Easter & beyond...

Deacon Keith Fournier Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

4/11/2017

The Sacred Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. The Mystery of Faith

"Beginning with the Easter Triduum as its source of light, the new age of the Resurrection fills the whole liturgical year with its brilliance. Gradually, on either side of this source, the year is transfigured by the liturgy." (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

The Liturgical year in the words of Monsignor Peter Elliott ". transforms our time into a sacrament of eternity." Let us enter fully into the Sacred Triduum Liturgies.

CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) - The Easter Triduum begins with the Vigil of Holy Thursday. It marks the end of the forty days of Lent and the beginning of the three-day celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council reminded us of the extraordinary significance of the Triduum : "Christ redeemed us all and gave perfect glory to God principally through his paschal mystery: dying he destroyed our death and rising he restored our life. Therefore the Easter Triduum of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire liturgical year." (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, # 18)

These last Forty Days were a time of preparation for these great Three days, which is what Triduum means. These three days lead us to an empty tomb and an Octave, eight days, of celebrating the...