We're finally arrived: the Easter Triduum!

My brothers and sisters,

As Lent ended with the Holy Mass of the Lord's Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday, we entered into the fulcrum of the whole liturgical year: the Easter Triddum.

The term triduum means "three days." The three days are counted as the Hebrews counted their days, from dusk to dusk. Therefore, the three days of the Easter Triduum are from dusk on Holy Thursday to dusk on Good Friday (day one), dusk on Good Friday to dusk on Holy Saturday (day two), and dusk on Holy Saturday to dusk on Easter Sunday (day three). Each of those days "tells" a different part of the story of Jesus' saving action. On Holy Thursday we remember the Last Supper. Jesus gives us the Eucharist and tells us to "Do this in memory of me." He then washes the feet of the apostles. On Good Friday we remember the passion and death of Jesus. We celebrate the resurrection of Christ either at the Easter Vigil on Saturday night when new members are baptized and welcomed into our Catholic community or on Easter Sunday morning.

I had a great Lent guys. Fasting from BaptistBoard.com was exactly what I needed - it opened up time for me to read important texts and write projects/papers for my graduate program as well as time to spend more intimate time with the Lord in prayer.

We also had an amazing mission trip to Honduras, where we brought the Eucharist to remote villages that are only able to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass once a year!

And guess on which plane we departed San Pedro Sula, Honduas? The same plane our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, rode upon when he flew to Central America to canonize Saint Juan Diego this past summer! You know.. the poor Mexican to whom Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in 1531 and left an image of herself imprinted miraculously on his tilma. This was a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 469 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin. This was the apparition, which bore the fruit of approximately 9 million Aztec converts at the same time as the Church lost 5 million due to the Protestant Revolt in Europe.

As I approached the plane door, I thought to myself, "Hey, wait a minute! That's JPII's papal emblem.. what the heck?" - and sure enough, it was:



Perhaps I'll post more of my journeys in the future, sharing what God has been doing in my life and how he has allowed me to share Jesus with others.

Let us meditate upon the Paschal Mystery of our King, who, entombed on Good Friday, awaited the glorious enthronement of his resurrection on the third day.

a son in the Son,

Carson

 

Thanks Helen!

Kiffin,

It sounds like we're having similar liturgical celebrations.. On Good Friday, my father and I sat in the chapel for 3 hours as we attended "The 7 Last Words" wherein 7 Franciscan friars (one after the other, chronologically) read a Gospel passage (most were from St. John) then preached on it. We would meditate in contemplative prayer for about ten to fifteen minutes, then sing a hymn appropriate to the saying (i.e., word), and then the friar would conclude his part with a prayer pertaining to that theme.

After this, at 3 PM on Good Friday (the hour of our Lord's death on the cross), we walked from the chapel to the fieldhouse (a large gymnasium on campus) where we partook in the Good Friday service, wherein the Passion according to St. John was chanted, we venerated the Cross, and received the Holy Eucharist, which was consecrated the evening before on Holy Thursday (the Mass is not celebrated in the Church at all on Good Friday throughout the world). This took about 3 hours, and we concluded by laying a flower on an image of Jesus, symbolizing his entombment.

Tonight, we'll be partaking in the Easter Vigil at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, which is 4 1/2 hours long - we'll be baptizing three students and bringing three more into full communion with the Church as they receive the sacraments of Confirmation/Chrismation and Holy Eucharist for the first time.

Morgan and I dueling it out at a Franciscan convent in Turjillo, Honduras with some machetes we purchased in town:



Adveniat Regnum Tuum,

Carson

[ April 20, 2003, 12:03 PM: Message edited by: Carson Weber ]