Chapter 11

The Liturgical ceremonies and other customs – yesteryear and today

     When one talks about anything that has to do with Good Friday, usually it’s the statues, procession, and customs etc. which come to our mind. It is a grave mistake not to take into consideration the liturgical functions which take place during these Holy Days. In all Christian churches, of all rites and denominations, the liturgical functions of the Holy Week are always held with great solemnity as befitting the important episode we commemorate, that is our Salvation.

Functions and old customs

     Nowadays few remember how ceremonies were carried out before the times of the Vatican Ecumenical Council II. So it is worthwhile to point out how these celebrations were held in the Universal Church and some particular customs pertaining to Senglea.

     In preparation for these feasts, every Sunday of Lent, after the High Mass a sermon used to be held. These sermons were called Kwarezima – course of sermons preached during Lent. For these sermons even the canons used to be present. They used to wear choral garb and sat on a big bench which was prepared for the occasion on the presbytery. For every Friday of Lent, a statue, used in the Good Friday procession, used to be exposed in the Church, one at a time. The brothers of the Fraternity used to have their own service. Every Friday in the evening after the recital of the Way of the Cross (Via Sagra), a short sermon used to be held. During these services the hymn Stabat Mater (be consoled sorrowful Mother) used to be sung. Then the hymn of the Sacred Wounds of Christ used to be recited and the hymn Miserere (Have Mercy) followed. After this hymn the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament used to be administered.

     On the 5^th Sunday of Lent, also known as Passion Sunday, all pictures and niches in the church were covered with purple curtains. Even the crucifixes on the altars were covered in same manner. This was done so that whoever entered the church could focus his mind on the important feast in the liturgical year of the Christian faith. From this Sunday till Easter Saturday, the prayer Glory be to the Father was not recited neither at the end of the psalms, nor during the celebrations of divine worship and/or other celebrations. In the week between Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday, black tapestry used to be hung up on the walls of the church and all the statues were exposed in the church.

     On Palm Sunday olive branches were blessed and distributed to the congregation, same as we do today. Up to some years ago the Canons used to be presented with a palm specially designed for the occasion. Small palm leaves were gathered in such a way to represent a small receptacle and among them some small olive leaves were deposited. In the middle there used to be a small palm bud with a small cross made of olive leaves. During the High Mass, three canons used to sing the story of the Passion and death of Our Lord (il-Passju). On Palm Sunday it was always taken from the gospel of St Matthew.

       On the Monday of the Holy Week all the windows of the church used to be covered with thick dark cloth to darken the church. The darkness used to increase the sense of solemnity and sadness at the same time. For the gospel on Tuesday and Wednesday, the story of the Passion and Death of Jesus were read. St Mark’s gospel on Tuesday and St Luke’s on Wednesday.

     On Tenebrae (Latin for darkness) Wednesday (l-Erbgha tat-Tniebri) in the afternoon, on Maundy Thursday and on Good Friday the divine worship of each particular day used to be said. During this worship, a large table candlestick (representing the hearse) holding fifteen candles used to be placed on the presbytery. It was called il-Baribar. After each psalm an altar boy used to come out of the choir and put off one candle at a time. The top one used to remain lit but when the canticle Benedictus (derived from the first word of the psalm in its Latin version) at the end of the Lauds was intoned, the master of ceremonies used to remove the candle himself. During these three days, while the Benedictus was being sung, no incensation of the altar was held. At the end of the Lauds, the canons used to bang their seats or knock on the benches as a symbol of the tremor felt just after Our Lord passed away on the Cross.

     During these three days of the Holy Week, all candles used on the altar and the acolytes were of dark brown colour.

     Prior to the Vatican Council II, the Mass on Maundy Thursday used to be held in the morning. The bells used to ring during the singing of the ‘Glory to God in the Highest’ (Gloria in excelsis Deo) but then would remain silent till Easter Saturday. This is the same custom we have nowadays. When the Mass ended a solemn procession was held taking the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose locally known as is-Sepulkru. Following that a ceremony used to be held during which all the sashes and other decorations on the altars were removed. At the end the ceremony the washing of the feet of twelve men was held. This was symbolic to the washing of the feet of the Apostles by Christ during the Last Supper. Then this ceremony was not part of the Mass. The celebrant, in violet vestments, used to approach the twelve men. They used to be on a small platform next to the main pillar by the presbytery. The ceremony began by the singing of the episode from the Gospel of St John where he calls this event. While the celebrant was washing the feet of the twelve persons, some hymn or psalm was sung. A prayer used to be said at the end of the ceremony.

     Since bells were not rung from Maundy Thursday till Easter Saturday, the congregation was called by the playing of a large wooden rattle. Up to the beginning of the war this rattle was still placed in the left hand side belfry of Senglea’s church. In the belfry of the Church of St Philip, there was also another large rattle there too.

     On Maundy Thursday, after the divine service was over in the afternoon, the visits to the seven churches begun. These visits were usually organised by the Fraternity, religious organisations and clubs, usually for their members, but many others used to join these processions. The Altar of Repose used to be kept lit up continually for the night between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and even on Good Friday in the morning.

     Service on Good Friday used to be held in the morning. As a sign of mourning, all the liturgical vestments used were black. The service used to start with the reading of a couple of extracts from the Prophet Osee and another reading from the book of Exodus. The reading of the Passion and Death of Jesus according to St John was sung by three canons. This was followed by the singing of nine long prayers with different intentions. Each prayer was split into two parts and in between each part all the congregation used to knee for some time of meditation. The veneration of the Cross was held once this part of the service was over.

