The Lord be with you.
If practical, a procession around the outside (or inside) of the church takes place. Incense is carried by the thurifer. [Deacon or Priest:] Let us go forth in peace.
Some, or all, of the following antiphons are sung or recited: Antiphon: Matthew xxi: 1-3, 7, 8, 9 1. When our Lord drew nigh to Jerusalem, He sent two of His
disciples, saying: Go ye into the village that is over against you; Another Antiphon: John xii: 12, 13 2. When the people heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they
took palm branches, * and went out to meet Him:
2. Six days before the solemnity of the Passover, * when our Lord
was coming into the city of Jerusalem,
The procession (if there is one) closes with the following hymn, which is continued as the priest and ministers return to the sacristy to exchange red for purple vestments:
Introit: Psalm xxi: 20, 22
Epistle: Philippians: ii: 5-11 A reading from the epistle to the Philippians.
Gradual: Psalm lxxii: 24, 1-3 Thou hast held me by my right hand; and by Thy will Thou hast conducted me, and with Thy Glory Thou hast received me. How good is God to Israel, to those of an upright heart! but my feet were almost moved, my steps had well-nigh slipped: because I was jealous of sinners, seeing the prosperity of sinners. Tract: Psalm xxi: 2-9, 18, 19, 22, 24, 32 O God, my God, look upon me; why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. O my God, I shall cry by day, and Thou wilt not hear; and by night and it shall not be reputed as folly in me. v. But Thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel. v. In Thee our Fathers have hoped. They have hoped and Thou hast delivered them. v. They cried to Thee and they were saved. They trusted in Thee, and were not confounded. v. But I am a worm, and not a man; the reproach of men and the outcast of the people. v. All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn; they have spoken with their lips and wagged their heads. v. He hoped in the Lord. Let Him deliver Him. v. But they have looked and stared upon me. They divided my garments amongst them, and upon my vesture they cast lots. v. Deliver me from the lion's mouth, and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns. v. Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him; all ye, the seed of Jacob, glorify Him. v. There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come; and the heavens shall show forth His justice. v. To a people that shall be born, which the Lord has made. The Passion: Matthew xxvi: 1-75; xxvii: 1-66 The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Now when Jesus was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to Him with an alabaster jar of precious ointment, and she poured it on His head, as He reclined at table. But when the disciples saw this, they were indignant, and said, "To what purpose is this waste? for this might have been sold for much and given to the poor." But Jesus, perceiving it, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? She has done me a good turn. For the poor you have always with you, but you do not always have Me. For in pouring this ointment on My body, she has done it for My burial. Amen, I say to you, wherever in the whole world this gospel is preached, this also that she has done shall be told in memory of her." Then one of the Twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, and said to them, "What are you willing to give me for delivering Him to you?" But they assigned him thirty pieces of silver. And from then on, he sought out an opportunity to betray Him. Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, the disciples came
to Jesus and said, "Where dost Thou want us to prepare for Thee to eat the
Passover?" But Jesus said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to
him, The Master says, My time is at hand; at thy house I am keeping the
Passover with my disciples." And the disciples did as Jesus bade them,
and prepared the Passover.
And while they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke, and gave it to His disciples, and said, "Take and eat; this is My Body." And taking a cup, He gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, "All of you drink of this; for this is My Blood of the new covenant, which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins. But I say to you that I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until the day when I shall drink it new with you in the kingdom of My Father." And after reciting a hymn, they went out to Mount Olivet. Then
Jesus said to them, "You will all be scandalized this night because of Me;
for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock
will be scattered. But after I have risen, I will go before you into
Galilee." But Peter answered and said to Him, "Even though all shall be
scandalized because of Thee, I will never be scandalized." Jesus said to
him, "Amen, I say to thee, this very night, before a cock crows, thou wilt
deny me three times." Peter said to Him, "Even if I should have to die
with Thee, I will not deny Thee!" And all the disciples said the same
thing.
