The Sacred Paschal Triduum - by Fr. Owen Burns, E.V.

The Sacred Paschal Triduum
Fr. Owen Burns, EV

From a young age, I have been privileged to witness Holy Week. The Sacred Paschal Triduum spans three consecutive days during which we, as Christians, engage more intently in the Sacred Paschal Mystery—the Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Each Sunday, as we gather for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we acknowledge and celebrate the Sacred Paschal Mystery. Each offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass contains a condensed, yet never diluted, celebration of the Sacred Paschal Triduum we will soon approach. Holy Mother Church’s guidance, within a traditional and devotional approach to our week, aids in our personal preparation for the Lord’s Day. From the daily mysteries of the Holy Rosary, to our abstinence or sacrificial acts on Fridays, our preparation for attending Mass on Sunday, to the openness of receiving God’s mercy and grace through prayer and the sacraments, our week and daily life prepare us to encounter the climax—the source and summit of our faith.

As we approach the Sacred Paschal Triduum, we are given the opportunity to spend more time reflecting on the various movements within the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as each movement is given elevation through our celebration of the Sacred Paschal Triduum. A single liturgy, spanning three days without dismissal, begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, continues with the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday, and concludes with the Solemn Blessing offered by the priest at the end of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. One continuous celebration, of such magnitude, that Holy Mother Church pauses time to immerse us in the Sacred Paschal Mystery.

The beginning – Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lord’s Supper

"This is my Body... This is my Blood... do this in memory of me." These were the last words He spoke to us the night before He died. How often do we recall the last words of a loved one before their death? How often do we honor their desires for those they leave behind? Much more than their spoken word is passed on, as their instructions to us are honored through our living it out, witnessed by generation after generation. Jesus was aware of the events that would soon unfold. He knew what that night would bring and what the next day would hold. His sacrifice on the Cross, anticipated among His disciples at the Last Supper, is made present to us on the altar in the Most Holy Eucharist. Among those He instructed "do this in memory of me," He appointed priests to continue this most sacred act. Although that night would bring chaos and upset, and the morning even more turmoil and torture, in the afternoon came an even greater act of sacrificial love—one that fulfills what many would view as a simple celebratory meal. This night, we don’t merely recall a story of a festive meal among friends; we encounter the fullness of the Lord’s Supper as He Himself offers His Body and Blood to us in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Holy Thursday begins our three-day observance of the Sacred Triduum. While the optional rite of the washing of the feet is a striking image of the servitude we are called to as priests, it can at times overshadow, within our recollection of the day’s celebration, the intent of Holy Mother Church to convey the importance of the Most Holy Eucharist and the Holy Priesthood of Jesus—both of which are commemorated within our observance of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

As priests, today is our day! Regardless of the date of ordination, we join with our brother priests in jubilation, giving thanks to the Lord for His Holy Priesthood, to which He has called us to share. Geographical boundaries and time zones cannot restrict the mysteries about to be presented before us as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The two-fold nature of the evening celebration—the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist and the Holy Priesthood of Jesus—is a vivid reminder of the promises and reality of our ordination. It is a renewal of our call to serve God’s holy people through the sacraments and our presence at the altar, as Jesus presents Himself in the Most Holy Eucharist and leads us into deeper devotion to His Blessed Sacrament.

A day of true celebration, we hear the Gloria proclaimed for the first time since the beginning of the Lenten Season. The bells are rung, soon to be silenced by the solemn tone of our vigilance through the night. Already anticipating the celebration before us, our minds and voices acknowledge what has already taken place in history and what is yet to be observed within the Sacred Paschal Triduum. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered, the words of the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist—"This is my Body... this is my Blood... do this in memory of me"—are recalled in the Liturgy of the Word and echoed by the priest’s voice during the Eucharistic Prayer at the altar. This offers us a corporeal and familiar observation as faithful. Jesus Christ truly and ever present in the Blessed Sacrament.

As priests, we recall the privilege of standing at the altar in Persona Christi, as simple, mundane bread and wine are transformed into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Within that sacred exchange, we are reminded that He who is offered in the Sacrifice of the Altar is also He who offers the same Sacrifice, as He becomes truly present within the Most Holy Eucharist before us. The priest himself is not elevated in the act of offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass but is humbled as his persona is stripped away and the Persona Christi is made present.

The Sacred Paschal Triduum begins with our celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper but does not conclude with the usual dismissal. After receiving Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament remains upon the altar, and the expected reservation of that moment is omitted. "Pange, lingua, gloriosa," a Eucharistic procession makes its way throughout the church. Incense, cross, candles, and a glimmering ciborium veiled to honor what is Sacred and Holy. Upon reaching the altar of repose, a vacant tabernacle becomes a temporary dwelling place for our Lord. As the Most Blessed Sacrament is placed within its walls, our adoration and vigil begin.


