WHAT AM I DOING FOR TRIDUUM THIS YEAR? Three days stand out against all others for Christians: the day Jesus died, the day He lay in the tomb and the day He rose from the dead. Everything we do on these days is different. Everything we do is important. Throughout the season of Lent, you have prayed, fasted and performed works of charity. Perhaps you did not keep all of your Lenten resolutions, but now Lent is ending. We turn our gaze from the Forty Days, that marathon of discipline, to the Three Days, that sleepless time out of time, that interlude of space. This booklet will help you anticipate the mysteries that are about to unfold, and it will accompany you through each day. You will need a Bible as you work through it. Use the spaces provided for planning ahead, for reflecting on scripture and for savoring your experiences. Fill them with words, pictures or anything you wish. This year, do something for Triduum. Keep the Three Days.
THE END OF LENT Lent ends on Holy Thursday, although most people aren t aware of that. Ask your friends: When does Lent end? Some will say noon on Holy Saturday, but they ll be wrong. Lent ends at sunset on Holy Thursday. Remember those resolutions for Lent that you made on Ash Wednesday? Ask yourself the all-important question: Are you different now? Did Lent change you this year? If so, give thanks to God. If not, you can try again next year. Now comes another challenge keeping the Three Days. These are the Three Days when everything is important: what you do, where you go, what you wear, when you eat and with whom you spend your time. TRIDUUM The Three Days have another name: Triduum. It s a strange word to us. Two u s as in vacuum but three syllables. It comes from the Latin words for three days and has a mysterious, solemn sound. Triduum conveys the gravity of this time. The three days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but we start counting on Thursday night, the night before the first day. Each of the days begins the night before, as most important liturgical feasts do. Though we call this time the Three Days, in spirit it is really one event. What we start on Holy Thursday we finish on Easter Sunday: one long glorious day. Clear your calendar for the Three Days! This can be hard if you are not prepared for it, but it essential if you want to enter into the spirit of the days. Starting Thursday evening, make these days special. Think of them as retreat. It s time to set aside ordinary activities and give full attention to the holiest days of the year. Take off work. Meet no one for lunch. Do not go to movies or concerts. Stay away from stores. Cancel your appointments, as well as the kids sporting events. Walk places if you can. Forgo television, computers and radio. Minimize telephone time and limit your conversations at home. Savor the silence. Something wonderful is about to happen. Create an environment to welcome it. Clear your calendar for the Three Days. PLANNING YOUR TRIDUUM How will you go on retreat for these days? What will you do to make your life different? How will your make space for the Triduum?
HOW TO USE THESE PAGES The following sections tell you more about each of the Three Days and suggest ways to prepare for them. Read through the entire booklet and plan your time in the space provided. Then, as you move through the Triduum, return to these pages. Use them to reflect on the scriptures, liturgies and experiences of this holy time. HOLY THURSDAY NIGHT Planning Your Holy Thursday What will the last hours of Lent be like for you this year? When and where will you dine? With whom will you go to church? Thursday night you cross over from Lent to Triduum at the Mass of the Lord s Supper. Have your supper at home first. Make it a good farewell to Lent. Gather at church with the faithful who will participate in this first Triduum liturgy. Sing the Glory to God, that beautiful prayer from which the Church has abstained during Lent. The celebration begins in joyful gratitude. Hear the story of the Passover. Listen to Paul proclaim the mystery of faith, then hear John s account of the Last Supper, so fresh and striking. Something is missing in John s gospel: the bread and cup. But something else is there: the washing of the feet. Washing feet in public seems out of place. We don t do that. How often do we lovingly wash our own feet, much less someone else s? Even harder than washing another s feet is allowing someone to wash yours! It seemed wrong to Peter too. Scandalized by the idea, he resisted Jesus act of humble service. But Jesus insisted that without it, Peter had o share with him. At that, Peter allowed it. Jesus then told the disciples that they too much be foot-washers. This Eucharist is like no other. Christ s words and presence are so intimate, as are we, one with another. Before we part, in the awed awareness of the mystery we have celebrated, we fall to our knees to adore this blessed sacrament. A procession forms. The first day has begun. WORKING THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE After the Mass of the Lord s Supper, write down your thoughts and prayers. What did you experience tonight? What did it tell you about he mystery of the first day?
