Holy Week becomes three–day–long liturgy
By Sr. Michele Doyle, OSF
The Triduum is properly understood as one three-day-long liturgy. This allows us to find the correct perspective for each ritual experience. The Triduum liturgies suggest this continuous observance of the three principal liturgies because there is no dismissal or conclusion on Holy Thursday. On Good Friday the church assembles and departs with no introductory or concluding rite.
At the Easter Vigil the community gathers around the Easter fire, it does not begin the liturgy with the usual introductory rites. Only at the conclusion of the Easter Vigil celebration is the final blessing of the Triduum bestowed among the assembly.
Holy Thursday
This Holy Thursday liturgy has the Elect (catechumens and candidates) in mind, and it is a wonderful night for children. On this night we “act out” the meaning of our salvation, and the meaning of discipleship. In our preparing for Holy Thursday it helps to enter into the experience as a member of a community that desires “to show” the youngest members who we are and who we want to become.
As a liturgy of entrance into the Triduum, the evening Mass of Holy Thursday commemorates the institution of the Eucharist. Good Friday observes the passion and death of Jesus, but is viewed within the whole context of the Paschal Mystery (passion, death and resurrection).
The Easter Vigil is the culmination of the Triduum when the newest members enter into the death and resurrection of Jesus through the Sacraments of Initiation — baptism, confirmation and Eucharist.
Originally no Eucharist was celebrated during the week before Easter, but by the 4th century some areas began to celebrate Jesus’ last supper on Thursday with the “Supper of the Lord.”
During the Middle Ages Christians rang bells throughout the service, then silenced all bells until Easter. Today bells are often rung during the “Glory to God” on Holy Thursday (and again on Easter).
Reconciliation of penitents was another rite associated with Holy Thursday. The day was also known as “Maundy” Thursday which comes from the Latin “mandatum” (commandment), referring to Jesus’ commandment to “love one another.” Footwashing, according to Jesus’ example, symbolized this love and service.
The Word
The first reading is the Exodus account of the Passover tradition which
reminds us of the exit, the liberation, of the people in slavery in Egypt, and the meal that commemorates it. “This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate.” During our Lenten journey we have desired greater freedom, and a deeper liberation from the patterns that keep us from being free. We want to bring those desires to our foot washing ritual.
To come to this night ready to celebrate we reflect on all the reasons we have to be grateful. The spirit of Jesus uses the gift of gratitude to gather us for the Eucharist.
In the second reading Paul tells us the simple and profound words of Jesus, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you
proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
John’s Gospel is a puzzle. It does not include the narrative Paul gives us, as do the accounts of the other gospel writers. In this account Jesus does not take bread and wine, and say the words. In this account Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. By this action Jesus says, here I am as servant for you, do this in memory of me.
Foot washing
It is not enough for us to simply hear this Gospel and to listen to a homily. Our tradition is to engage in the drama of this ritual. We don’t only “watch” it happen, but we experience on Holy Thursday Jesus’ washing our feet. The 12 representatives of our community have their feet washed, but each of us is having our feet washed. Each of us needs to feel the resistance of Peter. We have to “let” Jesus wash our feet, let Jesus give himself to us, let him be our servant.
Jesus gives us one commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you!”
Preparing is a matter of opening our hearts to the gift we celebrate on Holy Thursday. Preparing can mean reflecting on how difficult it is to love some people because we find them unattractive or unable to love us in return. The liberation happens when we let our feet be washed by Jesus. Then Eucharist flows from our gratitude. Gratitude is the seed of great loving.
Table of Lord
Now we are prepared for the Eucharist. Now we can say with a much louder voice, “It is right to give God thanks and praise!” We remember how Jesus celebrated his love for us. The words are joined to the ritual of foot washing, servanthood, ministry for others. When we open our hands to receive his body and blood, we can feel, with great devotion, the power of this gift and the meaning of its mission.
This is our final preparation to be ready to appreciate the ritual of transition with which Holy Thursday concludes. The Body and Blood of Jesus which we share at this Eucharist are taken to a special place, so we might continue to be nourished with the sacrament on Good Friday.
