Celebrating the Triduum Intergenerational Session By Joan Weber Time: 110 minutes Activity Objective To explore and celebrate, through Scripture and ritual, the profound meaning and joy of the Triduum Connections to the Catechism CCC #610-611, 616-618, 640-657, 1163-1167, 1337-1341, 1382, Supplies and Preparation Opening Prayer A candle with three wicks, a towel, a jar of oil, a basket of bread, a wooden cross, a Bible, a bowl of water, a paschal candle and a long white cloth Matches and taper to light candles Prayer center on which to place the symbols Five readers and eight symbol carriers Make copies of Opening Prayer to provide to readers All Ages Opening Activity: Journey from Darkness to Light If at all possible, dim the lights until the room is in total darkness. If you cannot do this, have blindfolds for the participants so they can still experience darkness. Have a candle with a taper or matches or have another light source on each table. (Other possibilities include lanterns, flashlights, lava lamps, etc.) Prepare a recorded version of the Exsultet, or have two cantors or a choir ready to sing it live. Whole Group Learning Activity: The Holiness in Holy Thursday A Three-Fold Gift Have a Bible on each table. Have a small loaf of bread on one-third of the tables for those studying the Eucharist. Have a supply table with colored paper, markers, stickers, etc., for one-third of the tables to create thank you cards for the pastor. Page 1
Make copies of Handouts 2, 3 and 4 enough so that one-third of the group gets Handout 2, one-third gets Handout 3, and one-third gets Handout 4 Whole Group Learning Activity: What s Good about Good Friday? Have large sheets of newsprint ready, one sheet per table group. Have colored markers on each table. Have a cross or crucifix on each table. Whole Group Learning Activity: The Easter Vigil Oh, What a Night! Announce ahead of time (more than once) that families/households should bring a plain pillar candle to this event. It can be any height, but at least six inches. Have some on hand for those who forget. (Asking them for a goodwill donation for the candle would be appropriate.) Have the Paschal Candle next to the prayer table where it is easily accessible. Have a lighter nearby. Have a large Bible on the prayer table. Have someone prepared to lead the community in singing a version of the Alleluia with which your parishioners are familiar. Have a reader ready to proclaim the Resurrection story. (Use the story in the current cycle: A is Matthew 28:1-10, B is Mark 16:1-7, and C is Luke 24:1-12). On the supply table, have markers, stickers, pins and other items which the families and households can use to decorate their own paschal candles. Page 2
Opening Prayer (15 minutes) Welcome participants warmly to this gathering and invite the community to join in the opening prayer. Gathering Song: Lead Us from Death to Life (or one with a similar theme with which your parishioners are familiar) Prayer Leader: Loving God, today we reflect on your Son s journey from the Last Supper through his suffering and death to his glorious Resurrection on Easter morning. We journey with Jesus from darkness to light. Be with us as we learn and remember anew the gift of the Triduum in our lives. Amen. Reader One: On Holy Thursday we gather to wash feet in service to one another and to break bread that we might become the body of Christ in the world. We express our gratitude for the gift of priesthood in our Church and the blessing of our own priest(s) in our parish Bless us, O God, with serving hearts! All: Bless us with serving hearts! Symbol Carriers: Place the symbols of the towel, the oil and basket of bread in the prayer center and light one wick of the candle with three wicks. Reader Two: On Good Friday we gather to express our sorrow for our sinfulness and to thank Jesus for the gift of his suffering and death which helped us to understand and be transformed by God s unconditional love for us Bless us, O God, with serving hearts and hands that bring your love to the world. All: Bless us with serving hearts! Symbol Carrier: Place the symbol of the wooden cross in the prayer center and light the second wick. Reader Three: At the Easter Vigil we listen to salvation history as it unfolds, from the story of creation in Genesis through the prophets to the Gospel proclamation of the Resurrection of Christ. Our story reveals God s unrelenting faithfulness to us Bless us, O God, with serving hearts and feet that carry your Word to the world. All: Bless us with serving hearts! Page 3
Symbol Carrier: Place the Bible in the prayer center and light the third wick on the candle. Reader Four: At the Easter Vigil we light the new fire, bless the waters of baptism, and welcome new members into our faith community Bless us, O God, with serving hearts and a community that warmly welcomes those whom you call to join us. All: Bless us with serving hearts! Symbol Carrier: Place the bowl of water in the prayer center and light the paschal candle. Reader Five: The Triduum is one liturgy that takes place over three days. We remember Jesus as servant as we enter into Holy Thursday. We adore and praise Jesus as Suffering Servant and Redeemer on Good Friday. And we celebrate the joy of the Resurrection of Jesus at the Easter Vigil Bless us, O God, with serving hearts and lives that witness to Jesus life, death and resurrection. All: Bless us with serving hearts! Symbol Carrier: Drape the white cloth around all of the symbols on the prayer table. Prayer Leader: God of life, death and new birth, we thank you for the gift of the Triduum in our lives as we pray together the prayer your son Jesus gave us: Our Father Prayer Leader: We close our prayer in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen. Closing Song: Christ, Be Our Light Page 4
