The Paschal Triduum is a three-fold liturgy beginning with the Holy Thursday Liturgy, continuing through the Good Friday Liturgy and culminating at the Easter Vigil. Through our celebration of these three days, we move with Christ from his last meal with his disciples to his cross and death to his rising from the grave, inviting the power of his resurrection to renew and remake us, an Easter people.

Holy Thursday Liturgy April 21: 7:00 p.m. : Footwashing, Eucharist, Watch at the Altar of Repose until 10:00pm

Holy Thursday invites us into the intimacy of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples, into his tender service of them in the footwashing, into his sacrificial giving of himself symbolized by the Bread and Wine. These enacted signs of Jesus’ love and self-offering are the focal points — sacrificial love and servanthood revealed as the primary qualities of the Eucharistic community of disciples.

Good Friday April 22: 3:00 pm : Reading of the Passion, Solemn Collects, Veneration of the Cross Communion from the Reserved Sacrament

This liturgy is out of joint, the familiar Eucharistic liturgy stretched out on the cross until we can no longer recognize it. The brokenness of the liturgy evokes the brokenness of Christ’s body. Its energy and shape are unfamiliar; it is the trough, the desolate valley of this Three Days’ journey, the valley of the shadow of death.

Stations of the Cross 6:30 pm

Holy Saturday April 23: 8:45 pm : The Great Vigil of Easter: Lighting of the New Fire and the Paschal Candle; The Exsultet; Baptisms, Confirmations, Reaffirmations, Receptions; the First Eucharist of Easter

We play with fire tonight, and with water, and with sweet-smelling oil; we light a candle in darkness and read from the book of our story by its light; rejoicing, we carry fragrant, fresh-baked bread and rich red wine to the Table; thankful, we feast on Holy Food. ‘Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.’ Alleluia!”

Easter Sunday April 24 : 8:00 am; 10:00 am; 12 noon

Easter Sunday is just part of the story. To experience the fullness of the Easter story – the Easter Triduum – the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord, give yourself the awesome gift of attending the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, a service on Good Friday and either the Easter Vigil or Easter Sunday Mass.

Easter marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his Crucifixion. Sandwiched between the 40 preparatory days of Lenten penitence and the seven weeks of Eastertide, it is the most important and most joyous holiday on the Christian calendar.

Origins of Holy Week Liturgies

Your family is invited to join with other families in your parish to celebrate Easter Vigil 2011,Holy Saturday night, April 23.

To prepare your family for this most holy of nights, we offer this family page: The Easter Vigil

The first day, Holy Thursday, begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, during which we remember the Last Supper – when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and instituted the Eucharist. The first day of the Triduum extends through the night and includes the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday.

The second day of the Triduum begins at sunset on Good Friday and lasts until sunset on Holy Saturday. There are no ceremonies in church. Our minds are on Jesus, who rests in the tomb.

The third day of the Triduum begins at sunset on Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil. The ceremonies of the Easter Vigil include the blessing of fire, of water, the Baptism and Confirmation of new members of the Church, and the first Mass of Easter. The day ends with evening prayer on Easter Sunday.

Easter is not just one day, but 50 days of joy. The Church wears white because of the celebration and sings Alleluia over and over. The season includes the great feast of the Ascension, when Jesus returned to the Father, and concludes with Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit came to the Church just as Jesus promised.

Here are some activities for you and your children thanks to our friends at Pflaum Publications.

What Easter Means Grades K_1

Baptism Crossword Grades 2_3

Feast of Jesus Crossword Grades 4_6

The Easter Season Grades 7_8

Holy Week

This Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday to commemorate the beginning of Holy Week and Jesus’ final agonizing journey to the cross.

There are a variety of events that are clustered on Holy Thursday – this last day before Jesus was arrested that are commemorated in various ways in services of worship. These include the last meal together, which was probably a Passover meal, the institution of Eucharist or Communion, the betrayal by Judas (because of the exchange with Jesus at the meal), and Jesus praying in Gethsemane while the disciples fell asleep. Most liturgies, however, focus on the meal and communion as a way to commemorate this day.

Friday of Holy Week has been traditionally been called Good Friday. On this day, the church commemorates Jesus’ arrest (since by Jewish customs of counting days from sundown to sundown it was already Friday), his trial, crucifixion and suffering, death, and burial. Since services on this day are to observe Jesus’ death, and since Eucharist is a celebration, there is traditionally no Communion observed on Good Friday.

From the earliest days of the church, the Easter Vigil was primarily a means of preparing new converts for baptism into the Christian Faith, which was normally done on Easter Sunday as the focal point of the entire year. This preparation traditionally arises from a set of Scripture readings from the Old Testament that recounts the unfolding of God’s creation of a people in the Exodus, and a promise of restoration from Zephaniah (see Readings for the Easter Vigil). Following the lead of the Gospels themselves, this provides a crucial link between the revelation of God in Christ and the creation of the church with God’s past revelation of himself and the creation of his people Israel. This important emphasis on the continuity of the church with the Old Testament’s witness to God also helps define the nature of the church and its mission in the world, thoroughly grounding it in the ongoing work of God in history.

Click here to access our Holy Week Liturgical Ministers Schedule Holy Week Liturgical Ministers Schedule