In the sacristy, spirits are high. The friars are teasing each other. They’re joking because of the color of the vestments for this fourth Sunday of Lent: it is rose, a color that these young men are little used to wearing. Only twice a year the liturgy has the priests wear rose: on the third Sunday of Advent called “Gaudete”, and on the fourth Sunday of Lent called “Laetare”. These two Sundays mark the middle of the time of preparatory penance for the feast they announce, Christmas or Easter.
The rose color takes its significance from the red, symbol of divine love, and from the white, symbol of divine wisdom. It is related to the flower, the rose, of which the Ordo Romanus notes that its “color is pleasant, its perfume comforting, its appearance gives joy.” [1] Saint Bede the Venerable said in the 7th century that the tomb of Christ was painted in a color that was a mixture of white and red [2] .
Twenty days away from Easter, only the Franciscan altars are covered with rose cloths as we enter into the 4th Sunday of Lent. A Lenten liturgy that is like that of the universal Church and yet singular in this unique place, where every day is a day of Easter. The Orientals translate this well, for whether it is Lent or not, they never stop singing “Halleluia”. Their singing resounds at the same time as that of the friars. This year, the Catholic and Orthodox calendars are once again in agreement, and the entire Church of the Holy Land is converging on the Holy Sepulcher. The singing of the different groups mingles, merges or is in rivalry.
The tourists and pilgrims are at the feast; in every corner of the basilica, they discover a different tradition. Some are shocked by the lack of unity, others rejoice because of such diversity. Others just find it confusing. However, the Status quo plays its “regulative” role, providing order to the ceremonies among themselves. If the celebration on Sunday morning at the altar of Saint Mary Magdalen, in the presence of the Patriarch or of his representative, can substantiate the feeling of confusion because the Copts are celebrating in front of their oratory, the Armenians in front of the kiosk, and the Syrians in their chapel, there are moments of intense prayer that no one should miss.
Thus during the night, while the Franciscans’ Office of Readings takes place in the chapel of the apparition of the Virgin, the Greek, Romanian and Russian Orthodox hold their devotions at the holy tomb; they surround it with their prayers, with their caresses, with so many secrets murmured at the stone when the Orthodox sacristan gives them a sign to step aside… All around the edifice, it is empty, and for a few moments, the building is plunged into darkness and silence. The Latin procession in turn envelops it, the organ’s crescendo lets the joy of the resurrection burst forth, the Custos comes out of the tomb bearing the gospel… Christ is risen… The Orthodox all around don’t lose one second of this acclamation that is so foreign to their rite… and while the Latins return to their chapel, they return to their devotions… with the sound of the little Armenian bell punctuating some incensing.
While the crowds of tourists and pilgrims are record-breaking in Jerusalem and the holy places, and while it is quite difficult to be recollected during the day, during the nights from Saturday to Sunday and especially during Lent, the basilica of the Holy Sepulcher is a hum of prayers and an experience of Easter.
Mab
[1] Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S.Pietro sino ai nostri giorni. Venezia 1855, Gaetano Moroni, Ordo Romanus XIV 81.
[2] Saint Bede the Venerable, “Histoire de l’Angleterre”, V 16
The rose color takes its significance from the red, symbol of divine love, and from the white, symbol of divine wisdom. It is related to the flower, the rose, of which the Ordo Romanus notes that its “color is pleasant, its perfume comforting, its appearance gives joy.” [1] Saint Bede the Venerable said in the 7th century that the tomb of Christ was painted in a color that was a mixture of white and red [2] .
Twenty days away from Easter, only the Franciscan altars are covered with rose cloths as we enter into the 4th Sunday of Lent. A Lenten liturgy that is like that of the universal Church and yet singular in this unique place, where every day is a day of Easter. The Orientals translate this well, for whether it is Lent or not, they never stop singing “Halleluia”. Their singing resounds at the same time as that of the friars. This year, the Catholic and Orthodox calendars are once again in agreement, and the entire Church of the Holy Land is converging on the Holy Sepulcher. The singing of the different groups mingles, merges or is in rivalry.
The tourists and pilgrims are at the feast; in every corner of the basilica, they discover a different tradition. Some are shocked by the lack of unity, others rejoice because of such diversity. Others just find it confusing. However, the Status quo plays its “regulative” role, providing order to the ceremonies among themselves. If the celebration on Sunday morning at the altar of Saint Mary Magdalen, in the presence of the Patriarch or of his representative, can substantiate the feeling of confusion because the Copts are celebrating in front of their oratory, the Armenians in front of the kiosk, and the Syrians in their chapel, there are moments of intense prayer that no one should miss.
Thus during the night, while the Franciscans’ Office of Readings takes place in the chapel of the apparition of the Virgin, the Greek, Romanian and Russian Orthodox hold their devotions at the holy tomb; they surround it with their prayers, with their caresses, with so many secrets murmured at the stone when the Orthodox sacristan gives them a sign to step aside… All around the edifice, it is empty, and for a few moments, the building is plunged into darkness and silence. The Latin procession in turn envelops it, the organ’s crescendo lets the joy of the resurrection burst forth, the Custos comes out of the tomb bearing the gospel… Christ is risen… The Orthodox all around don’t lose one second of this acclamation that is so foreign to their rite… and while the Latins return to their chapel, they return to their devotions… with the sound of the little Armenian bell punctuating some incensing.
While the crowds of tourists and pilgrims are record-breaking in Jerusalem and the holy places, and while it is quite difficult to be recollected during the day, during the nights from Saturday to Sunday and especially during Lent, the basilica of the Holy Sepulcher is a hum of prayers and an experience of Easter.
Mab
[1] Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S.Pietro sino ai nostri giorni. Venezia 1855, Gaetano Moroni, Ordo Romanus XIV 81.
[2] Saint Bede the Venerable, “Histoire de l’Angleterre”, V 16