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The
Easter Triduum |
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The Easter Triduum,
the culmination of the entire liturgical year, is
a three-day commemoration of the passion, death,
and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that starts at
dusk of Holy Thursday and ends at the Easter Vigil
of Holy Saturday.
This is outlined in the
General Norms for the Liturgical Year,
18-21: |
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18. |
Christ redeemed us all and gave perfect glory
to God principally through his paschal
mystery: dying he destroyed our death and
rising he restored our life. Therefore the
Easter triduum of the passion and resurrection
of Christ is the culmination of the entire
liturgical year. [7] Thus the solemnity of
Easter has the same kind of preeminence in the
liturgical year that Sunday has in the week.
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19. |
The Easter triduum begins with the evening
Mass of the Lord's Supper, reaches its high
point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with
evening prayer on Easter Sunday. |
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20. |
On Good Friday [9] and, if possible, also on
Holy Saturday until the Easter Vigil, [10] the
Easter fast is observed everywhere. |
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21. |
The Easter Vigil, during the holy night when
Christ rose from the dead, ranks as the "the
mother of all vigils." [11] Keeping watch, the
Church awaits Christ's resurrection and
celebrates it in the sacraments. Accordingly,
the entire celebration of this vigil should
take place at night, that is, should either
begin after nightfall or end before the dawn
of Sunday. |
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Holy Thursday |
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From
the
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy,
paragraph 141: |
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Visiting the Altar of Repose |
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141. |
Popular piety is particularly sensitive to the
adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the
wake of the Mass of the Lord's supper(145).
Because of a long historical process, whose
origins are not entirely clear, the place of
repose has traditionally been referred to as a
"a holy sepulchre". The faithful go there to
venerate Jesus who was placed in a tomb
following the crucifixion and in which he
remained for some forty hours.
It is necessary to instruct the faithful on
the meaning of the reposition: it is an
austere solemn conservation of the Body of
Christ for the community of the faithful which
takes part in the liturgy of Good Friday and
for the viaticum of the infirmed(146). It is
an invitation to silent and prolonged
adoration of the wondrous sacrament instituted
by Jesus on this day.
In reference to the altar of repose,
therefore, the term "sepulchre" should be
avoided, and its decoration should not have
any suggestion of a tomb. The tabernacle on
this altar should not be in the form of a tomb
or funerary urn. The Blessed Sacrament should
be conserved in a closed tabernacle and should
not be exposed in a monstrance(147).
After mid-night on Holy Thursday, the
adoration should conclude without solemnity,
since the day of the Lord's Passion has
already begun(148). |
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Washing of the Feet |
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Gospel
of
John 13:1-15 |
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Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew
that his hour had come to pass from this
world to the Father. He loved his own in the
world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced 4 Judas, son
of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So,
during supper, fully aware that the Father
had put everything into his power and that
he had come from God and was returning to
God, he rose from supper and took off his
outer garments. He took a towel and tied it
around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin and began
to wash the disciples' feet and dry them
with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
"Master, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am
doing, you do not understand now, but you
will understand later."
Peter said to him, "You will never wash my
feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash
you, you will have no inheritance with me."
Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not
only my feet, but my hands and head as
well."
Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed 6 has
no need except to have his feet washed, for
he is clean all over; so you are clean, but
not all."
For he knew who would betray him; for this
reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean."
So when he had washed their feet (and) put
his garments back on and reclined at table
again, he said to them, "Do you realize what
I have done for you? You call me 'teacher'
and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I
am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher,
have washed your feet, you ought to wash one
another's feet.
I have given you a model to follow, so that
as I have done for you, you should also do.
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The Easter Triduum begins
with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper at
dusk of Holy Thursday. The mass celebrated
with the ritual of the washing of the feet
associated with the liturgy of Holy Thursday,
which at once is an acceptance of humility and
of salvation, that leads to the institution of
the Eucharist.
A reception of the oils may take place at the
Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The oils, in
suitable vessels are carried in the procession
of the gifts, before the bread and wine by
members of the assembly. |
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Institution of the Eucharist |
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Gospel
of
Luke 22:7-21 |
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When the day of the Feast of Unleavened
Bread arrived, the day for sacrificing the
Passover lamb, he sent out Peter and John,
instructing them, "Go and make preparations
for us to eat the Passover."
They asked him, "Where do you want us to
make the preparations?"
