Salutations! How are you? At some point in your journey of faith I would imagine that you’ve probably heard the phrase “The Paschal Mystery.” This can be succinctly referred to as the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is one of the central mysteries of our faith that has brought about our hope for salvation. While every celebration of the Mass is an opportunity for us to spiritually enter into the Paschal Mystery and unite our own sufferings to those of Christ it is especially pronounced during the Triduum of Holy Week.
On Holy Thursday we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. During this sacramental celebration we call to mind the night that Jesus instituted the Eucharist and the ministerial priesthood. It is an awe-inspiring occasion to ponder the generous love that Christ demonstrated through humble and selfless service. As he said so powerfully, this is not meant to be merely observed but actively lived by each of us as his disciples, “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” (John 13:14-15). The washing of the feet is a ceremonial reminder for us of that service which we are called to do for God and those among us who are in need. The day concludes with the Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar so as to nourish our souls and be strengthened for service.
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion is a day in which we contemplate the sacrificial love that Jesus had for us on the road to Calvary and that continued even to his death upon the cross. This is the one day of the year that the celebration of Mass is strictly prohibited. In addition to abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and this day, the Sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated on this day out of supreme reverence for the death of Christ. To be sure there is a prayerful liturgy with God’s Word that is proclaimed, the veneration of the cross, and even reception of Holy Communion, but there is no consecration that takes place on this day. As the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us the, “
offering of the body of Jesus Christ [took place] once for all” (10:10). While the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ it is a presentation of his one sacrifice for the sake of our salvation and of the whole world.
Holy Saturday is a sobering day in which we think of the crucified love of Jesus. Our thoughts are undoubtedly like the closest friends of the Lord who were weighed down by sadness and heartache at his brutal death. However, the pain and sorrow of the morning will fade with the close of the day as we prepare to celebrate the Easter Vigil. It is there that we will joyfully acclaim the resurrected love of Christ Jesus that will endure for all eternity. At Immaculate Conception we will welcome new members into a deeper connection with our spiritual family through the Sacrament of Confirmation and First Communion.
These holy days are gifts for us to grow in our appreciation of the Paschal Mystery. They are a grace-filled time to prayerfully ponder the generous, sacrificial, crucified, and resurrected love of Jesus Christ. May that Divine Love move us to selfless service of God and our neighbor now and all the days of our lives.