All Ages Opening Activity - Journey from Darkness to Light (20 minutes) 1. Use these or similar words to introduce and lead this activity: Today we have gathered to discover the meaning of the Triduum in our lives as Catholics. The Triduum is a name given to the experience of the three-part liturgy of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. The Triduum is the most important celebration in our entire liturgical year. It is really a journey from darkness to light, from sin to grace, from despair to hope, from death to new life. We journey with Jesus through his Paschal Mystery, from his suffering and agonizing death to his glorious Resurrection from the dead. To appreciate the mystery and awe of this event, we will begin by reminding ourselves of what it is like to live in darkness. 2. Turn off the lights, or invite participants to put on their blindfolds. Then continue with these or similar words: Let s spend a few minutes just experiencing darkness. Try to stay as quiet as possible during this time. Allow several minutes (if possible) for participants to sit in the dark. 3. Bring the lights up somewhat (light enough to see their handouts, but still quite dim), and invite them to reflect on their experience of darkness: At your tables, share what the experience of darkness was like for you. Then take Handout 1: Darkness and Light, and discuss your answers to the first two questions. Allow a few minutes for the table conversation. 4. Continue in these or your own words: Our Church has always used darkness as a way to help us understand the effects of sin in our lives. And darkness accompanied Jesus through his passion and death. Resurrection brought light back into the world. Invite each group to illuminate its table by lighting/turning on the light source on the table. Bring the lights back up to full strength. Return to the handout now, and discuss your answers to Questions 3 and 4. 5. Allow time for discussion, then continue: Page 5
Today we are going to journey through the three steps of the Triduum Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. We will move from the darkness of sin and death to the light of the Resurrection and redemption. To prepare to enter into this experience, let s listen to the Exsultet, which is sung during the Vigil to mark the passage from dark to light. 6. Distribute Handout 1 and play a recording of the Exsultet or have cantors sing it. Invite participants to follow along on their handouts, marking words or phrases that refer to dark and light. 7. Once the chant has concluded, invite each table group to share images of dark or light they heard in the recording, beginning with the youngest person at the table. 8. After a few minutes, wrap up this part of the session with the following: Let s carry our appreciation of the light which only Christ brings into the rest of our time together. Whole Group Learning Activity: The Holiness in Holy Thursday A Three-Fold Gift (20 minutes) The objective of this activity is to help participants appreciate the three-part theme of Holy Thursday: the institution of the Eucharist; the institution of the priesthood; and Christ s call to his disciples to be of service to one another Supplies and Preparation Have a Bible on each table. Have a small loaf of bread on one-third of the tables for those studying the Eucharist. Have a supply table with colored paper, markers, stickers, etc., for one-third of the tables to create thank you cards for the pastor. Make copies of Handout 2, enough so that one-third of the group gets 2A, onethird 2B, and one-third 2C. 1. Use these or similar words to introduce this activity: How many of you have experienced the Holy Thursday liturgy? At your tables, discuss what is unique about this service from a regular Mass. Allow a few minutes for table discussion, then continue: We commemorate three special parts of our Catholic identity on Holy Thursday. The first is the institution of the Eucharist. When Jesus said, This is my Page 6
body This is my blood, he gave us the most precious gift we hold his real presence in the Eucharist. We believe that Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine not symbolically but truly present. The second feature of Holy Thursday is the celebration of the institution of the priesthood, or Holy Orders. As the Catechism teaches, when Jesus told his apostles to Do this in memory of me, he created the priesthood to carry on this gift of his life. The third unique feature of Holy Thursday, summed up in John s Gospel, is Jesus washing his apostles feet. In doing so, he taught us the importance of serving others. He made service an integral part of discipleship. 