...he made with that triple candle!'' I can't remember who said that (some poor Sacristan I shouldn't wonder), but it was an amusing (and true) story I heard about a priest whose proper observance of Holy Saturday in the 1950s caused much indignation when the mess had to be cleared up afterwards. Rubricarius of the St Lawrence Press has put up an instruction PDF on how to mould the triple candle for the ceremonies of Holy Saturday. I have personally never been to traditional Holy Saturday (or indeed, any of the Triduum, except a slightly more traditional office of Tenebrae - readers who live in and around London will know where I mean), having had to cope with post '55 for about four years. Last year I was roped into chanting one of the Prophecies (in spite of my chest infection) on the Paschal Vigil. It went rather well, but I don't plan on doing any more chanting soon (unless at the uttermost end of need)...
Rubricarius has also put up a guide on the construction of the hearse for Tenebrae. The only ''hearse'' I ever saw for Tenebrae was a small table upon which were stacked books (veiled in the colour of the Office), upon which were placed two candelabrae with bleached candles and a tall candlestick in the middle. It seemed to work well enough...
Patricius,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the write up.
Do alert your readers to some of the details of 'Marga' Rope's window at Kesgrave which depects her brother, Fr. H.E. Rope, as deacon.
The anecdote about the wax left on the floor was told to me several years ago by a Jesuit priest in the Cotswolds. He was ordained on Holy Saturday 1956 in the novel Vigil service. A few hours later his first Mass was at the local church. There he encountered an idignant, and ungrateful, sister/religious who acted as sacristan moaning that the PP had made a mess with the triple candle - in 1956! There were many priests who quietly ignored the novelties coming out of Pius XII's Rome. Perhaps the best example was Mgr. Tickel, later bishop to H.M. Armed Forces, who whilst Rector of the English College celebrated the traditional rites of Holy Week in Rome in 1956 and 1957.
Then of course there is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem which continued with the traditional Holy Week rites until 1995 or slightly after. Someone I know has photographs of a cardinal celebrant - I must chase him...