The Easter Triduum
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ScribdTranslationsThe Easter Triduum
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ScribdTranslationsThe Easter Triduum (ofLatin:The Paschal Triduum is the period of time in which the Catholic Christian liturgy
non-Catholics commemorate the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazarethand constitutes the moment
central of theHoly Week and of theliturgical year.In theRoman liturgy,understand since the afternoon ofThursday
Saint,when does it conclude theLent,until the early morning ofEaster Sundaywhat does it start withtime
Pascual, andit has the following highlights:1
Holy Thursdayfrom theMass of the Lord's Supper,in which they remember theLast supperof Jesus, the
institution of theEucharistand of thePriestly Order, andthe commandment of love.
Good Friday,day of meditation on the passion of Jesus, with theCelebration of the Passion of the Lord,
that does not include the Eucharist.
Holy Saturday,without liturgical celebrations in memory of the death of Jesus, until the celebration of
theEaster Vigileither on the night of Saturday or the early hours of Sunday, which is commemorated with
solemnity of the resurrection of Jesus, and it is the most significant Catholic liturgical act.
The expression 'Paschal Triduum' is relatively recent, as it does not go back further than the 1930s. But
at the end of the 4th centurySaint AmbroseIt was talking about a Triduum Sacrum to refer to the historical stages of
The Paschal mystery of Jesus who, after suffering for three days, rested and rose again.Saint Augustineused a
similar expression, Sacratissimum Triduum, to indicate the three days of Christ crucified, buried, resurrected.
The word triduum in Catholic devotional practice suggests the idea of preparation. Sometimes we prepare ourselves
for the feast of a saint with three days of prayer in his honor, or we ask for a special grace through
a triduum of intercessory prayers.
The Easter Triduum was considered as three days of preparation for the Easter feast; it included Thursday, the
Friday and Saturday of Holy Week. It was a triduum of the passion.
In the new calendar and in the liturgical norms for Holy Week, the focus is different. The triduum is
It presents not as a time of preparation, but as one single thing with Easter. It is a triduum of the Passion.
and resurrection, which encompasses the entirety of the paschal mystery. Thus it is expressed in the calendar:
Christ redeemed humanity and gave perfect glory to God mainly through his paschal mystery:
dying he destroyed death, and rising he restored life. The Easter Triduum of the passion and resurrection of
Christ is, therefore, the culmination of the entire liturgical year.
Then set the exact duration of the triduum:
The triduum begins on Holy Thursday with the evening mass of the Lord's Supper, reaching its peak on Friday with
the celebration of the Passion of Christ and ends with the vespers of Easter Sunday (Easter Vigil in
Saturday).
This unification of the Easter celebration is more in line with the spirit of the New Testament and with the
primitive Christian tradition. Christ himself, when referring to his passion and death, never dissociated them from his
resurrection. In the gospel of Wednesday of the second week of Lent (Mt 20,17-28) it speaks of them in
They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles to mock him, to scourge him and to...
they will crucify him, and on the third day he will rise.
It is significant that the Church Fathers, both Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine, conceive of the Easter triduum.
as a whole that includes the suffering of Jesus and also his glorification. The bishop of Milan, in one of his
writings refer to the three holy days (triduum illud sacrum) as the three days during which he suffered, was
in the tomb and rose again, the three days he referred to when he said: 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it.'
"I will rebuild." Saint Augustine, in one of his letters, refers to them as "the three most sacred days of the
crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Those three days, which begin with the evening mass of Holy Thursday and conclude with the evening prayer
of Easter Sunday, they form a unit, and as such they must be considered. Consequently, Easter
Christianity essentially consists of a three-day celebration, which includes the somber parts and the
brilliant facets of the salvific mystery of Christ. The different phases of the paschal mystery extend to the
long of the three days as in a triptych: each of the three panels illustrates a part of the scene; together
They form a whole. Each square is complete in itself, but it must be seen in relation to the other two.
It is interesting to know that both Good Friday and Holy Saturday, officially, are not part of Lent.
According to the new calendar, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday,
excluding the Lord's Supper mass 1. Friday and Saturday of Holy Week are not the last two days
of Lent, but the first two days of the 'sacred Triduum.'
Thoughts for the triduum
The unity of the Paschal mystery has something important to teach us. It tells us that pain is not only
followed by joy, but already contains it within itself. Jesus expressed this in different ways. For example, in the
In the last supper he said to his apostles: "You will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy" (Jn
It seems as if pain is one of the essential ingredients for forging joy. The metaphor
the woman in labor expresses it wonderfully. Her pain, indeed, gives birth to joy, the
joy "that a man has been born to the world."
Other images come to mind. The whole cycle of nature speaks of life that comes out of death: 'If the
A grain of wheat that falls to the ground does not die; it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit" (Jn 12:24).
The resurrection is our Passover; it is a step from death to life, from darkness to light, from fasting to
feast. The Lord said: "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face" (Mt 6:17). Fasting is the
beginning of the party.
Suffering is not good in itself; therefore, we should not seek it as such. The Christian stance
regarding him is positive and realistic. In the life of Christ, and especially in his cross, we see his redemptive value.
The crucifix should not be reduced to a painful reminder of how much Jesus suffered for us. It is an object in
the one we can boast about because he is transfigured by the glory of the resurrection.
Our lives are interwoven with joy and pain. To flee from pain and sorrow at all costs and to seek joy and
pleasure by themselves are wrong attitudes. The Christian way is the path illuminated by the teachings
and examples of Jesus. It is the way of the cross, which is also that of the resurrection; it is self-forgetfulness, it is losing oneself
through Christ, it is life that springs from death. The paschal mystery that we celebrate during the days of the sacred triduum is
the guideline and the program we must follow in our lives.
