Holy Triduum

"The Last Supper" by Jacopo Bassano

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The Death of Jesus

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Easter Vigil

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A very happy and blessed Easter to each and every one of you and your family!

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A Holy Saturday Meditation

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For three hours, Satan contemplated his masterpiece, the dying Jesus. How easy it had been, after all! Years before, Satan had borne Jesus to the temple roof, and challenged Him: "Cast Thyself hence!" Jesus had overcome him with a refusal to presume upon His Father's power. Now, borne high on Calvary, Jesus is again challenged. "Cast Thyself hence! Come down from the cross! He refuses, and Satan claims the victory. But then Jesus dies, and the centurion cries aloud: "This is God's Son"; the temple curtain is ripped in two, the dead rise from their graves, heaven's gates open wide, and Jesus triumphantly leads a repentant thief into Paradise.

Jesus' refusal to come down from the cross was His greatest victory over Satan. By accepting my life's crosses patiently, prayerfully, I overcome hell.

The Crucifixion Rosary Meditation: The Prayer Book, Catholic Press

Holy Thursday - Institution of the Sacrifice of the Mass

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Our Blessed Lord instituted this sacrifice of the Mass at the Last Supper. On the very night in which He was betrayed, He changed bread and wine into His Body and Blood, and gave to the Apostles and to their successors, the power to do the same in commemoration of Him. In obedience to the commands of our Lord, the Apostles frequently offered up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as we see from the Acts of the Apostles (Chap .ii. 42) and from the writings of the Fathers of the Church...When St. Andrew, the Apostle, was required by the tyrant Aegeas, to sacrifice to the gods, if he wished to escape the punishment of the cross, he replied: "I daily offer up on the altar to the only true and Almighty God, the Immaculate Lamb, which though it is consumed, remains always living and entire...An altar implies a sacrifice, since an altar is used only for sacrifice... The Fathers of the Church commonly speak of the Mass as 'a salutary sacrifice. St. Cyprian...calls it 'an everlasting sacrifice.' St. Augustine...declares it to be 'a true and august sacrifice, and that it has supplanted all former sacrifices.'...St. John Chrysostom: 'O wonder!' he exclaims in his Homily De Sacra Mensa, 'At this table, so magnificently furnished, the Lamb of God is immolated for thee; there the Cherubim are present; there the Seraphim attend; there all the Angels join with the priest in praying for thy welfare.'

"The Last Supper by Philippe de Champaigne

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...in his book, De Sacrificio, he says: "When thou beholdest the Lord immolated and lying upon the altar and the priest bending over the sacrifice and praying and all the assistants reddened with that precious blood, dost thou think that thou art still on earth? Does it not rather seem to thee that thou art wrapt into Paradise, and beholdin, with the eye of thy soul, the things that are done in heaven?"

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..."How surpassingly pure ought he to be who offers such a sacrifice?  Ought not the hand that divides this sacred flesh-- the mouth that is filled with this spiritual fire--the tongue that is dyed with this most sacred blood be purer than the light of the suns?  Think how though are honored, to what a banquet thou art admitted!  Thus, before which the Angels tremble and veil their faces, is our food; we are united to Christ; we are made one body and one flesh with Him!"...

Excerpts from The Blessed Eucharist: Our Greatest Treasure by Fr. Michael Muller, C.S.s.R.

Easter Triduum - Holy Thursday

Come to Serve and not to Be Served

Father Alex Yeung, LC

John 13:1-15
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples´ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well." Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean." So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ´teacher´ and ´master,´ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another´s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I wish to accompany you closely on the road to Calvary. If I were to contemplate you more often as you hang scourged and bloody upon the cross, I’m certain I would be able to rest in your love and base my actions on that one truth. I know that you have loved me with an eternal love: you have proven it there on the wood of the cross. So I long to respond with gratitude, peace and the firm determination to spread your love to everyone.

Petition: Lord, grant me the grace of final perseverance in the faith.

1. The Proof of His Unwaivering Love “Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.” Jesus did not suffer crisis of identity. Throughout his entire public ministry he showed an awareness of who he was (the Fathers Anointed One) and what he had come to do (his mission). He knew the trials that were soon to crush his mortal body. They would be a means to prove his worth: his love. “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” Love endures anything. Love can draw forth good even from the worst of situations. Love redeems. The very betrayal of his friendship will let him demonstrate the authenticity of his own friendship: “There is no greater love than to lay one’s life down for one’s friends.”

2. Acceptance of Christ’s Love Jesus has not asked ‘permission’ to be humble and of service. Peter’s question, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” does not come as a request, rather as a resistant acknowledgement of what Jesus is about to do. Do humility and love need our ‘permission’? The question is: who is humble enough to receive someone else’s love? Am I humble enough to receive Jesus’ love for me? Jesus’ humility and charity are purifying in their effect. In fact, precisely the attitude, “You will never wash my feet,” needs to be washed away. Only the poor in spirit, the pure of heart, the childlike enter the Kingdom of heaven: “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Let Christ bathe me, then, by his graceful example. Anything less, I will lose my part with him. Yet if he has bathed me by his word, then I must only keep my feet clean.

3. The Precious Lesson If I am a disciple, I must be careful to learn the lesson. Jesus asks, “Do you realize what I have done for you?” If anything, the master could demand that his servant wash his feet, not the other way around. Jesus is Lord and master, he is the Good Teacher. I am his disciple. Nonetheless, he has demonstrated his authority not by exacting obedience through exertion of force, rather by revealing the power of virtue: humility and charity – and their capacity to teach and persuade. “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another´s feet.” He has given me a model to follow, so that I go and do likewise. Whose feet am I meant to wash?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, continue to bathe me with your word so that I may be found clean. Grant me the humility and charity to imitate your virtues. I wish to learn to wash the feet of others, so give me the grace to let down my defenses and simply reach out to do good, without worrying how others may react to me.

Resolution: Today I will humble myself to serve someone in need, especially anyone toward whom I have negative sentiments.

Regnum Christi Daily Meditation

Sacred Triduum

The following is from St. Michael Center for the BVM

The last three days of the Holy Week- Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday- which is called Sacred Triduum is commemorated on April 5 to 7. This covers the three-past drama of Christ redemption.

Holy Thursday derives its English name from Mandatum (commandment) which the first words spoken by Jesus to His apostles at the last supper after he completed the washing of the feet: "I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34). This day also recalls Jesus arrest and imprisonment.

Good Friday observes the death of Jesus on the cross. The church holds mourning services and is traditionally spent in fasting and prayer.

Meanwhile, Holy Saturday is sacred as the day of the Lord's rest; it has been called the "Second Sabbath" after creation. The day is and should be the most calm and quiet day of the entire Church year, a day broken by no liturgical function and is chiefly a day of solemn vigil for the Lord’s resurrection.

Prayer for the Sacred Triduum

God our Father, we are gathered here to share in supper which your only Son left to his Church to reveal his love. He gave it to us when he was about to die and commanded us to celebrate it as the new and eternal sacrifice. We pray that in this Eucharist we may find the fullness of love and life. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

For the following information on the Sacred Triduum, please click the above link:

Holy Thursday Table Blessing
Table Blessing for Holy Thursday
Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week
Prayer for Good Friday
Good Friday Table Blessing
Prayer for Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday Table Blessing
To Keep a True Lent
Prayer Before a Crucifix
Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week