The altar and the whole sanctuary are stripped bare. We are preparing for Good Friday. We strip our focus down to Jesus alone.
All the signs and symbols are put aside. We are left with the taste of the Eucharist and the gratitude in our hearts. We leave in focused silence.
Good Friday
Good Friday is the only day of the year on which Mass is not celebrated. The altar is now bare, without cloths, candles, or cross. The liturgy consists of the reading of Jesus’ suffering and death from John’s Gospel, praying the general intercessions, the veneration of the cross and a Communion service.
In early centuries churches acquired relics of the true cross for these rites. Gradually veneration of the cross became common even when a relic was not available.
Although there is no celebration of the Eucharist on Good Friday, we receive Communion of the bread consecrated on Holy Thursday.
We enter the liturgy on Good Friday in silence. We don’t need a gathering rite. It is as though we have been gathered since the night before. The first act of the liturgy is for the presider, wearing the liturgical color red, to lay face down before the cross in silence. That invites us to lay prostrate before the cross as well. That takes some preparation.
We can prepare to begin the Good Friday celebration by reflecting upon ourselves laying there – with all the feelings we want to identify and pay attention to. I may feel awe, guilt, gratitude, powerlessness, all at once. Perhaps I will want to simply open my hands when the
presider lays face down and say, “I know this is all for me. Thank you.”
The Word
The Liturgy of the Word is from the Old and New Testaments as well as the Passion account from the Gospel of John, proclaiming Jesus’ suffering and death. We are listeners, but listening is an active process that requires the listener to come with a spirit of openness, including the awareness of the needs each of us has.
We believe we are to come ready and willing to hear the Word and be open to the transforming power of the Spirit. Jesus is present in the broken and wounded world as we remember his suffering. “Into your hands I commend my spirit.” What a great act of trust! Jesus has completed his mission on earth and entrusts himself to the One who calls him.
He can rest in peace knowing he poured himself out in love to death for the sake of all humankind. What meaning do these words have for us in our different circumstances? We may be nearing our own deaths or have recently experienced the loss of someone we love. As I think about the meaning of the cross and this self-gift of Jesus, because of his great love, to where does God call me?
General Intercessions
These prayers and their style are perhaps the oldest liturgical ritual we have. They link us to the prayer of our sisters and brothers down through the centuries. They also give us a sense of our long tradition of public prayer. The presider invites us to pray, saying who it is we pray for and what it is that we ask.
We pray for the church, the pope, the laity of the church, for those preparing for baptism, for the unity of Christians, for the Jewish people, for those who do not believe in Christ, for those who do not believe in God, for all in public office, for those in special need. The presider responds aloud in our name.
Venerating cross
To venerate is becoming a lost experience in our culture. We want and expect everyone to be equal, which is a good thing . . . but sometimes at expense of reverence. It is still very important to reverence — a person, or place, or object or symbol which is full of meaning and has a special significance for us.
We revere and venerate the wood of the cross, because our Savior was nailed there, and gave his life for us there.
Preparing for this special veneration on Good Friday is very important. We want to be prepared to touch, kiss, embrace the cross with the greatest devotion we can express. We want our gestures to be able to ritualize our acceptance for the love, forgiveness and everlasting life that flows from that cross. We want to feel the love of Jesus, to “feel it” being for me, and to express my grateful response as reverence.
We fast from celebrating the Eucharist today, but we are gathered by the Spirit to re-connect with our celebration of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. This is the bread that gives life. This is Jesus’ self-giving life for us. This is our nourishment. Depart in silence again.
We are a people of faith, but we continue to wait for the fullness of our redemption. Our leaving in silence links this celebration to the Easter Vigil as our beginning in silence connected us with Holy Thursday.
Easter Vigil Liturgy
The Easter Vigil is one of the oldest liturgical celebrations of the church — the mother of all vigils. The celebration today imitates the way the night long vigil was celebrated in the fourth century.