You witnessed the washing of the feet. Did you have your feet washed? Did you react as Peter did? What does it mean for your community to perform this ritual? In what way will you now perform it, as Jesus asked his disciples to do? How will you wash someone else s feet? What service are you called to give to the tired, aching body of Christ? You shared Eucharist tonight. Perhaps you processed with the Blessed Sacrament. What thoughts and feelings did these experiences awaken in you about what you believe? If you wish, write a prayer to God, expressing your faith, your hope, your delight and your wonder at the gift of the body and blood of Christ. Write it as a letter to God. GOOD FRIDAY We call this Friday good. There is nothing good in what humanity did. There is everything good in what Jesus did. Authorities accused Jesus falsely. The crowd turned against him. His own disciples abandoned him. He died naked, between two thieves. Jesus did this out of love for us. Spend this day as you would spend a day absorbed in thoughts of a loved one. Eat less. Do less. The Church asks us to fast on Good Friday. We fast in response to the loving sacrifice of Jesus. Our day of hunger gives partial witness to our willingness to sacrifice in turn. So keep the fast as best you can. For some, that might mean two light meals. For others less. Eat no meat. Spend the day in reflection and prayer. Find a quiet place at home, at church or outside. Read passages from the Bible, perhaps one or more of the texts below. The songs of the Suffering Servant from the Book of Isaiah: 42:1-7; 49:1-6; 50:4-9a; 52:13-53:12. Imagine these songs on the lips of Jesus. What is his suffering? What is his mission?
Imagine these songs on the lips of the body of Christ the Church. What is our suffering? What is our mission? Imagine these songs on your own lips. What is your suffering? What is your mission? The Passion according to John 18:1-19:42. Take your time. Reflect. Take a walk. Write some notes. Also, join your community for prayer today. Is the parish gathering for any special prayer during the day? Be there. Is there some act of charity you wish to perform today? Do you want to visit someone who is sick? Write a letter to Congress on behalf of the hungry? Volunteer for some service? Be especially mindful of the hours between noon and three. It is traditional to observe silence during these hours when Jesus hung on the Cross. Reflect on the last words of Jesus: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34) Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. (Lk 23:28) Woman, here is your son Here is your mother. (Jn 19:26-27) Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. (Lk 23:24) Truly, I tell you today you will be with me in paradise. (Lk 23:43) I am thirsty. (Jn 19:28) Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. (Lk 23:46) It is finished. (Jn 19:30) Write about God s love for you and the sacrifices you feel called to make in response.
THE CELEBRATION OF THE LORD S PASSION The primary liturgy today is the celebration of the Lord s Passion. It is not a Mass. You begin in silence. The ministers assume the most abject posture of prayer before the mystery of God s love in the face of human sin. Hear the mystery of God s love in the face of human sin. Hear the fourth song of the suffering servant from Isaiah and the reflection on Jesus death from the Letter to the Hebrews. Join in the Passion of our Lord according to John. Kneel at the announcement of Jesus death. Pray for the church and all the world in a series of petitions. Venerate the cross that sign of contradiction instrument of death, instrument of redemption. Venerate it with a kiss, an embrace, a bow all signs of reverence. To love the cross is to love the God who has sacrificed for us. Sing the music during this time. Make it your prayer. There is no dismissal today. The liturgy, which began in silence as if yesterday s had never stopped, ends in silence awaiting the Vigil. The second day has begun. WORKING THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE After celebrating the Lord s Passion with your community, write some thoughts and impressions. In the silence of the opening, what did you pray? In the reading of scriptures, what struck you? How did the proclamation of the death of Jesus reveal anew God s love for you and for all creation. How does humanity fail to live up to that love? Do you have an attitude, a habit of thought bound up in past events or misunderstandings, that opposes Jesus law of love? For what sins yours or society s do you shed tears of contrition today? During the intercessions you prayed for church leaders, catechumens, the needy and civil officials, among others. For whom did you pray specifically today? When you venerated the cross and observed others doing the same, what thoughts came to you? What cross do you find in your life? Do you accept it? Do you venerate it as the place of your salvation?