And he answered them, "When you go into the
city, a man will meet you carrying a jar of
water. Follow him into the house that he
enters and say to the master of the house,
'The teacher says to you, "Where is the
guest room where I may eat the Passover with
my disciples?"'
He will show you a large upper room that is
furnished. Make the preparations there."
Then they went off and found everything
exactly as he had told them, and there they
prepared the Passover.
When the hour came, he took his place at
table with the apostles.
He said to them, "I have eagerly desired to
eat this Passover with you before I suffer,
for, I tell you, I shall not eat it (again)
until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of
God."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said,
"Take this and share it among yourselves;
for I tell you (that) from this time on I
shall not drink of the fruit of the vine
until the kingdom of God comes."
Then he took the bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This
is my body, which will be given for you; do
this in memory of me."
And likewise the cup after they had eaten,
saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my
blood, which will be shed for you.
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Good Friday |
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the mass on Good Friday is the celebration of
the Lord's Passion, which begins in silence,
and culminates in the Veneration of the Cross. |
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From
the
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy |
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142. |
The Church celebrates the redemptive death
of Christ on Good Friday. The Church
meditates on the Lord's Passion in the
afternoon liturgical action, in which she
prays for the salvation of the word,
adores the Cross and commemorates her very
origin in the sacred wound in Christ's
side (cf. John 19, 34)(149).
In addition to the various forms of
popular piety on Good Friday such as the
Via Crucis, the passion processions are
undoubtedly the most important. These
correspond, after the fashion of popular
piety, to the small procession of friends
and disciples who, having taken the body
of Jesus down from the Cross, carried it
to the place where there "was a tomb hewn
in the rock in which no one had yet been
buried" (Lk 23, 53).
The procession of the "dead Christ" is
usually conducted in austere silence,
prayer, and the participation of many of
the faithful, who intuit much of the
significance of the Lord's burial. |
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Passion Plays |
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144. |
In many countries, passion plays take
place during Holy Week, especially on Good
Friday. These are often "sacred
representations" which can justly be
regarded as pious exercises. Indeed, such
sacred representations have their origins
in the Sacred Liturgy. Some of these
plays, which began in the monks' choir, so
as to speak, have undergone a progressive
dramatization that has taken them outside
of the church.
In some places, responsibility for the
representations of the Lord's passion has
been given over to the Confraternities,
whose members have assumed particular
responsibilities to live the Christian
life. In such representations, actors and
spectators are involved in a movement of
faith and genuine piety. It is singularly
important to ensure that representations
of the Lord's Passion do not deviate from
this pure line of sincere and gratuitous
piety, or take on the characteristics of
folk productions, which are not so much
manifestations of piety as tourist
attractions.
In relation to sacred "representations" it
is important to instruct the faithful on
the difference between a "representation"
which is commemorative, and the
"liturgical actions" which are anamnesis,
or mysterious presence of the redemptive
event of the Passion. |
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Reading from the Gospel of John
18:1-19:37 |
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When he had said this, Jesus went out with his
disciples across the Kidron valley to where
there was a garden, into which he and his
disciples entered.
Judas his betrayer also knew the place,
because Jesus had often met there with his
disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and
guards from the chief priests and the
Pharisees and went there with lanterns,
torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to
happen to him, went out and said to them,
"Whom are you looking for?"
They answered him, "Jesus the Nazorean." He
said to them, "I AM." Judas his betrayer was
also with them.
When he said to them, "I AM," they turned away
and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them, "Whom are you looking
for?" They said, "Jesus the Nazorean."
Jesus answered, "I told you that I AM. So if
you are looking for me, let these men go."
This was to fulfill what he had said, "I have
not lost any of those you gave me."
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest's slave, and cut off
his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its
scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the
Father gave me?"
So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the
Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and
brought him to Annas first. He was the
father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest
that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled
the Jews that it was better that one man
should die rather than the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed
Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the
high priest, and he entered the courtyard of
the high priest with Jesus. But Peter stood at
the gate outside. So the other disciple, the
acquaintance of the high priest, went out and
spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to
Peter, "You are not one of this man's
disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not."
Now the slaves and the guards were standing
around a charcoal fire that they had made,
because it was cold, and were warming
themselves. Peter was also standing there
keeping warm.
The high priest questioned Jesus about his
disciples and about his doctrine.
Jesus answered him, "I have spoken publicly to
the world. I have always taught in a synagogue
or in the temple area where all the Jews
gather, and in secret I have said nothing.
Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said
to them. They know what I said."
When he had said this, one of the temple
guards standing there struck Jesus and said,
"Is this the way you answer the high priest?"
Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly,
testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken
rightly, why do you strike me?"
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high
priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping
warm. And they said to him, "You are not one
of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and
said, "I am not."
One of the slaves of the high priest, a
relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut
off, said, "Didn't I see you in the garden
with him?"
Again Peter denied it. And immediately the
cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the
praetorium. It was morning. And they
themselves did not enter the praetorium, in
order not to be defiled so that they could eat
the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said, "What
charge do you bring (against) this man?"
They answered and said to him, "If he were not
a criminal, we would not have handed him over
to you."
At this, Pilate said to them, "Take him
yourselves, and judge him according to your
law." The Jews answered him, "We do not have
the right to execute anyone," in order that
the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he
said indicating the kind of death he would
die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium and
summoned Jesus and said to him, "Are you the
King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your
own nation and the chief priests handed you
over to me. What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to
this world. If my kingdom did belong to this
world, my attendants (would) be fighting to
keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this
I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs
to the truth listens to my voice."
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" When he
had said this, he again went out to the Jews
and said to them, "I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom that I release one
prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to
release to you the King of the Jews?"
They cried out again, "Not this one but
Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a revolutionary. |
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Then Pilate took Jesus
and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a
crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they
came to him and said, "Hail, King of the
Jews!" And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
"Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that
you may know that I find no guilt in him."
So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns
and the purple cloak. And he said to them,
"Behold, the man!"
When the chief priests and the guards saw him
they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!"
Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and
crucify him. I find no guilt in him."
The Jews answered, "We have a law, and
according to that law he ought to die, because
he made himself the Son of God."
Now when Pilate heard this statement, he
became even more afraid, and went back into
the praetorium and said to Jesus, "Where are
you from?" Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to
me? Do you not know that I have power to
release you and I have power to crucify you?"
Jesus answered (him), "You would have no power
over me if it had not been given to you from
above. For this reason the one who handed me
over to you has the greater sin."
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but
the Jews cried out, "If you release him, you
are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes
himself a king opposes Caesar."
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus
out and seated him on the judge's bench in the
place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew,
Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it
was about noon. And he said to the Jews,
"Behold, your king!"
They cried out, "Take him away, take him away!
Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I
crucify your king?" The chief priests
answered, "We have no king but Caesar."
Then he handed him over to them to be
crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying
the cross himself he went out to what is
called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew,
Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two
others, one on either side, with Jesus in the
middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put
on the cross. It read, "Jesus the Nazorean,
the King of the Jews."
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified
was near the city; and it was written in
Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to
Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,'
but that he said, 'I am the King of the
Jews.'"
Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have
written."
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they
took his clothes and divided them into four
shares, a share for each soldier. They also
took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another, "Let's not tear
it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will
be," in order that the passage of scripture
might be fulfilled (that says): "They divided
my garments among them, and for my vesture
they cast lots." This is what the soldiers
did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple
there whom he loved, he said to his mother,
"Woman, behold, your son."
Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your
mother." And from that hour the disciple took
her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now
finished, in order that the scripture might be
fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst."
There was a vessel filled with common wine. So
they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of
hyssop and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is
finished." And bowing his head, he handed over
the spirit.
Now since it was preparation day, in order
that the bodies might not remain on the cross
on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that
week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate
that their legs be broken and they be taken
down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the
first and then of the other one who was
crucified with Jesus. But when they came to
Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they
did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust
his lance into his side, and immediately blood
and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony
is true; he knows that he is speaking the
truth, so that you also may (come to) believe.
For this happened so that
the scripture passage might be fulfilled: "Not
a bone of it will be broken."
And again another passage says: "They will
look upon him whom they have pierced."
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Holy
Saturday |
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From the
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy |
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146. |
"On Holy Saturday, the Church pauses at the
Lord's tomb, meditating his Passion and Death,
his descent into Hell, and, with prayer and
fasting, awaits his resurrection"(151).
Popular piety should not be impervious to the
peculiar character of Holy Saturday. The festive
customs and practices connected with this day,
on which the celebration of the Lord's
resurrection was once anticipated, should be
reserved for the vigil and for Easter Sunday. |
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Holy Saturday is a day of reflection and vigil,
culminating in the renewal of our baptism. |
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Read more about the Liturgical Year |
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