Solemn waiting – Good Friday: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The tabernacle is empty. The sanctuary is bare. The altar is stripped of its linen and candles. The faint scent of incense lingers in the air, as does our hope of encountering the Lord where we left Him at the altar of repose. Our Lord, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, is hidden, out of sight. The absence of His presence creates a more somber atmosphere than the warm glow of the sanctuary lamp, which is ever-present throughout the year. There is a stillness both within the walls of the church and a silence within the world that is somewhat unexplainable.

Today is different than all other days.

The Sacred Paschal Triduum continues with the second day, Good Friday, when we commemorate the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the one day each year that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not offered—not by choice, but by strict instruction from within the Tradition of Holy Mother Church. The celebration of the sacraments is not permitted (except for the Sacraments of Healing, such as Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick, and in danger of death, Baptism). Good Friday is the one day each year that all we have come to know—all that we have been privileged to experience—is stripped away. The void we encounter is real and naturally brings about the understanding that something is different—that it will forever be different because of this day.

The entirety of the Passion of Jesus is proclaimed. A deafening silence is experienced as the entire congregation kneels, for but a brief moment, to acknowledge, "It is finished." The beauty of the Crucifixion a true paradox within our faith. The detailed visuals in the black and white font of the Sacred Texts leave only to the imagination the crimson lens through which we look upon the Cross. Our movement, within the Sacred Triduum, is not away from, but toward, as we process to venerate the very image we just heard proclaimed—the lifeless body of Jesus affixed to a cross. What we demonstrate in that moment of veneration is a visible external gesture of an invisible internal reality of reverence toward Jesus, our salvation, the Salvation of the world. The void which confronted us upon our entry into the church is filled with an act of love so immense that it spans both heaven and earth. The magnitude of this moment, what has already happened, and what is about to take place cannot be contained within time and space, nor rushed to acceptance or understanding. We are given a period of tension between what is and what is to come—sorrow in the absence of Our Lord as He is laid in the tomb, and childlike hope of the promise He made, that something greater awaits us still.

Although we leave in silence, with no dismissal, no blessing, and no music to accompany our departure into the world, the Sacred Paschal Triduum continues, deepening our longing for what is to come.


The culmination – Holy Saturday/Easter Sunday: Resurrection of the Lord

On Holy Saturday morning, we awaken to a Church in sorrow, in waiting, and in absence of the sacraments. We unite ourselves with the first followers of Jesus, in a suspended state between what we have witnessed and what we have been promised. We can easily get swept up in preparation for such a tremendous feast. We already know "the rest of the story," too great to ignore, to pretend it does not exist. Yet we are called to keep vigil, to proceed with tempered excitement toward the tomb.

The darkness continues—a momentary view from within the tomb in which Jesus was laid. It is an external reflection of a world without the Light, broken by that same Light which existed from the beginning: "God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God." The Paschal fire illuminates the night, the first light of the Easter season, from which the Paschal Candle is lit. Its flame is spread among the faithful, casting light through the darkness upon the faces of those who profess the same Credo: "I believe!"

The Easter Vigil takes place on Holy Saturday. Although the grand finale of sorts to the Sacred Paschal Triduum, the days and hours preceding the Resurrection offer continued space for our participation. 

The Easter Vigil offers us the opportunity to engage all our senses: from the light of the Paschal fire to the sprinkling of Holy Water, which transports us to the day of our baptism; from the incense that raises our prayers before God, to the bells ringing out the Gloria as the transition from salvation being only foretold is made reality with the covenant of the New Testament being proclaimed. It is within this same celebration that candidates and catechumens are received into full communion with Holy Mother Church. Their longing for the graces of the sacraments and participation in the Sacrifice offered by Jesus outnumbering the hours and days devoted to observing the Sacred Triduum.

Our churches, illuminated in the darkness of the night, reveal to us the intensity and transformative nature of the Solemnity we celebrate. The tomb of Jesus is now empty, and the promise of our salvation is fulfilled in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our three-day celebration culminates upon the altar as the Most Holy Eucharist—instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper and made real for us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—is offered. In receiving Holy Communion at this and every Mass, we are invited to consume, to take within ourselves, the greatest mystery of our faith: the Paschal Mystery, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The entirety of the Sacred Triduum is present in a single moment of intimate exchange between our Savior and we who have longed for salvation.

We enter the Easter Season, leaving behind the darkness of the tomb, elevating the Cross with sorrowful rejoicing, and remaining with Jesus’ true presence in the Eucharist—never to be abandoned or forsaken— at every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in every tabernacle throughout the world, until the end of time.