What have you noticed when it comes to the celebration of Mass during Lent? Firstly, the Gloria is not sung or said during Mass, there is no Alleluia, altars are not generally decorated with flowers, and musical instruments are toned down as we begin the climb with Jesus to the holy mountain of Easter.  What else have you noticed from your past about Lent, or what will you notice beginning with the Fifth Sunday of Lent? Crosses and images of the saints are veiled on the eve of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, but in some cases, veiling is limited from after the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday until the cross is unveiled during the Good Friday Passion of the Lord. The Stations of the Cross and stainedglass windows are never veiled. The custom of veiling crosses and images of saints during the last two weeks of Lent comes from the former liturgical calendar in which the Passion of the Lord was read on the Fifth Sunday of Lent [hence being called Passion Sunday] as well as Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week, and Good Friday. According to the Roman Missal from the Fifth Sunday of Lent until the end of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, the practice of covering crosses and images of saints may be observed. The reason for this is rooted in the words of the Gospel read on the Fifth Sunday of Lent: “Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple” [John 8:59].

The practice of veiling crosses and images of saints seems to derive from a custom in Germany in the 9th century of a Hungertuch [a Hunger Cloth/Lenten Veil]. During Lent, a large purple curtain decorated with crosses and scenes of the Lord’s passion was hung in the sanctuary, hiding the sanctuary completely from the people during Lent leaving the people with a certain hunger to see the altar of the Lord. The drama expanded and developed as the hunger cloth was removed during the reading of the Passion on Holy Wednesday during the words “ the veil of the temple was rent in two.” The custom of veiling makes people curious, and even helps people to concentrate on Christ’s work of redemption. It also puts an emphasis on the solemnity and sadness of the passion and death of Jesus Christ. It sets the scene for the anticipation and “explosion” of the resurrection.

The crucifix being covered makes liturgical sense since it has to be unveiled as part of the Good Friday Celebration of the Lord’s Passion. If it is not covered, it doesn’t make sense to have the unveiling of the crucifix on Good Friday. The Processional Cross is not veiled.

On another note, the removal of Holy Water from fonts during the season of Lent is not permitted according to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. There needs to be a balanced understanding of the season of Lent as a season of penance, but also rich in the symbolism of water in preparing for Easter. The “fast” and “abstinence” which people embrace during the Lenten season does not extend to abstaining from the sacraments and sacramentals of the Church. The practice of emptying holy water fonts after the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper in preparation for the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil corresponds to those days on which the Eucharist is not celebrated [Good Friday and Holy Saturday].

For your Information, Fr. Billy