Paschale Solemnitatis - Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts · Page 74 of 107
Paschale Solemnitatis - Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts
- Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
- 1988 AD
Lent is presented as a spiritual journey toward the paschal mystery, joining catechesis and rites for those preparing for baptism with the renewal of the baptized through prayer, penance, Scripture, and the sacrament of Reconciliation. Sunday liturgy takes precedence, preaching should explain baptism and God’s mercy, and parishes should support catechumens, penitential services, weekday worship, and communal practices such as the Stations of the Cross. The penitential character is expressed through limits on flowers, instruments, and the Alleluia, while Ash Wednesday, the Sundays of Lent, and the covering of crosses and images receive specific directions. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday’s procession and complete Passion proclamation; the Chrism Mass manifests the bishop’s unity with his priests and blesses the oils. The Easter Triduum, from the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper through Easter Sunday Vespers, is the summit of the liturgical year. Instructions cover the Eucharist and foot washing on Holy Thursday, the Passion liturgy and veneration of the cross on Good Friday, the Easter Vigil’s fire, readings, baptismal rites, and Eucharist, and Easter Sunday’s baptismal remembrance. The fifty-day Easter season continues through Pentecost with mystagogical catechesis, care for neophytes, the paschal candle, and the harmonization of popular devotions with the liturgy.
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