I am keenly aware that our present existence is influenced by events that happened in our past. That's why I've enjoyed studying history as a personal hobby, because it takes us back through story of how we came to be who we are today.
It's the reason I enjoy celebrating Independence Day. It's also why the Triduum is the most meaningful church celebration of the year for me: It speaks to those pivotal days nearly 2000 years ago when Christ effected His salvific work. These days are at the heart of what it means to be Christian.
For sure, I have my favorite moments that I always look forward to each year when the Triduum comes. (To see that list, please refer to the comment I posted at the end of my post on last year's Triduum 2014.) But at the same time, I seek to keep myself open to how I can experience this annual observance in a new way each year.
There are so many powerful elements in the services on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with the prayers, Scripture readings, and other symbols. But this year, I found myself very drawn to the lyrics of the songs we sang.
It started off right away at Maundy Thursday Mass, with the song "We Should Glory". Those lyrics speak to what the Triduum is all about, that Jesus Christ reigns as King upon the Cross, and we should glory in Him and His Cross, because they are the means of our salvation.
I was given the task of proclaiming the first reading at Maundy Thursday, which is a selection from Exodus 12, when God gives the Israelites, through Moses, instructions for celebrating the Passover. This reading sets the context in which Christ established the New Covenant in which we stand, by which we are saved.
The one thing that struck me from the foot washing rite was how much of a family experience it was: There were some couples and families together helping wash feet, and families came together to wash each other's feet. It speaks to how we experience the presence of Christ in our families and in our Church family.
When it came to Cross Friday, I found myself faced with so many wonderful opportunities for prayerful reflection. I ended up at St. Mary of Celle Parish in Berwyn in the afternoon for a live enactment of the Passion of Christ. Upon reaching the point when Jesus is condemend to death, we all left the church sanctuary and walked the Way of the Cross as we followed Jesus walking around the block.
As I walked, I felt as if my movements were joining me to Christ. This is an important idea behind the Triduum: We don't merely remember these things happening to Christ, but we place ourselves in them, that we may be one with Christ who joined Himself to our humanity. I also thought back to the March for Life Chicago 2015, when Archbishop Cupich remarked that we march and join ourselves to the plight of those women in need. I was indeed marching there on this Cross Friday, joining myself to Christ and the way of His Cross, as it is still experienced today through those who suffer.
Later, I attended an evening service at Calvary Memorial Church. The service leader, who happened to be my brother, began the service with a few remarks, encouraging those present to feel the weight of this somber occasion in the words of Scripture and the songs. I indeed felt a certain sense of heaviness, remembering the sufferings of Christ.
The service I attended a little later at Ascension gave me more opportunity to reflect on suffering, a very real part of our human experience. It was a part of our humanity that God didn't shun, but rather, Jesus Christ fully entered into our sufferings, even upon the Cross. Though God doesn't remove our sufferings, He strengthens us to face them. That is why we join ourselves to His Cross, symbolized in the Veneration of the Cross, that our sufferings may have redemptive power.
And to God we offered our intercessions solemnly. These ritualistic intercessions were different than before. There was one intercession praying for all government officials, from the federal level all the way down to the local level.
The beginning and end of this service felt so stark. Yet the music spoke so richly, as we honored the death of Christ, knowing what it brought us, together with His Resurrection.
The next morning, on Holy Saturday, I attended Morning Prayer. Gene, the Pastoral intern at Ascension, offered a wonderful reflection on anointing, a major part of the baptisms to take place much later that day. One meaningful part of Holy Saturday Morning Prayer is laying hands in blessing on the Elect, who were to be baptized.
Then, when Morning Prayer ended, it was time to decorate the Church, getting the Bride (at Ascension) ready and beautiful for the Groom.
There was so much richness in the Great Holy Saturday Easter Vigil, right from the start as the Paschal Candle was lit, speaking of Christ, our glorious Savior, with so much symbolism. Those praises continued in the Exultet, with its glorious language acclaiming how God worked wonders through the centuries in saving us, even unto Christ, whose Resurrection we acclaim and celebrate on this blessed night.
One noticeable difference this year was a reading from Jonah. There's a fitting connection between Jonah, who spent three days in the belly of a whale, and Jesus, who spent three days in the tomb.
There was quite a flood of light during the Gloria. And then, during the Epistle reading, the lector actually came down from the ambo and addressed the Elect in a personal way. The Elect were often addressed directly during the Mass, yet what was said to them applies to all of us who have already been baptized for sometime.
Then, finally, came the great moment of the Alleluia acclamation. I got emotional hearing David Anderson's voice lead the choir in breaking out that great song of praise of Christ and His new Life. (And, oh, how those Alleluias roll off the tongue with added delight after the Lenten hiatus.) But again, this wasn't about remembering Christ coming back to life, but our coming to new life in Christ, which we did as we witnessed the four baptisms (and five confirmations), and then processed to the font to renew ourselves in our baptisms. Serving as Eucharistic minister gave me the chance to witness the new neophytes, and one newly Confirmed, complete their initiation by partaking of the Eucharist for the first time. All throughout, the choir led us in great music, especially the anthem sung during the Offertory.
The celebration got going right away the next morning when Mom put on some celebratory Easter music at breakfast.
And the musicians at Mass really sang their hearts out in offering praises for Christ's Resurrection, as did the incense in its own way. As I swung the thurible in the procession, and then paused at the back side of the altar, I saw a huge cloud of incense smoke rise above the altar toward the dome, which was an incredible sight.
Plus, the sanctuary was packed, and made everything seem so alive that Sunday morning. I realized more fully how packed the Church was when I served as Eucharist minister for the back half of the Church. There were so many people who passed by, and it went on for quite a bit of time. I even had to wait a while in the back of the Church for people to exit before I could get back to the sacristy at the end of Mass.
The celebration continued as I spent time with family later in the day, even during a car ride when I brought my Grandma to our meal. Our meal was quite a feast, with both lamb and ham, from Costco.
The General Norms for the Liturgical Year, #18, speaks to the importance of these three days, saying they form the heart of the Church year, and giving meaning to all the 362 other days. We have this faith because Christ rose from the dead, after having died, and signifying His death to be part of a New Covenant in the blood He shed. By celebrating this Sacred Holy Paschal Triduum, we are renewed in the basis for the faith we live every day, reminded of where it all started. And as part of living this faith, we join ourselves to the Christ who gave Himself for us, that in dying and rising with Him, we may fully live this new life, which points our way now toward Heaven, where we shall dwell with the God who loves us so much, and sent His Son to make Heaven a possibility for us.
That's why I look forward to these sacred celebrations every year, and they were something to behold this year as always.
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