by Steve Raml, Director of Liturgy & Music
One Celebration – Three Days
We have a celebration coming up that is so big – so important – that we can’t fit it into just one night – we need three!
We call it “Triduum” which means “three days” – you know it as Holy Thursday – Good Friday — and the biggest celebration of Easter — the Easter Vigil on Saturday night. Each of those days recalls a different part of the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Triduum: The Heart of the Liturgical Year
With the start of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening, we enter into a great liturgical symphony with several movements, a great celebration that is the highlight of the entire liturgical year. In the course of the liturgies of Holy Thursday,
Good Friday, & the Easter Vigil, we participate with solemn festivity in the Church’s most intense expression of the paschal mystery, that is, the revelation of Jesus’ passing over from death into new life as the source and pattern for our lives.
Rather than being three separate celebrations, the Triduum is understood as one continuous liturgy unfolding over time, drawing us into the saving events at the heart of Christianity. In this way, the Triduum invites us to journey spiritually with Christ – from the Upper Room to the Cross, and finally to the empty tomb. Thus, our single celebration over three days emphasizes that Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection are inseparable aspects of one saving act. Each liturgical celebration highlights a distinct dimension of this mystery while remaining deeply connected to the others.
Holy Thursday: The Mass of the Lord’s Supper
The Triduum opens on Holy Thursday evening with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which we will celebrate at 7pm. This liturgy commemorates three interrelated events: the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priesthood, and Christ’s commandment of love expressed through service, as depicted by the washing of feet.
Perhaps the biggest ritual clue on Holy Thursday that we are no longer in the Season of Lent comes early in the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, when for the first time in 40 days, we sing the Gloria, accompanied by the festive ringing of bells. This is the Church raising its heart and voice in joyous praise to God for the incomparable gift of the Eucharist.
Because it is on this night that we recall the Last Supper, at which Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples and declared those elements to be his Body and Blood. This moment is foundational for our belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The priest’s actions and words at every Mass mirror those of Jesus, underscoring the continuity between the Last Supper and the Mass we celebrate to this very day.
A distinctive ritual of Holy Thursday is the washing of the feet, called the Mandatum after Christ’s mandate to do this (washing feet) as he has done. After we recall this event in the Gospel proclamation, Fr Williams will wash the feet of a dozen members of the assembly, symbolizing the twelve apostles. (Yes, even Judas got his feet washed!) This serves as a powerful sign of humility, service, and love, reinforcing Christ’s greatest commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
One way of showing that this is one celebration stretching over three days is that this Mass does not end with a dismissal. Instead, we conclude by processing with the Blessed Sacrament out of the church to a place of repose for adoration and prayer. In our case, we bring the Eucharist into our parish hall, and people are invited to remain in prayer well into the night.
We disperse in silence, signaling the transition into the somber events of Good Friday, which continues our Triduum celebration.
Good Friday: The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion
Good Friday is a day of fasting, abstinence, and profound solemnity. Unlike any other day of the year, the Church does not celebrate a Mass. Instead, we may join others at noon, remembering Jesus’s journey on the Way of the Cross. To show that this service is a continuation of the Triduum from last night, when we left in silence, we gather in silence at 3pm for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, which focuses on Christ’s suffering and death on the cross.
This liturgy consists of three main parts: the Liturgy of the Word, the Veneration of the Cross, and Holy Communion. Multiple voices proclaim the Passion narrative according to the Gospel of John, where Jesus freely lays down his life for our salvation.
The Veneration of the Cross is the emotional and spiritual center of the Good Friday liturgy. The cross is unveiled and presented to the assembly, who approach it with gestures of reverence such as kneeling, touching, or kissing. This act expresses both sorrow for our sins and gratitude for Christ’s sacrificial love.
Although Mass is not celebrated, Holy Communion is distributed using hosts consecrated on Holy Thursday night. This underscores the connection between Christ’s sacrifice and the Eucharist, reminding us that the cross and the altar are inseparably linked.
Just as the previous night, Good Friday ends without a formal conclusion. We come and go in silence because there is not beginning or ending. This is just the second part of our – “one celebration – three days.”
Holy Saturday: The Day of Silence and Waiting
Holy Saturday itself should be a day of quiet reflection and anticipation. The Church refrains from celebrating the sacraments, and the tabernacle remains empty. This day represents Jesus in the tomb. There can be no resurrection without acknowledging true death.
Spiritually, Holy Saturday invites us to contemplate themes of loss, hope, and trust in God’s promises. It mirrors moments of human experience when God seems absent, yet redemption is quietly unfolding.
The Easter Vigil: The Climax of the Triduum
Then comes Saturday night – the highlight of the three days! This celebration is a long one, because we have a lot to do. We gather just after dark around a fire outside the church – a fire from which we light first our Paschal Candle — then all our individual candles – as we process into this dark church and dispel the darkness with our light. With our candles burning, we sing the “Exultet”, rejoicing that Christ has dispelled the darkness of death with the light of life!
We then listen to the stories of our Salvation History – and see how God interacts with us —- from the very beginnings of creation – to the great Exodus – walking through the Dead Sea into new life – and hear the prophet Isaiah invite us to come to the water, where we will later welcome new life in the Sacrament of Baptism. In the Gospel, we come with the women to find the stone rolled away from the tomb – and know that Jesus is truly risen!
There are rituals we perform at the Easter Vigil that we do at no other time in the church year. The most significant of these is Baptism, the welcoming of new members into the Church and our parish. We renew our own baptismal promises – and celebrate the full initiation of the newly baptized with Confirmation and the reception of the Eucharist. What a way to culminate this – one celebration – three days!
So yes, the Easter Vigil is a long service, but with so much going on, it goes by very quickly. Plus, it is THE celebration of Easter, so you can avoid the crowds and parking problems of Sunday morning!
Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of the Lord
The Vigil begins the celebration of Easter, and our Sunday Masses continue to show the joy of Christ’s resurrection. The readings and prayers of Easter Sunday emphasize renewal, hope, and victory, echoing those themes first proclaimed at the Easter Vigil.
Though Easter Sunday concludes the Triduum, the celebration of Easter extends throughout the fifty-day Easter season, culminating in Pentecost.
Invitation.
I hope by now you understand how the Triduum stands at the center of the Church’s spiritual life. Through its rich liturgies, symbols, and rituals, this one celebration over three days challenges us to enter deeply into the mystery of Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. More than a remembrance of past events, the Triduum is a living encounter with the saving love of God, calling believers to renewal, conversion, and hope. By participating fully in the Triduum, you’ll be drawn into the very heart of your faith, knowing that, through Christ, death is not the end, but the doorway to new life.
I hope you’ll join us for this – one celebration – three days!
Steve Raml
Director of Liturgy & Music