And while He was yet speaking, behold Judas, one of the Twelve, came up and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, that is He; lay hold of Him." And he went straight up to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. And Jesus said to him, "Friend, for what purpose hast thou come?" Then they came forward and set hands on Jesus and took Him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus, reached out his hand, drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put back thy sword into its place; for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or dost thou suppose that I cannot entreat my Father, and He will even now furnish Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then are the Scriptures to be fulfilled, that thus it must take place?" In that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "As against a robber you have come out, with swords and clubs to seize me. I sat daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not lay hands on Me." Now all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left Him and fled. Now those who had taken Jesus led him away to Caiphas the high priest, where the Scribes and the elders had gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance, even to the courtyard of the high priest, and he went in and sat with the attendants to see the end. Now the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin were seeking false witnesses against Jesus, that they might put Him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. But last of all two false witnesses came forward, and said, "This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it after three days." Then the high priest, standing up, said to Him, "Dost Thou make no answer to the things that these men prefer against Thee?" But Jesus kept silence. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure Thee by the living God that Thou tell us whether Thou art the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "Thou hast said it. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power of God and coming upon the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his garments, saying, "He has blasphemed; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" And they answered and said, "He is liable to the death." Then they spat in His face and buffeted Him; while others struck His face with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, O Christ! who is it that struck Thee?" Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard; and a maidservant came up to him and said, "Thou wast with Jesus, the Galilean." But he denied before them all, saying, "I do not know what thou art saying." And when he had gone out to the gateway, another maid saw him, and said to those who were there, "This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man!" And after a little while the bystanders came up and s aid to Peter, "Surely thou also art one of them, for even thy speech betrays thee." Then he began to curse and to swear that he did not know the man. And at that moment a cock crowed. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said, "Before a cock crows, thou wilt deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel together against Jesus in order to put Him to death. And they bound Him, and led Him away, and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate, the procurator. Then Judas, who betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is this to us? See to it thyself." And he flung the pieces of silver into the temple, and withdrew; and went away and hanged himself with a halter. And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, "It is not lawful for us to put them into the treasury, seeing that it is the price of blood." And after they had consulted together, they bought with them the potter's field, as a burial place for strangers. For this reason that field has been called, even to this day, Haceldama, that is the Field of Blood. Then what was spoken by Jeremias the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him who was priced, upon whom the children of Israel set a price; and they gave them for the potter's field as the Lord directed me." Now Jesus stood before the procurator; and the procurator asked Him, saying, "Art Thou the king of the Jews?" Jesus said to him, "Thou sayest it." And when He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He made no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, "Dost Thou not hear how many things they prefer against Thee?" But He did not answer him a single word, so that the procurator wondered exceedingly. Now at festival time, the procurator used to release to the crowd a prisoner, whomever they would. Now he had at that time a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said, "Whom do you wish that I release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?" For he knew that they had delivered Him up out of envy. Now as he was sitting at the judgment-seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things in a dream today because of Him." But the chief priests ands the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to destroy Jesus. But the procurator addressed them, and said to them, "Which of the two do you wish that I release to you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to the, "What then am I to do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let Him be crucified!" Now Pilate, seeing that he was doing no good, but rather that a riot was breaking out, took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just man; see to it yourselves." And all the people answered and said, "His blood be upon us and on our children." Then he released to them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and delivered to them to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the procurator took Jesus into the praetorium, and gathered together about Him the whole cohort. And they stripped Him and put on Him a scarlet cloak; and plaiting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed into His right hand; and bending the knee before Him, they mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spat upon Him, and took the reed and kept striking Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. Now as they went out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon; him they forced to take up His cross. And they came to the place called Golgotha, that is, the Place of the Skull. And they gave Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when He had tasted it, He would not drink. And after they had crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots, (to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying, "They divided my garments among them, and upon my vesture they cast lots.") And sitting down, they kept watch over Him. And they put above His head the charge against Him, written, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right hand and one on His left. Now the passers-by were jeering at Him, shaking their heads, and saying, "Aha, Thou who destroyest the temple, and in three days build it up again, save Thyself! If Thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross! In like manner, the chief priests with the Scribes and the elders, mocking, said, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save! If He is the King of Israel, let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He wants Him; for He said, I am the Son of God." And the robbers also, who were crucified with Him, reproached Him in the same way. Now, from the sixth hour there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. But about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani," that is, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" And some of the bystanders, on hearing this said, "This man is calling Elias." And immediately one of them ran and, taking a sponge, soaked it in common wine, put it on a reed and offered it to Him to drink. But the rest said, "Wait, let us see whether Elias is coming to save Him." But Jesus again cried out with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. Pause momentarily. And behold the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent, and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose; and coming forth out of the tombs after His resurrection, they came into the holy city, and appeared to many. Now when the centurion, and those who were with him, keeping guard over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were much afraid, and they said, "Truly He was the Son of God." And many women were there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Now when it was evening, there came a certain rich man of Arimathea, Joseph by name, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered the body to be given up. And Joseph taking the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock. Then he rolled a large stone to the entrance of the tomb, and departed. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre. And the next day, which was the one after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the pharisees went in a body to Pilate, saying, "Sir, we have remembered how that deceiver said, while He was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Give orders, therefore that the sepulchre be guarded until the third day, or else His disciples may come and steal Him away, and say to the people, He has risen from the dead; and the last imposture will be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go, guard it as well as you know how." So they went and made the sepulchre secure, sealing the stone, and setting the guard. Credo.
When this Mass does not follow immediately on the Blessing of Palms, the Gospel for the blessing is read as the last Gospel of the Mass.
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