Passiontide

Passiontide (in the Christian liturgical year) is a name for the last two weeks of Lent, beginning on Passion Sunday and ending on Holy Saturday.

In the Roman Catholic Church, all crucifixes and images may be covered in veils (usually violet, the colour of vestments in Lent) starting on Passion Sunday: "The practice of covering crosses and images in the church may be observed, if the episcopal conference decides. The crosses are to be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord's passion on Good Friday. Images are to remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil." [Note at the end of the Mass of Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent in the Roman Missal] The veiling was associated with that Sunday's Gospel (), in which Jesus "hid himself" from the people. [CathEncy|wstitle=Passiontide]

In the Tridentine Mass, Psalm 42 (43) is omitted at ferial Masses until Holy Thursday inclusive, as is the short doxology ("Gloria Patri") at the Introit and the Psalm "Lavabo" at Mass.

Since the revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and of the Roman Missal in 1969, the name "Passiontide" is no longer used as a technical name for the last two weeks of Lent. However, the Preface called that of the Passion of the Lord I (The Power of the Cross) is used in the fifth week of Lent and the Preface of the Passion of the Lord II (The Victory of the Passion) is used on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week.

Passiontide is observed in many provinces of the Anglican Communion, for example in the Church of England. In the "Common Worship" liturgy, material proper to Passiontide is used from Evening Prayer on the Eve of the Fifth Sunday of Lent to the evening of Easter Eve. Such "proper material" includes prefaces to the Eucharistic Prayer, special orders for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, and seasonal material for Night Prayer and Prayer During the Day.

Music for Passiontide

Much music has been written for Passiontide or rather for the last days of Holy Week. Passion cantatas have been composed to texts in a variety of languages, taking as their theme the hours or days before the Crucifixion of Christ. Many settings have been made of the Latin poem "Stabat Mater", which describes Mary standing in front of the Cross watching her son die, and the lessons from the Tenebrae service have been set by a variety of composers. Several composers have also set to music the last words of Christ on the Cross, e.g. Joseph Haydn ("Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze") and Heinrich Schütz ("Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz").

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