The vigil consists of four parts: the Service of Light, Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of Baptism, Liturgy of the Eucharist.
The Easter Vigil begins after total darkness has set in, with the Service of Light. A large fire is built outside and blessed, signifying that the light and resurrection of Christ has destroyed darkness and sin.
The paschal candle is lighted from a new fire and is then processed into the community, and we receive its light and experience the power of that light as it grows. When the candle is brought front and center, we celebrate with the Easter Proclamation, “Christ Our Light,” sung three times.
We give thanks and praise over this symbol of the Light of Christ in our midst and “consecrate” it as Christ’s presence among us. We rejoice over the blessings of salvation.
The sequence of Old Testament readings and psalms recalls the history of the Jewish covenant leading up to Christ. These readings cover the time from creation to the promise of the final gathering of God’s people, interpreted for us through the Exodus.
After the last reading from the Old Testament the candles are lit and the bells rung as we sing “Glory to God.” Now we are ready to hear the New Testament word in the light of Christ and the “Good News” that he has been raised. At this point of the liturgy we can’t help but be joyful over the victory of our God over sin and death — for us.
Liturgy of baptism
In the early church the Easter Vigil was the time for baptisms. Those who received instruction over a period of time — sometimes up to three years – and had prepared by fasting and prayer were presented for initiation into the Christian community.
Affirming the baptismal creed, they were baptized and then donned white garments. The newly baptized then received the laying on of hands from the bishop, were sealed with chrism (consecrated oil) and received Communion.
In our liturgy, at this time, those who are to be baptized are called forward, along with their godparents. In our excitement for them, we realize that this is very much about the renewal of the whole community. Initiation and renewal become one this night. Within the liturgy of baptism, the litany of saints is sung.
The presider goes to the font of baptism, drawing us together there. When the priest inserts the candle in the water and pulls it out and lifts it up — we are one with Christ in dying that we might be one with him in rising.
Profession of faith
We have renewed our baptismal promises many times. We can prepare to make the Easter Vigil a powerful experience of grace if we make each of the renunciations and professions with a meaning that is personal to us.
“Do you reject sin?” Yes, of course! But I cling to some of my unfreedoms.
“Do you reject glamour of evil . . .”? There really is a glamour to evil and it does exercise a mastery over me. So I am asked if I will personally reject the rules of sin and darkness.
“Do you reject Satan?” I prefer to believe in the one who gives me life.
The ritual of water is meant to be a sign of entry into the waters of baptism. We feel the power of this moment and open our hearts to its joy, for the baptized and for ourselves.
The newly baptized are anointed with the same oil used to anoint priests, then clothed in a white garment, and finally receive a candle lit from the new fire.
The newly baptized and those who are about to be received into full communion are read to “share in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” We pray in silence and feel the outpouring of the Holy Spirit among us. In silence the presider lays hands on each person. As they are anointed we can imagine the gifts of the Spirit that we have received and can let ourselves feel the grace offered us to be strong witnesses.
The newly confirmed take their places in the assembly of the faithful, ready to join us for the first time at the table of the Lord.
Liturgy of Eucharist
Now in bread and wine, Jesus comes among us in the Eucharist. He comes into the darkness of our lives with his risen life. The time of waiting is completed, yet we also look ahead to the time when we will see him face to face.
All our preparations. all the power of this night’s rituals and sacraments, lead us to celebrate the Eucharist, “to give God thanks and praise!” As the newly confirmed receive the final Sacrament of Initiation, the Body and Blood of Jesus, we are ready to celebrate Easter.
The tomb is empty, there is light in the midst of darkness. We’ve been fed by the Word and given new life in the waters of baptism. Now we eat his body and drink his blood and receive the life in him that he promises.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Easter is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year. Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion. Easter Sunday begins the 50 days of the Easter season and lasts until Pentecost. (Sources for this Holy Week preview include “What Every Catholic Should Know About the Triduum” from Resource Publications; the Collaborative Ministry Website , Creighton University; “The Little Black Book,” Diocese of Saginaw, Mich.; and America magazine.)
