Countdown to Easter: What is Passiontide?

Aleteia ^ | Philip Kosloski

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The joy of Easter is almost here, but before that we must accompany Jesus in his Passion.

Traditionally the final two weeks of Lent in the Roman Rite are used as an immediate preparation for the sorrowful events of the Easter drama. It is a period of time to focus more and more on the Passion and death of Jesus and so accompany him on his way to Calvary.

For several centuries the Fifth Sunday of Lent was known as “Passion Sunday” and marked the beginning of a special sub-season called Passiontide, which extended up until Holy Saturday. During this time the Church’s liturgy became more somber and a sorrowful mood was reflected in the various practices that occurred in the liturgy.

The most obvious example of a more somber mood was the veiling of statues and images, which remains an optional practice in the current Roman Missal... Crosses remain covered until the end of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, but images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.”

The Church beckons us on Palm Sunday to look toward the cross and see Christ’s immense love for us, sacrificing himself for our sins. It is a preview of what is to come on Good Friday.

After Palm Sunday, Passion Week gives way to Holy Week and the Church follows Jesus during his final days in Jerusalem...

Various other practices occurred during these final two weeks of Lent, such as Stations of the Cross and the Tenebrae services. In the end, Passiontide is meant to be a special penitential period where we focus on Jesus’ bitter passion and foster within ourselves sorrow for our sins.

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The good news is that Passiontide does not have the last say, and this somber period of preparation ends quickly so that our hearts can rejoice in the beauty of Christ’s resurrection.