DURING THE DAY Holy Saturday is a day of rest. Jesus lay in the tomb this day, and our experience will be marked by some emptiness. The church invites us to fast today, just as we did yesterday, but the purpose of today s fast is to join in prayer with those who are preparing for Baptism. At the beginning of Lent, certain catechumens became elect. The community discerned that they were ready for the celebration of the Easter sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Today they fast, and we join them in anticipation. The baptismal fast anticipates Easter joy. It is not the same as the abstinence and fast of Lent. Lent s fast has a penitential tone, looking back over sin. Today s fast has an eager tone, like looking forward to one s wedding. So although the fast looks the same, it feels very different. Today we are one with those who will be baptized hungry for the joy of resurrection. If the elect are gathering at your church this morning for preparation rites, join them. They will recite the Creed they received earlier in Lent. At that time, as they were nearing the end of their preparation, they received the Creed as a summary of all they have learned and experienced. Since then, they have reflected on its meaning and memorized its phrases. Today they return the Creed to the church, to show that they have taken it as their own. Be present to receive the Creed they return. Plan for a peaceful, prayerful day. You might take a walk or visit other churches. Reflect on the scriptures that will be proclaimed at the Vigil tonight. Prepare to hear them in he assembly of God s faithful and to sing in response to their proclamation. The Creation Genesis 1:1-2:2 What does this account suggest to you about your relationship to God and to all creatures? In what ways have you joined God in the act of creation? Tonight baptism will make the elect a new creation. How will you be changed by witnessing their baptism? Abraham and Isaac Genesis 22:1-18 God rescued from death Isaac, Abraham s beloved son, and Jesus, God s own beloved son. How has God rescued you in your life? In what ways do sin, evil and death threaten your life now? Who will be your rescuer? Crossing the Red Sea Exodus 14:15-15:1 God brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea. What role has water played in your life? Has it been a source of destruction? Of new life? God s Love is Tender and Longsuffering Isaiah 54:5-14 God takes back sinful Israel in love, not anger. Who has forgiven you? Whom have you forgiven? Is God calling you to forsake anger and pursue love? Come to the Waters Isaiah 55:1-11 God invites the thirsty to come and renew the everlasting covenant. For what are you thirsting? Who in your community is deprived of life-giving water?
Praise of Wisdom Baruch 3:9-15, 23-44 Creation is an expression of God s wisdom, which has been handed down to us in God s precepts. How has wisdom come to you this year? What wisdom are you still seeking? God purifies with water Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28 God will sprinkle clean water on the chosen people just as the waters of baptism will cleanse the elect. As you renew your baptismal promises tonight, what impurities will God wash away? What is the promised land for which you long? You may also ponder these texts, used in the Easter Vigil of the Middle Ages or the Byzantine tradition: Noah and the Flood Genesis 5:32-8:22 Vision of the Dry Bones Ezekiel 37:1-14 Jonah and the Big Fish Jonah 3:1-10 The Three Young Men in the Fiery Furnace Daniel 3:1-24 God Makes A New Covenant Jeremiah 31:31-34 If you will spend time today preparing for an Easter celebration with family and friends, do it all with a prayerful spirit. This hospitable service you render is holy work. Be mindful of the insights waiting in ordinary tasks. If you are cleaning and tidying the house, you may reflect on how you have cleansed and brought order to your soul this Lent. If you are preparing food, reflect perhaps on how the elect have prepared themselves for the Eucharist. If you decorate eggs, pray for new life, new spirit and faith reborn. Make all activities a prayer, an acknowledgement of God s presence in even the most mundane things. Remain true to your fast do not taste the food you prepare for tomorrow. THE EASTER VIGIL The most important liturgy of the year is the Easter Vigil. No other event has more significance than this celebration. You must participate: You simply must be there. The church needs you. The Easter Vigil is much more than a remembrance of the Easter story. It immerses us in the mystery of death and resurrection. It proclaims the resurrection anew. It brings new life to the baptized. It reinvigorates the faithful who recommit themselves to life in Christ. The Easter Vigil is the Resurrection. The whole of our faith is built upon this one central belief., that Jesus is risen from the dead. The Christian community gathers on this night of nights to keep this vigil before his rising. It will be long. But that is the point. We need time to celebrate the mystery of our faith. Approach the Vigil with hungry anticipation. You have spent two days in quiet retreat. Tonight all that will change. Tonight you will bury all that needs to be buried, and you will rise with Christ to the splendor of new life.