2. Assign one of every three tables to Eucharist, to Holy Orders, and to Service. Pass out Handout 2A to the Eucharist tables, 2B to those doing Holy Orders, and 2C to the Service tables. Invite them to follow the directions on their handouts. Tell them they have 10 minutes to complete the exercise. Note that they will be interacting with two other tables (ones with different assignments from theirs, so that there is an A, a B, and a C involved) at the end of their table work. Whole Group Learning Activity: What s Good about Good Friday? (Time: 20 minutes) The objective of this activity is to engage participants in reflection on how life-giving the suffering and death of Jesus in his passion are in their lives 1. Use these or similar words to introduce this activity: It might seem like a stretch to see good in Good Friday. We honor the passion of Jesus from his agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, through his scourging and crowning with thorns on the part of the powerful, to his last breath on the cross. We walk with him on the journey to death. The presider sings, This is the wood of the cross, on which was hung the salvation of the world. And we reply in song, Come let us worship. There is a tremendous gift in Jesus act of self-giving the gift of life-giving death. There is a reason why we venerate the cross-through touch or kiss or a simple bow during the Good Friday service. Jesus died in order to save us from the death which sin causes in our lives. As St. Paul proclaims in Romans 6:3-9: Brothers and sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. Page 7
2. Continue: For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. For a dead person has been absolved from sin. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. Stop and reflect on the meaning of this passage. Allow a few moments of silent reflection. Let s look at the upside-down awesomeness of Good Friday. Who knows what an oxymoron is? (Invite answers.) The dictionary defines oxymoron as: A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction. Your task is to brainstorm a great oxymoron which describes the essence of Good Friday of Jesus suffering and death. Once you choose it, write it on your newsprint and illustrate it with the colored markers on your table. Be prepared to share your oxymoron with others. Give table groups about eight minutes to complete this exercise. 3. Invite groups to share their oxymorons with the large group or with one other table, depending upon time. 4. Conclude this segment by inviting participants to venerate the cross on their table in whatever way they choose. Page 8
Whole Group Learning Activity: The Easter Vigil Oh, What a Night! (20 minutes) The objective of this activity is to engage participants in a deeper understanding of the Easter Vigil and how it applies to their lives 1. Use these or similar words to introduce this activity: The Easter Vigil is arguably the most powerful ritual in our liturgical year. It celebrates the most amazing, most vital, most central action in the life of Jesus his Resurrection from the dead. During the vigil, we celebrate the return of light into our lives when we light the Easter fire and lift up the Paschal candle. Light the parish s Paschal candle, and hold it up for all to see. We celebrate salvation history the love story between God and God s people as we listen to the stories from Sacred Scripture. Hold up the Bible for all to see. We get to say ALLELUIA for the first time since Lent began. Lead the community in singing Alleluia. And we hear the first proclamation of the Resurrection story from the Gospel. Have the prepared reader proclaim the Resurrection story. 2. Continue: The message of the Resurrection is clear Jesus fought death and won. He redeemed us from our sins by surrendering himself to death. And when he rose, he showed us that love is truly more powerful than death. At your tables, share with each other the meaning of that truth in your life. Give a few minutes for table discussions. 3. Continue: During the Easter Vigil, the presider decorates the Paschal Candle. He marks the candle with the Greek letters of Alpha and Omega, indicating that Christ is the beginning and the end. He inserts incense into the cross, at the spots representing the five wounds of Christ. Then he lights the candle from the new Easter fire. Each of your families or households has your own paschal candle at your table. There are crafts on the supply table which can help you decorate your candle. Before you begin, think about the Resurrection stories in Scripture. If you wish, go to the four Gospels and read the accounts of Easter Sunday. Then choose a Page 9
primary Easter symbol an empty tomb, a lily, the word Alleluia. Imprint your candle with your symbol and any other symbols or words which connect the Resurrection to your lives. You might mark your baptismal dates, or your names. There is no wrong way to do this. Give about 10-12 minutes for this exercise. 4. Continue: Take your candle home, and during the Easter Season, light it as a reminder that we are Easter people, and Alleluia is our song. Closing (15 minutes) 1. Direct table groups to reflect on what they ve experienced in this session. Then have them share which part of the Triduum they are most looking forward to celebrating and why. 2. Invite anyone who wishes to share what they hope to get out of the Triduum to come forward (open mike) and share. Take about five minutes for this. 3. Wrap up with these or similar words: 4. Move to prayer. Tonight (Today) we have immersed ourselves in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ as the Church commemorates it in the Triduum. I hope this compels you to participate in this most wondrous of times in our Church year. God of love, you sent your Son into our world to redeem us through his life, death and Resurrection. Help us enter into Christ s paschal journey with hearts filled with wonder and gratitude for this amazing gift. Thank you for shining the light of you Son on us. Amen. Sing Walk, Walk in the Light or Christ, Be Our Light as people leave. Page 10
