Passion Sunday

Passion Sunday is the fifth Sunday in Lent in several Christian traditions, marking the beginning of Passiontide. In 1969, Passiontide was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Western Catholic Church for the Mass of Paul VI, but it is still observed in the Traditional Latin Mass and in the Anglican Use. It is also observed by some Anglicans and Lutherans.

In Scotland, the day is known as Care Sunday.<ref>Template:Cite OED</ref>

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Template:Lent calendar.svg Until 1959, the fifth Sunday in Lent was officially known in the Roman Catholic Church as “Passion Sunday”.<ref>Dominica de Passione – Missale Romanum, 1920 typical edition Template:Webarchive, p. 156</ref> It marked the beginning of a two-week-long period known as Passiontide, which is still observed by Catholics who attend the Traditional Latin Mass or Anglican Ordinariates, as well as Western Rite Orthodox Christians, and various denominations in Protestantism.

In 1960, Pope John XXIII's Code of Rubrics changed the name of that Sunday to “First Sunday of the Passion”,<ref>Dominica I Passionis – Missale Romanum 1962 Template:Webarchive, p. 118</ref> bringing the name into harmony with the name that Pope Pius XII gave five years earlier to the sixth Sunday in Lent, “Second Sunday of the Passion or Palm Sunday”.

Pope Paul VI in 1969 removed a distinction that existed (although with overlap) between Lent and Passiontide, which began with the fifth Sunday in Lent. The distinction, explicit in the 1960 Code of Rubrics,<ref>The Code of Rubrics speaks of Lent (tempus quadragesimale) as comprising Passiontide (tempus Passionis), but at the same time distinguishes Lent in a narrower sense (tempus Quadragesimae) from Passiontide.</ref> predates it.<ref>The distinction is found repeatedly in, for instance, the pre-1960 Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae, which speaks of Passiontide as following Lent (without suggesting that Lenten observances should end at that point), but which also speaks of Lent as extending at least to Wednesday of Holy Week, as in: "In Quadragesima autem a Feria IV Cinerum usque ad Feriam IV Majoris Hebdomadae ..." (Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae, XI, 2).</ref> He deleted the reference to the Passion from the fifth Sunday in Lent.

Although Passiontide as a distinct liturgical season was abolished, the Roman Rite liturgy continues to bring the Passion of Christ to mind, from Monday of the fifth week in Lent onward, through the choice of hymns, the use on the weekdays of the fifth week of Lent of Preface I of the Passion of the Lord, with Preface II of the Passion of the Lord being used on the first three weekdays of Holy Week, and the authorization of the practice of covering crosses and images from the fifth Sunday in Lent onward, if the Conference of Bishops so permits. Where this practice is followed, crucifixes remain covered until the end of the Good Friday celebration of the Lord’s Passion; statues remain covered until the Easter Vigil.Template:Cn

The entrance antiphon of the Mass on the fifth Sunday in Lent begins with the word "Iudica" (older spelling, "Judica"). This provides another name for the day: "Iudica Sunday" or "Judica Sunday",<ref>Mershman, Francis. "Passion Sunday." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 6 April 2019Template:PD-notice</ref> similar to the name "Laetare Sunday" for the fourth Sunday. Due to of the custom of veiling crucifixes and statues before Mass on the fifth Sunday in Lent, this Sunday was called “Black Sunday” in Germany where the veils were black, which elsewhere were generally purple.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Those who continue to observe earlier forms of the Roman Rite or of liturgies modelled on it refer to the fifth Sunday in Lent by one or other of its previous names.

Lutheran readings

The historical readings for the fifth Sunday in Lent in the Lutheran tradition are Genesis 12:1–3, Hebrews 9:11–15, John 8:46–59, and Psalm 43. I Corinthians 1:21–31 and Matthew 26:17–29 are alternate readings.<ref>Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary. St. Louis: MorningStar Music Publishers, 1996. 202</ref>

The three-year lectionary appoints the following readings for the fifth Sunday in Lent:<ref>Hymnary. 200–201</ref>

• Psalm
  • A: 116:1–9
  • B: 51:10–15
  • C: 28:1–9
• 1st Lesson
  • A: Ezekiel 37:1–14
  • B: Jeremiah 31:31–34
  • C: Isaiah 43:16–21
• 2nd Lesson
  • A: Romans 8:11–19
  • B: Hebrews 5:7–9
  • C: Philippians 3:8–14
• Gospel
  • A: John 11:47-53/1-53
  • B: John 12:20–33
  • C: Luke 20:9–19

Sixth Sunday in Lent

In the Roman Rite, the Gospel reading at the Mass of the sixth Sunday in Lent is an account in one of the Synoptic Gospels of the Passion of Christ. Until 1969, the lesson was always the account from the Gospel of Matthew: the whole of chapters 26 and 27 (Template:Bibleverse).<ref>Missale Romanum, 1920 typical edition Template:Webarchive, pp. 179–185</ref> In the 1955 reforms, this was trimmed to Template:Bibleverse while for priests celebrating a second or a third Mass on that day, to just Template:Bibleverse .<ref>Missale Romanum 1962 Template:Webarchive, pp. 137–140</ref> Since 1970, the revised Roman Missal has been using a three-year cycle in which the accounts of Matthew (Template:Bibleverse-nb or Template:Bibleverse-nb), Mark (Template:Bibleverse-nb or Template:Bibleverse-nb) and Luke (Template:Bibleverse-nb or Template:Bibleverse-nb) are alternated in successive years.<ref>Readings for the Sundays of Lent</ref>

Until 1954, the official name of the sixth Sunday in Lent was simply “Palm Sunday”.<ref>Dominica in Palmis – Missale Romanum, 1920 typical edition Template:Webarchive, p. 171</ref> In 1955, the name became for 15 years the “Second Sunday of the Passion or Palm Sunday”.<ref>Dominica II Passionis seu in palmis – Missale Romanum 1962 Template:Webarchive, p. 130</ref> Since 1970, it has been “Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord”.<ref>Dominica in Palmis de Passione Domini – current edition of the Roman Missal</ref>

Food

In the north of England and parts of Scotland, it is a tradition to eat carlin peas on this day.<ref name="OCF">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Heritage Vegetables, Sue Stickland. London: Gaia Books. p 149 (1998)</ref>