Holy Week.--The last week in Lent is so called and among the ancients was known also as "The Great Week," because of the important events in the last week in our Lord's Life which it commemorates. It is a week of solemn and awful memories, a holy time of deepest devotion and searchings of heart. The Church has always kept it as such. From day to day, amid the solemnities of worship, we follow our Lord in His Passion, live it over again, as in Psalm and Hymn, in Proper Lessons, in Epistles and Gospels and pleading, prayers the whole record of the Royal Reception, the final Teachings, Betrayal, the cruel mockery, the desertion, and the awful Agony on the Cross, the Death and the Burial of the Lord of Life is solemnly recited as a memorial before God. Each {138} day is significant, thus: The first day of the week, the Sixth Sunday in Lent, is called Palm Sunday, in reference to the palms strewn in our Lord's way on His entrance into Jerusalem; _Monday_ and _Tuesday_ witnessed the final disputations with the Jews; _Wednesday_ stands out as the day of the Lord's Betrayal and the beginning of the events which reached their climax on Good Friday; _Thursday_ is ever to be remembered as the day of the Commands, first, concerning love, and secondly, the institution of the Blessed Sacrament with its "Do this in remembrance of Me"; _Good Friday_, the day of the Crucifixion and Death, and _Saturday_, Easter Even, which commemorates the Descent of our Lord's soul into Hell while His Body rested in the grave. Homilies.--The two books of Homilies or Sermons referred to in the XXXVth Article of Religion. The first volume was written during the reign of Edward VI, in 1542, and the second in 1563. They treat of such topics as "Good Works," "Repentance," "Prayer," "The number of the Sacraments," "The Right Use of the Church," etc. The Books of Homilies are received in the American Church so far as they are an explication of Christian Doctrine and instructive in piety and morals. The list of subjects treated of in the Second Book is given in the XXXVth Article of Religion. Hood.--An ornamental fold hanging down the back, denoting the academical degree which the person officiating has taken in College or University. It is made of silk, the color indicating the degree according to the University usage. The Church of England {139} by canon enjoins that every minister, who is a graduate, shall wear his proper hood during the time of divine service. The hood is quite commonly worn in the United States by both Bishops and Clergy. Hosanna.--A Hebrew word, meaning, "Save, we beseech Thee." Hours of Prayer.--(See CANONICAL HOURS.) House of Bishops.--The upper House of the General Convention in which all Diocesan, Coadjutor and Missionary Bishops have seats, representing their own Order. The term is often used as a collective name for all the Bishops of the American Church. (See GENERAL CONVENTION.)