Handout 1 Darkness and Light 1. What are the challenges of being in the dark? 2. Why do you think the Church talks about the darkness of sin? Why equate sin with darkness? 3. What are the qualities/gifts of light? 4. Why does the Church equate Christ s Resurrection with light? Exsultet Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God s throne! Jesus Christ, our King is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation! Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your King! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes forever! Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory! The risen Savior shines upon you! Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God s people! For Christ has ransomed us with his blood, and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father! This is our passover feast, When Christ, the true Lamb, is slain, whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers. This is the night, when first you saved our fathers: you freed the people of Israel from their slav ry, and led them dry-shod through the sea. This is the night, when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin. This is night, when Christians everywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness. Page 11
This is the night, when Jesus broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave. What good would life have been to us, had Christ not come as our Redeemer? Father, how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your merciful love! To ransom a slave you gave away your Son. O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer! Most blessed of all nights, chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead! Of this night scripture says: The night will be as clear as day: it will become my light, my joy. The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy; it casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride. Night truly blessed, when heaven is wedded to earth and we are reconciled to God! Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night, receive our evening sacrifice of praise, your Church s solemn offering. Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God. Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night! May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning: Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Page 12
Handout 2 Gift of Eucharist 1. Read together Mark 14:22-25, and Luke 22:14-20. Then sit quietly for a moment, reflecting on the greatest gift Jesus gave us at the Last Supper his very self in the Eucharist! 2. Take the loaf of bread, break off a piece for each person at the table, and hold it in your hands. Discuss what bread does for the body. Then share what receiving communion during mass means in your life. What happens/changes in your life when you receive the Body and Blood of Christ? 3. Now offer your piece of bread to the person sitting next to you as a sign of your solidarity in Christ and your willingness to be Christ s body in the world. As you offer it, say Jesus is the bread of our lives. 4. Now share the bread with two other tables: one doing Holy Orders and one doing Service. As you share the bread, say, Jesus is the bread of our lives. Page 13
Handout 3 We Love Our Priest(s) 1. Read Luke 22:14-20 together. Then sit quietly for a moment, reflecting on how Jesus instituted the priesthood by his words. 2. As a table group, list all of the things you can think of which your pastor and any other priests in your parish do for you. 3. Create a thank you card (or cards, if you have more than one priest in your parish) from the materials on the supply table. Express what you are most grateful for about him, but also what functions of the priesthood which you appreciate the most (e.g., getting to receive Jesus in the Eucharist). Make sure everyone at the table signs the card. 4. Invite participants at a Eucharist and a Service table to sign your card. Page 14
Handout 4 Disciples: People Who Serve 1. Read together John 13:1-9. Then sit quietly for a moment, reflecting on how important this message of service must have been to Jesus. It was one of the very last things he did to teach his apostles how to live and love and lead others to him. 2. Think about how dirty feet must have gotten in Jesus time with no paved roads and with most people wearing sandals. And yet Jesus got down on his hands and knees to wash his apostles feet. In doing so, he truly taught us the meaning of servant leadership! 3. Today we are more likely to walk on paved sidewalks and streets than on dirt roads. Our feet are covered with socks and shoes and don t really get that dirty. If Jesus would have come today, what act do you think he might have chosen to teach us the importance of serving others? Brainstorm ideas as a table, and then choose your best idea. 4. Do this act of service to each other (or a symbolic representation of it), going around the table. Then find a Eucharist table and have each person from your table perform the service for someone at the Eucharist table. Do the same with a Holy Orders table group. Page 15
Handout 5 What Is Good about Good Friday? Romans 6:3-9: Brothers and sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. For a dead person has been absolved from sin. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. YOUR CHALLENGE: Create an oxymoron about Good Friday (e.g., life-giving death). 1. Discuss how death can be life-giving. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines an oxymoron as: A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g., faith unfaithful kept him falsely true). Your task is to create an oxymoron for the theme of Good Friday by finding the good in Jesus suffering and death. Once you have it, illustrate it on your sheet of newsprint. Be prepared to share your oxymoron with other groups. Page 16