Through the cross to the resurrection
Faithful highlight apex of Church’s holiest season

By Ambria Hammel, The Catholic Sun
April 5, 2007

Most Catholics are familiar with the seasons of Lent and Easter, but some know less about the time in between.

The Easter triduum marks the days linking Lent and Easter. It helps Catholics experience Christ’s final days on Earth, bringing them from His ministry to the cross and resurrection.

Sr. Ginger Downey, OLVM, interim director for the diocesan Office of Worship, likened the triduum to a three-act play because it’s “one liturgy that cannot be contained in one day,” she said.

Instead, it’s broken up into three.

“Those three days are our highest holy days,” Sr. Ginger said.

The re-enactments and rituals of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil remain the same each year, but the faithful gain various insights.

The Eucharist, priesthood

Churchgoers at Holy Thursday Mass relive the Last Supper and washing of the feet presented in John’s Gospel.

The ritualistic washing reminds Catholics of Jesus’ institution of the priesthood as He transferred His priestly ministry to the Twelve Apostles.

“It’s very interesting how the institution of the Eucharist is coupled with going out to serve one another. They’re inextricably united,” said Fr. Jack Spalding, pastor at St. Timothy Parish in Mesa.

“It’s very special to all of us as priests,” he said of the humble service.

The washing of the feet is also significant for lay people.

Catholics at St. Mary’s Basilica will not only witness Franciscan Father Vincent Mesi wash the feet of 12 parishioners, but can also have their feet washed by one of those 12.

Parishioner George Rachford cried when a girl washed his feet last year. He said he couldn’t be stopped from participating again this year.

After the washing of the feet, the congregation celebrates the Eucharist. The final ritual on Holy Thursday features a eucharistic procession and adoration.

Adoration typically lasts until midnight, Fr. Spalding said, a reference to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus “asks Peter and James and John to watch one hour with Him.”

The passion

During the Stations of the Cross, veneration of the cross and the reading of the passion, Catholics remain with Jesus on Good Friday as He is condemned to death and carries His cross to Calvary.

But this remembrance doesn’t always happen within the walls of a Church building.

Each year, St. Bernadette parish in Scottsdale selects 14 places throughout the community in need of prayer and maps its walking Stations around them.

Lynda Jimenez, a candidate in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program, will try to do them with her sponsor this year. It’s one of the many rituals during the sacred triduum that she sees as building toward a renewed relationship with Christ.

“I am truly reliving my faith again,” she said.

For Carol Hale, reliving the torment and sorrow of Jesus’ suffering and Mary’s loss during the Stations of the Cross is so important that the St. Timothy parishioner takes time off work to attend. The Stations are often held in the afternoon during the triduum.

An evening service features veneration of the cross, where one by one, Catholics face a barren cross in quiet prayer.

“The veneration of the cross by hundreds of people is profoundly moving. I have the opportunity to go to the foot of Jesus’ cross and let Him know, in silent prayer, how sorry I am for my sins and failings” and express gratefulness for His sacrifice, Hale said.

Her husband, Jeff, a former atheist, also finds meaning in the devotion.

“Veneration of the cross especially seemed odd until I could better appreciate the Lord’s call for each of us to pick up our own cross and follow Him,” he said.

The cross is not only the instrument of Christ’s suffering and death, Fr. Spalding said, but also the instrument of salvation.

Before venerating the cross, the assembly hears community members proclaim the Passion narrative.

For Fr. John Greb, associate pastor at Holy Cross Parish in Mesa, this will mark his first triduum as a priest. He prepared himself for Good Friday with a book by a Catholic surgeon who examines the crucifixion from a medical standpoint.

“I’m wondering how, when I hear the Passion liturgy proclaimed, how that will differ for me on Good Friday,” Fr. Greb said.

The Good Friday service ends on a somber note.

“What’s leftover is kind of hidden. The tabernacle door is left open. The vigil candle is out,” Fr. Greb explained. He called it “the most visual symbol that the Lord was taken from us.”

The resurrection

The feeling of loss becomes one of joy at the Easter Vigil. This marks the time when Jeff Hale feels most connected to the Gospels.

“We all meet outside in darkness and hold individual candles as we listen to the readings,” the RCIA core member said. The readings — which include seven from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament — take the congregation through salvation history.

A single Easter candle is the only light. Then everyone gradually lights a candle from the original flame. That light “represents the fire of the Lord overcoming darkness,” Fr. Spalding said.

After 40 days of Lent and three intense days of the triduum, it’s finally time to celebrate Jesus’ glorious return and resurrection to new life.

It’s also a time to welcome new members into the Church.

“The vigil is what I am very excited and a little intimidated about,” said RCIA candidate Cody Goodell, who will be baptized and receive first Communion at St. Timothy Parish. “I feel like the RCIA program has been like the minor leagues for the past year and now we have been called up for the big leagues and hopefully answer the call of Christ.”

The celebration of new life continues on Easter Sunday.

“Easter is a time of rebirth and a time to recognize God’s infinite mercy, patience and love — in my life and everyone’s lives,” Jeff Hale said. “Ultimately, it’s Christ’s victory that we need to focus on in our lives and not just the sorrow of the passion.”

Fr. Spalding said if Catholics enter into what the Church asks of them during the triduum, they can’t help but be enthralled by the Father’s love. God sent His only son, Jesus, to Earth and raised Him from the dead.

“We share in His resurrection,” Fr. Spalding said. “So that’s why I say often, ‘It’s through the crucifixion to the resurrection.’”