The service, taking place the night before Easter Sunday, is the most important celebration of the liturgical year.
The almost operatic quality of these narratives is heightened by the changing moods of the liturgical year.
Many myths make no sense outside a liturgical drama that brings them to life, and are incomprehensible in a profane setting.
From a conservative perspective, Benedict made welcome liturgical reforms, including granting universal permission to celebrate the mass in Latin.
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The story tells us very little about Abel, really only his occupation and how it relates to his liturgical offerings.
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The church's liturgical law holds that only men can participate in the rite, given that Jesus' apostles were all male.
That Francis would include women in this re-enactment is remarkable given current liturgical rules that restrict the ritual to men.
Rather they also have access to areas for liturgical celebrations and the Domus Sanctae Marthae (accommodations for the cardinals).
In Java, the new vocal parts sometimes draw their inspiration from Catholic liturgical music or from the show tunes of Cole Porter.
Two of the 12 were young women, a remarkable choice given that the church's current liturgical law says only men should participate.
For his part, Pope Francis will begin the Church's most important liturgical season on Sunday with a Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square.
The first thing to do is to assess the value, both temporal and liturgical, of the objects in the church to determine the appropriate level of deterrence.
The traditional liturgical language of both Assyrian and Chaldean Churches is Syriac - a derivative of Aramaic, the language thought to have been spoken by Jesus and his disciples.
Then the master of papal liturgical ceremonies gives the order "Extra omnes" "Everyone out" and all but those taking part in the conclave leave the chapel's frescoed walls.
But when the book was published in the United States by the Liturgical Press of St John's Abbey in Minnesota the local bishop, with the support of Rome, demanded its withdrawal.
In addition to these, the grandest of liturgical candles, Italian producers have long profited from the brisk trade in altar candles, votive candles and memorial candles to be placed on graves.
As much as possible, the cantatas were programmed according to their appointed place in the liturgical calendar, so that Christmas works were played at Christmastime, Pentecostal ones on Pentecost, and so forth.
Another interesting addition to the festival is the usage of The Great Synagogue, a majestic space where the instrumental Apollo Ensemble will perform Baroque chamber music that was originally composed for Jewish liturgical services.
John Zuhlsdorf, a traditionalist blogger who has never shied from picking fights with priests, bishops or cardinals when liturgical abuses are concerned, had to measure his comments when the purported abuser was the pope himself.
Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, the most solemn season on the church's liturgical calendar that ends with Holy Week, when the faithful commemorate the death of Christ and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Officials in charge want to ensure that Pope Benedict's successor is installed well in time for the liturgical celebrations at Easter, the most important date in the church's calendar, the BBC's David Willey reports form Rome.
The cape has since come to symbolize his rejection of the trappings of the papacy and to some degree the pontificate of Benedict XVI, since the German pontiff relished in resurrecting many of the liturgical vestments of his predecessors.
There's a garden right outside the front door, where the nuns living there would tend to the lemon and orange trees as well as the roses, which are used in liturgical ceremonies or sent as gifts to the pope.
But there is widespread expectation that Francis will soon name a new master of liturgical ceremonies more in line with his priorities of bringing the church and its message of love and service to ordinary people without the "high church" trappings of his predecessor.
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