As many of you are aware, Fr. Larry had to step away from presiding at Masses because of illness.  He does continue to hear confessions on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  However, earlier this week he asked to be permitted to preside at the Good Friday Veneration of the Cross service (3:00 PM) and at one Mass on Easter Sunday.  He said that he has been feeling somewhat better so he thinks that he can manage it.  I will, of course, have a deacon assisting him.  Fr. Larry has been a priest for nearly 60 years.  Celebrating Mass is at the very center of our priesthood. And, of course, celebrating during Triduum and Easter is of special importance. Please keep Fr. Larry in your prayers as he presides on Good Friday and at the 5:00 PM Sunday Mass on Easter.

I am offering the following catechetical guide to Triduum in hopes that it will help you to engage even more fully in these three wonderful days of liturgy.  For parents it may be, as well, a means to help you to teach your children about the beauty of our Catholic faith

At the Mass of the Lord’s Supper we celebrate Jesus’ gathering with His disciples in the upper room for the celebration of Passover. We know this event as the Last Supper for it took place on the night of His betrayal and arrest. We celebrate a Mass which is a ritual meal (supper). At that Mass we celebrate Jesus instituting the Eucharist with the words that we hear every time we come to Mass. In addition, after the homily, we celebrate the ritual of washing of feet. With the institution of the Eucharist, Jesus gave us spiritual food. With the washing of the feet of His disciples He demonstrated, in humility, what lies at the core of Christian life: service to one another.

At the end of Mass there is the Eucharistic procession from the altar to the tabernacle. This symbolizes Jesus going to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray prior to His arrest. With that, the Night Watch begins and that lasts until midnight. Night Watch is an invitation to be with Jesus in the garden as He prays. It is our response to Jesus saying to His disciples, I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me. (Matthew 26:38)  If you remember, the disciples fell asleep—the first phase of their abandoning Him.

In addition, at the end of Mass, the altar is stripped. The altar, which is consecrated to be where Christ makes Himself present to us in the Eucharist will not serve that purpose again until the Great Vigil of Easter. Thus all altar linens are removed. 

This year, I am introducing a ritual that I learned when I was assigned to the cathedral in the first years of my priesthood. After stripping the altar it will be washed with rosewater. That ritual reminds us of the tradition of washing a body after death in preparation for burial. Thus, it is another preparation for the next day when Jesus dies on the cross.

On Good Friday there is no Mass said anywhere in the world. In the Church, everything is stripped bare. The tabernacle is empty. There is no holy water in the fonts. On this day we remember that with Jesus’ death on the cross and His entry into the realm of the dead, God was not present in His creation.

Scripture tells us that Jesus was crucified at 9:00 in the morning. His death on the cross came at 3:00 in the afternoon. For that reason the Church requires that the service of the Veneration of the Cross take place either beginning or ending at 3:00 PM. The Church asks of us that there be only one veneration service, unless the local bishop authorizes additional services. For that reason ours will be bilingual. The service consists of three parts: the Liturgy of the Word (Scripture readings and intercessions), Veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion (with hosts consecrated the evening before at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper).

After the Liturgy of the Word the Veneration of the Cross takes place. The cross is brought in with a procession from the back of the church. The cross will be covered. As the choir sings “This is the wood of the cross on which hung the savior of the world” and the people respond, “Come let us worship” the cross is uncovered in three stages. Then, the veneration begins. At Emmaus it has been our practice that the congregation shares in bearing the cross. This is reminiscent of the call to Simon of Cyrene to bear the cross of Jesus. With that we share in the burden that Jesus bore as He made His way to the place of execution.

It is important to note that crucifixion was among the cruelest forms of capital punishment ever devised by human beings. It was also considered a shameful death. In that manner human power stripped from the person being crucified all dignity in a horrific way. It was a way of stating that the person crucified was nothing. The irony here is that through His death and resurrection Jesus transformed the cross. He made it a symbol of power for what is beyond mere human power. Instead of a symbol of shameful death, He transformed it into a sign of new life.

In accord with tradition dating from the very beginning of the Church, this night is one of vigil for the Lord. It is a reminder to have our lamps burning, ready and waiting for the master’s return so that he will find us wide awake and ready to receive him.

The service is arranged in four parts: a brief Service of Light, the Liturgy of the Word when the Church meditates on all that God has done for us from the beginning, the Liturgy of Baptism when new members are received into the Church and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil takes place at night.  Darkness symbolizes the world being in darkness before the coming of Christ.

The Service of Light begins with the lighting of new fire in a suitable place not within the church. The priest blesses the fire and the Easter candle is lit from the new fire. The lighting of the Easter candle symbolizes the light of Christ emerging from the tomb. After lighting the Easter candle the priest marks the candle with a cross and the alpha and the omega. He says these words as he does so:  Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega, all time belongs to Him and all ages to Him be glory and power through every age for ever, Amen. Then the priest inserts five grains of incense encased in wax into the cross.  They are inserted in cross pattern symbolizing the wounds of Christ: on His head from the crown of thorns, in His hands and feet from the nails and the wound in His side from the lance of the Roman soldier.

Then follows the procession of the Christ (Paschal) Candle into the church. The people have congregational candles which are lit from the fire of that candle. Thus the service continues with the people bearing the light of Christ (with lamps ready).

As all stand with candles lit the Easter Proclamation (the Exultet) is sung. This is a song of rejoicing at the triumph of Jesus over death and the promise of eternal life for all.

The Liturgy of the Word this year will have the minimum number of Old Testament readings. That is three. The maximum is seven. I have chosen to do that because this is a longer service and it begins at 8:30. I am hoping that the promise it will not be overly long encourages more to attend.  As I stated above, the readings for the Vigil remind us of all that God has done for us throughout history.

After the homily the Liturgy of Baptism begins. It begins with a litany of the saints, which is an appeal to all the saints in heaven to pray for those about to be baptized and for us. That is followed by the blessing of the water which will be used for baptism. The blessing is done through a prayer and the dipping of the Christ candle into the water three time. Those who have been preparing for entry into the church through baptism (catechumens) since last year will be baptized. There are two this year.  Baptism may be by immersion which is a fuller sign of baptism or by sprinkling. We will do it using the latter. 

Those who are baptized are clothed in a white garment as this is symbolic of their new life in Christ. They also receive a baptismal candle lit from the Christ candle, a sign of their call to continue bearing the light of Christ in their lives. And they will receive the sacrament of confirmation. That is so because while confirmation is a sacrament normally reserved to a bishop, a pastor must confirm anyone over the age of seven whom he baptizes. In addition those who have been baptized in other Protestant traditions (candidates) will be received into the Church through a profession of faith.

Following the baptism, confirmation and the reception of the candidates the entire congregation renews their baptismal promises. For those baptized as babies you will respond to the same promises that your parents made for your sake at your baptism. For those baptized after the age of seven you will reaffirm the promises you made at your baptism. Then the priest(s) and deacons pass among those present sprinkling holy water as a reaffirmation of your baptisms.

Then there follows the liturgy of the Eucharist.

Note: The Paschal (Christ) candle is lit for all Masses during the Easter season. The Easter season lasts until Pentecost which this year is May 20. The candle is also lit at baptisms and funerals symbolizing each as moments of entry into new life in Christ.