     The ceremony of the veneration of the Cross is locally known as ‘peace’ (paci). There was an old custom that on the way to the veneration of the Cross, the canons used to go barefoot and on the way to the altar they used to stop and genuflect three times. The other priests and altar boys used to follow the canons. The members of the Fraternity, wearing their Fraternity garb but without the hood and barefoot, were next to follow in this veneration. They used to start their walk from near the front door and along the way they used to stop three times, knee and kiss the ground. The congregation thus used to follow in the veneration of the Cross.

     Once that the ceremony of the veneration of the Cross was over, the ceremony used to continue with a solemn procession of the Bless Sacrament. The Blessed Sacrament used to be brought over from the altar of Repose to the main altar. During this procession the hymn Vexilla Regis Prodeunt (The banners of the King come forth) used to be sun instead of the usual hymn Pange Lingua (Sing with tongue). The Canon of the Mass used to be said and the Pater Noster (Our Father) sung. The celebrant used to receive Holy Communion, say a little prayer which closes the service. In those days only the celebrant used to receive Holy Communion during the Good Friday ceremony. Once the ceremony was over, the statue of the Entombment used to be put up on the presbytery and six candles placed round it and lit up.

     The celebration of divine worship (Uffizzjatura) used to be held in the afternoon and once it was over the procession used to start. The start and end of the procession were carried out at an earlier time than today. The length of the procession was also very much shorter than it is today because there were not biblical personalities taking part than, but than, unlike now, there used to be a great number of members of the Fraternity taking part. Once the procession was on its way, the black tapestry hanging on the walls and the sacks covering the windows used to be removed. The service on Easter Saturday was held in the morning so the church had to be prepared for this celebration. When the procession was over the statues were all taken into the Oratory of the Crucifix and were dismantled and put back in their niches on Saturday morning after the Easter Mass was over.

     The ceremony of the blessing of the fire, of the Pascal Candle (Blandun) and the Mass of Easter used to be held on Saturday morning. The ceremony used to take much longer than today’s ceremony even though the Sacrament of Baptism was not administered during this ceremony than. The functions used to start out on the church parvis just outside the main door. The celebrant and the other ministers used wear violet vestments. Once the fire has been blessed the deacon used to lead the procession. He used to carry a stick with three candles on top of it. These candles used to be lit one a time while the hymn Lumen Cristi (The Light of Christ) was sung. When the procession arrived on the presbytery the Deacon used to change into white vestments and sing the Exultet (the first word of the hymn used also as title. It is a song of praise). This hymn invites all mankind to rejoice in the Risen Christ symbolized by this bright light and records the wonderful things that happened on this night to blot out the sin committed by Adam. While this hymn is being sung, five grains of incense are pressed into the Pascal Candle in the form of a cross representing the wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Pascal Candle is than lit from one of the candles which were carried during the procession by the Deacon. Once this ceremony is over, the Deacon changes again into his original violet vestments.

     Twelve episodes from the Old Testament were than read. In between each episode, a prayer used to be said and everybody used to keen down, just like was done during the ceremony of Good Friday. Then while a long Preface was being sung, the water which would be used for baptism, the Baptismal Fond and the Pascal Candle were blessed. The Litany of the Saints and many other invocations were sung. During the latter part of the Litany of the Saints, the celebrant and his ministers used to change their vestment from violet to white in preparation for the Mass of Easter. This Mass used to have a slightly different ending. The Divine Office of the evening (Vespers) was not recited. Instead after the receiving of the Holy Communion the canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Magnificat) used to be sung and incensation of the altar was carried out.

     On Saturday afternoon the blessing of homes used to start. This used to be carried out all throughout the week in the afternoons, including Saturdays and Sundays.

Today’s celebrations

          Many of the rites, celebrations and customs were discontinued with the reform of the post Vatican Council II era. The customs of putting up of the black tapestry for Good Friday; the violet curtains which covered all the pictures in the church; the blanking of windows and the use of Latin were some of the discarded customs. Nowadays the functions are carried out in the afternoon/evenings when it is more practical for the congregation to attend and the ceremonies are carried out in the vernacular. Most of the psalms and hymns are no longer being sung so the duration of these ceremonies have been drastically reduced.

        The ceremonies of Palm Sunday have remained more or less the same but the functions of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Saturday have been changed drastically.

     The main change in the celebration on Maundy Thursday is that the remembrance of the washing of the feet of the Apostles has now been incorporated as part of the Mass. For Good Friday the vestments used are red, like that used when feasts of martyrs are celebrated. The solemn procession with the Blessed Sacrament has been stopped. The most significant change is that with the new rite, during the celebration of the Good Friday service, the whole congregation present can now receive Holy Communion, not just the celebrant. For the ceremony of Easter Saturday, the Litany of the Saints and the lessons have been shortened and white is the colour used for the vestments. An important addition is that Baptism is carried out during this ceremony and the whole congregation together renew their Baptismal vows.

     One thing not changed is during these three days only one Mass or service is held in each church in normal circumstances.

     All the feasts come to an end with the solemn High Mass on Sunday. In Senglea the feast of the Risen Christ (Kristu Rxoxt) was re started in 1969. This is a very joyous feast which attracts a lot of people to it.

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