Passiontide: beginning on Passion Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Lent, consists of the final two weeks of Lent – Passion Week and Holy Week
During Passiontide, the crucifixes, statues, and holy images throughout the church – with the exception of the Stations of the Cross – are all veiled with plain violet cloth, to serve as a stark and inescapable visual reminder that these two weeks are the most spiritually intense, solemn and mournful weeks of the liturgical year.
In order to properly prepare for the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday), Catholics ought to intensify the penitential works they undertook during the first four weeks of Lent.
Sadly, many Catholics don’t know about Passiontide because it has been removed from the post-Second Vatican Council liturgical calendar that accompanies the new rite of Mass. Yet Passiontide is the privileged time for all Catholics to increase their penances and so earn greater merit and graces.
Consider praying, Prayer before a Crucifix.
