Pastor's Pen
Kearney Hub Article 2012 04 17
The Paschal Triduum and the fifty days of Easter are the goal of our forty days of Lenten preparation through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
During “Holy Week” we are called to focus all our attention and energy on our observance of the Paschal Mystery. The “Paschal Mystery” means the passing from death to life, following the pattern set for us by Jesus’ own passing over, through his passion, death and resurrection. It is not celebrated simply as an event of the past, but as an ongoing reality which we are called to share.
The services of the week are not meant to be historical reenactments of what happened to Jesus. The communal prayers are our participation in the Christian Passover, where we profess our faith and are drawn into the very holiness of God. In the 5th Century St. Leo the Great expressed it in this way:
“The body that lies lifeless in the tomb is ours. The body that rose again on the third day is ours. The body that ascended above all the heights of heaven to the right hand of the father is ours. If then we walk in the way of his commandments ... we too are to rise to share his glory.”
The Easter or Paschal “Triduum,” (Latin for “three days”), is a three-day liturgical season, counted from sunset to sunset. We begin with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, through Good Friday, to the high point of the Great Easter Vigil, into the Easter Sunday Eucharist concluding on Easter Sunday evening. One continuous liturgy, these days are observed as a three day festival where Christians throughout the world join together to fast, pray and experience the resurrection.
The Triduum can be seen as an annual retreat where we plunge deeply into living and celebrating Christ's Paschal Mystery. By embracing this journey into death and resurrection we are continually called into conversion.
We are challenged to gracious hospitality and a genuine desire to share the community’s joy with everyone who joins us at worship.
“Come you all: Enter into the joy of our Lord. You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward. You rich and you poor, dance together. You strong and you weak, celebrate the day. You who have kept the fast and you who have not kept the fast, rejoice today.” (St. John Chrysostom)
The first eight days of the Easter Season are known as the “Octave of Easter.” The mystery of the Resurrection is intensely celebrated and people give witness that Christ is Risen, Christ is Risen Indeed! The fifty days, a week of weeks (seven weeks plus one day), include the celebration of Ascension Thursday, forty days after Easter. The Season reaches fulfillment on Pentecost Sunday, when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first disciples. This same Holy Spirit comes to today’s disciples bringing peace and hope to our hearts and through us to the whole world.
I will close with a line from an ancient Greek hymn celebrating the Pasch:
“O pasch, sanctify all believers,” Fr. Joe Hannappel