The Easter Vigil takes place in the dark of night. You gather with the community of believers to celebrate what makes you one. The liturgy begins outdoors, around a fire large enough to light the night. Even before a word is spoken, the burning fire enlivens our faith in the resurrection of Jesus, which vanquishes all the darkness of the world. The presiders eloquent greeting captures the purpose of the Vigil: Dear friends in Christ, on this most holy night, when our Lord Jesus Christ passed from death to life, the church invites her children throughout the world to come together in prayer and vigil. This is the Passover of the Lord: if we honor the memory of his death and resurrection by hearing his word and celebrating his mysteries, then we may be confident that we shall share his victory over death and live with him forever in God. The presider blesses the fire. The Easter candle, cut with the alpha and the omega, glorifies Christ, the beginning and the end of all. Lit from the fire, the candle rises in splendor. Tiny flames multiply in the darkness, as you light your candle from someone else s and others light theirs from yours. A procession forms behind this pillar of fire. Christ is our light. Thanks be to God. You hear the Easter Proclamation, the Exsultet. The celebrant proclaims the meaning of this night in a strange and beautiful song, calling the angels, all creatures, the earth and he church to exult in glory. This is our Passover, when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain. As God led Israel fro slavery to freedom on this night, Christians tonight are freed from sin and restored to grace and holiness. What good would life have been to us, the song asks, had Christ not come as our Redeemer? The power of this night dispels evil, washes away guilt, restores innocence and gives joy to those who mourn. Now we take time to hear, to sing and to reflect upon so many facets of the story of our salvation from the creation to the exodus to the prophets. Paul s Letter to the Romans (6:3-11) unites the themes of baptism and resurrection. As Christ was buried in death and rose again, so do believers die to sin and rise from the waters of baptism, refreshed and renewed in Christ. Then, at last, the alleluia rings out once more and the gospel puts into words the mystery we celebrate this night. We hear directly from the evangelist the good news that gives gospel its name: Jesus is risen! This Vigil does not simply recall the death and resurrection of Jesus. It puts us into the death and resurrection of Jesus. We see this most dramatically in the celebration of baptism that begins now. In the litany of saints, we ask all the holy ones of God to support the actions of the gathered assembly. All the church, on earth and in heaven, asks God for the new life of baptism. The presider blesses the water, asking the Holy Spirit to make it holy, so that those who enter into it may be reborn into newness of life. Candidates for baptism renounce Satan and profess their faith in God. Then they go down into the water as if into the tomb with Christ. In those dangerous baptismal waters, they die to
a former way of life, and in those life-giving baptismal waters, the new Christians rise with Christ. This is our Passover. The newly baptized are then confirmed: anointed with the fragrant chrism, consecrated by the Holy Spirit. If there are baptized candidates for reception into the full communion of the church they make their profession of faith and are confirmed as well. During the baptismal liturgy, the presider will invite you to renew your baptismal promises. Throughout the season of Lent you have sacrificed and prayed, performed actions for justice and for the benefit of others and striven for a renewal of heart. Now comes the celebration of Easter. You have heard the scriptures that tell of God s power over the forces of evil. You have witnessed the baptism of those who have forsaken all else to follow Christ. Once more you make this mystery your own. What do you renounce? What habits and attitudes have you tried to change during Lent? When the presider asks you if you renounce sin and evil, answer confidently, like the changed person you are, I do. What do you believe? Who is the God who offers you hope and redemption? Do you believe in the