Daily Reflection for the Triduum
The waving of palms at Mass this weekend signals that Holy Week is about to begin. You have heard about the meaning, significance and importance of this three day season the church calls Triduum through the weekly catechesis before Mass. It is our hope that understanding the meaning behind the “smells and bells” of what we could call the “high season” of the liturgical year serves to enhance your participation in these beautiful liturgies. Attending the services of the Easter Triduum is something you won’t want to miss.
Although the liturgy of the Triduum is experienced in the church itself, have you considered what it means to experience the season of Triduum during the time you spend “out in the world”? Following are some thoughts for your reflection. The Holy Thursday Liturgy (Mass) emphasizes two things, the institution of the Eucharist and the washing of the feet of the disciples. Take these two and view them as a whole. Do you begin to understand the relationship between service and Eucharist? In your prayer on Holy Thursday ask God how you are called to feed others through the service that we call discipleship?
During the liturgy of Good Friday we come forth to venerate the cross, the instrument which was utilized to bring about Our Lord’s death. When you stop and think about it, we are kissing the thing that brought Jesus to his death! Yet we venerate the cross because as Catholic Christians we understand the paradox of the cross, that through dying on the cross the perfect sacrifice (Christ) made possible new life for all. Reflect if you will on some of the losses or what we might call “little deaths” you have experienced. Can you ‘venerate’ these “little deaths” or endings in your life, grieving the loss while searching for signs of new life? In your prayer on Good Friday ask God how you are being called to something new.
The Easter vigil as well as the all the Easter liturgies remind us that it is through our baptism that we entered into new life that Christ won for us through his death and resurrection. Consider how your baptism invites you to live. The grace you received on that day (no matter how long ago it was) is still vital and active. Grace is the life of God within you. As the Easter season approaches what are some ways that you might open your heart to that grace? Have a blessed grace filled Triduum!
Paula Raposo, Adult Faith Formation
