"The Paschal triduum is at the very heart of the liturgical year," said Eliot Kapitan, director of the Office for Worship and the Catechumenate. "It celebrates in a special way the saving action of Jesus Christ — and his death and rising is the pattern of our very lives."
Here is a short explanation of what happens at your parish, and at Catholic parishes all over, during this most sacred time.
Holy Thursday (April 5) allows us to commemorate the day of the Last Supper when Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharist and established the sacrament of ordination for the priesthood. During Mass, which is celebrated in the evening, the chrism and holy oils used for baptism, confirmation and the anointing of the sick are brought forward. The Mass also includes the simple rite of washing of the feet. The Eucharist is celebrated and following the prayer after Communion, the Blessed Sacrament is transferred to a place of reposition and the main altar is stripped bare.
Good Friday (April 6) is, by its very nature, the most solemn day of the church year. A day of fasting and abstinence, it is also a day when many Catholics go to their parish churches to pray the Stations of the Cross. Mass is not celebrated on Good Friday and it will not be celebrated again until the Easter Vigil.
The liturgy on this somber day is named Friday of the Passion of the Lord. The liturgical color is red, representing the suffering and death that Jesus endured. The Good Friday readings are from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and from the Letter to the Hebrews. At the Gospel, Catholics hear John's proclamation of Our Lord's Passion. The next part of the liturgy is the veneration of the cross, which is followed by a Communion service.
Holy Saturday (April 7) is the day we wait, commemorating the sad day when Jesus lay in the tomb. The Easter Vigil takes place in the evening. Around nightfall, the vigil begins with a "service of light." The faithful gather around a fire to light the Easter candle. The priest, who is dressed in white vestments, lights the symbolic candle and the incense; then he and other participants process toward the church.
Saturday's Liturgy of the Word contains between three and seven readings from the Old Testament. The story of the Hebrews' deliverance from slavery in Egypt is always included. Each reading is followed by a psalm and a prayer. Following the readings, the altar candles are lighted, illuminating a church that is decorated in honor of the risen Lord. The opening prayer for the vigil is recited, followed by New Testament readings from the Romans and from Matthew.
The Easter Vigil is the time when most new Catholics are received into parish faith communities. Those who are being baptized are presented and assembled around the baptismal font, where they profess their faith and receive the sacrament. Following the baptism(s), the faithful renew their own baptismal vows. The priest sprinkles the assembly with holy water and the newly baptized and newly received are confirmed. Then, the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins.
With the Easter Day Mass on April 8, the faithful celebrate the Lord's resurrection. Easter Day readings are from the Acts of the Apostles, the Letter to the Colossians and the Gospel from John, all focusing on Jesus, his ministry and his resurrection. After the homily, the faithful renew their baptismal promises.
On Easter Sunday the triduum is concluded liturgically with Evening Prayer in the late afternoon or early evening. At this time the Easter Season, the 50 days from Easter Sunday until Pentecost, begins.
March 25, 2012 - 2012 Parish Triduum Schedule