resurrection of Christ and his promises to you? Say it confidently, like the changed person you are, I do. As you experience this water again, let it remind you of the new life you began in baptism, of the refreshment God offer you in your times of struggle and of the eternal life that is yours at the end of time. In the celebration of the Eucharist, the newly baptized will share the Eucharistic prayer and holy communion for the first time the climax of their initiation. Eucharist expresses our intimacy with God, our participation in the life of the church and our union with other believers. Tonight you are one with the newly baptized. You have helped bring them to the waters, and now they will help you be faithful to Christ. This Eucharistic communion implies our willingness to accept the responsibilities of Christian service and to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of the gathered assembly. The Easter Vigil concludes with the alleluias. We go forth to love and serve the Lord, hearts filled with praise, renewed by the gathering of the faithful and the sacraments of the church. WORKING THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE This year, what aspects of the Easter Vigil touched you most deeply? What new insights emerged?
EASTER SUNDAY Planning Your Easter Sunday How will you celebrate the resurrection today? What will you wear? How will you pray? How and with whom will you celebrate? Easter Sunday concludes the celebration of the Triduum. If you return to Mass today you may receive communion again. The renewal of baptismal promises is included in this Mass, primarily for the benefit of those who did not participate in the Easter Vigil. The Easter Sunday Mass is, in a way, an extra celebration for those who attended the Vigil. It does not replace the Vigil, with all its symbolic content. At the Vigil, you celebrate the mystery of resurrection in the darkness of night and with those to be baptized. On Easter Sunday, you gather with the faithful in the bright morning of new life to celebrate this mystery anew. Many people wear their best on East. If ever an occasion called for festive new clothes, this is it. The assembly that gathers for this feast shows even in its dress the special nature of Easter. Spiritual renewal resonates in earthly feasting on this day. You may be gathering with family and friends. You may be eating special foods that make this day unique. You may also be taking time for leisure and delightful pursuits. Feasting and resting are both signs of eternal life, so enjoy them both this day! Luxuriate in the wonderful love that God has for you. Conclude your celebration of the Triduum with joy. In fact, the cultivation of joy is your mission for the next fifty days of the Easter season! This sustained gladness springs from your celebration of the Triduum. If these three days have renewed your heart, with God s help, you will renew the world! Working Through the Experience For what are you most thankful this Easter Day? How has God touched your life through this Triduum? What is God asking you to do to bring Easter joy to the world?
HOLY WEEK SERVICES 2018 (All services are in English) PALM/PASSION SUNDAY March 31/April 1 The usual weekend schedule, with procession and blessing of branches MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK Regular Mass at 8:30 at the Francis Xavier Chapel, Jesuit Center HOLY THURSDAY April 5 No morning Mass at the Jesuit Centre. 5 pm - Evening Mass of the Washing of the Feet at St. Jean Baptiste de LaSalle Church, Jabal Hussein Procession following Mass to the Xavier Chapel at the Jesuit Center Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until 11 PM GOOD FRIDAY April 6 No Masses are celebrated on this sacred day Noon - Solemn Liturgical Service St. Jean Baptiste de LaSalle Church, Jabal Hussein. Xavier Chapel open for prayer from 3 PM until 8 PM HOLY SATURDAY April 7 5 PM St. Mary of Nazareth, - Abbreviated Easter Vigil Service 10 PM St. Jean Baptiste de LaSalle Church, Jabal Hussein Full Easter Vigil. Please arrive early those arriving after we have started cannot enter the Church until after the entrance of the Paschal candle. EASTER SUNDAY April 8 10:0 AM Mass of Easter morning at the Jesuit Center 6 PM Mass of Easter Day at St. Jean Baptiste de LaSalle Church