Now we come to the three days which are at the center of our faith and our lives: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. These are “Holy Days”—days set apart. They are set apart to remember, to consider, and to celebrate what God did for us through Jesus’ Passion and Death.
Enter In
These days are different if you “Enter in.” What do you do when you enter in? When you enter in a lovely house or garden? When you enter in a community festival? When you enter in a family wedding, dinner, or funeral?
You leave outside what is not of this time and place you enter—your coat, your shoes, your focus of attention elsewhere. Yes, you might even leave outside your cell phone, your To Do list, your multi-tasking mind.
As you enter in, you focus on this time and place: what you see, feel, hear, smell, and taste. As you focus, it is natural for your breathing to slow, your body to settle, your mind to clear. When we are mindful of the moment, we relax at least a bit and…enter in.
And then you let yourself be captivated by where you are and what you are experiencing. Think of a great church you have visited or an exquisite day in the woods or a special ceremony. You have entered in when you are fully engaged in the moment so its meaning permeates you.
Today is the day for us to enter in the great Mysteries of the Triduum. How do we do it well?
How Jesus Entered In
This week I have been fascinated with how Jesus entered in the mysteries of the Triduum.
He started out about a week ago in Bethany. He began by partying with his friends, including Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Simon. (John 12:1-10)Then on Sunday he entered Jerusalem with the sounds of Hosanna! He did all this even though he was very much aware of his coming death. In Monday’s reading we heard him tell Judas, who complained about Mary’s anointing his feet, “Let her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial.”
Jesus stayed with his friends in Bethany all week, but each day he went into Jerusalem. He was very busy! Reviewing all that Jesus did in the early part of Holy Week is a help for me as I prepare to enter in to the mysteries at mass tonight. You can find the stories in Matthew 21-25, Mark 11-14, Luke 19-21, and John 12. He made those last days of his life count! There is great emphasis on telling parables and teaching his disciples and in confronting the misuses of religious practices by the religious leaders. I plan on reading those between now and the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus on His Knees
Then, in today’s readings, Jesus enters in to his Passion and Death, the Mysteries of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Jesus enters in the mysteries on his knees.
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.
Jesus, who liked to eat with his friends, got up from the table in the middle of his last meal to wash the feet of his disciples. He washed Judas Iscariot’s feet. He washed Peter’s feet. He washed them all—on his knees, with a towel around his waist, the position of a servant or slave.
Why?
The Gospel tells us:
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.”
Priests and Pope on Their Knees Today
In liturgies this Holy Thursday evening around the world priests will do what Jesus did: between the homily and the offertory of the mass they will kneel and wash the feet of some members of the assembly. At the Chrism Mass, perhaps earlier today or in the past few days, priests have renewed their vows to serve God, his people, and his church. Now, BEFORE they make Christ present to us again at the Eucharist, they follow him to wash feet.
Perhaps you remember five years ago when Francis was made pope. He chose to wash the feet of young men in a youth prison, rather than in a Vatican service.
He chose to enter in to his papacy on his knees before the outcasts, and to serve them.
Beginning with the liturgy tonight we have so many rich elements to help us enter into the greatest mystery of all: Our God, THE GOD, because of his love for all of us (outcast, saint, or ordinary person in the pew) deliberately chose to experience death on a cross so that we may live forever.
Enter in the Scenes and the Meaning
That mystery can be too much for me. But it comes, each year, to cover me some time during these days as I enter in to these wonderful parts of the Mysteries. At some point my soul is on its knees as in mind and heart I try to experience the Passion by being there. There are many opportunities! No, neither I nor you is likely to deeply enter in every part of the Triduum Mysteries. It would be too much. What appeals to you? Follow Christ’s lead. Enter in. Here are some ideas, based on the liturgies of our parish church. Our readers circle the world. Perhaps there are customs in your church which help you enter in the Mysteries of the Triduum. If so, you might want to share them with other readers in the comments below.
- Tonight’s foot washing: how am I served by the priesthood? How am I called to serve, because we are all called to offer sacrifice? Imagine Jesus washing my feet. Imagine being Mary and anointing Jesus feet “in preparation for his burial.”
- The Offertory tonight where the savings of our Lenten fasts are brought forward. “Here is what I have done, Lord…”
- The canon of the mass tonight, the Eucharist of God with us always which Jesus first gave on this night. Jesus breaks the bread and gives it to me–which, in fact he does at every Eucharist I receive.
- Adoration and prayer “In Gethsemane” as we wait and pray before the Blessed Sacrament after mass. I read the Farewell Discourse in John 14-17, and ask, “This year, what is Jesus saying to me?”
- Let yourself feel the great emptiness as the Eucharist is carried out, as Jesus was carried out. “It was night.” I am a disciple. They took him from me–and for me!
- Fasting on Friday—and cleaning my house, making ready for Easter Sunday. How have I scrubbed my soul this Lent?
- Walking with Jesus on the Way of the Cross. Imagining myself on the streets of Jerusalem. Sights. Sounds. I am in the crowd.
- Keeping the hours of 12 to 3 holy, set apart, to remember. There are seven things Jesus said from the cross. I imagine myself Mary Magdalene, who was there, and I hear them. What are they saying to me this Good Friday?
- Reliving the whole passion in the one liturgy of the day: hearing again the story of the Passion, kissing the cross, receiving communion. I see myself as one of billions of people through the centuries who have bowed before the cross on this day. I see myself as one of millions of people around the world who do it this Good Friday. I am one of a countless throng who kneels, who kisses, who worships.
- Then Saturday, getting my home decorated and preparing food for Sunday and Monday feasts.
- The great Holy Saturday vigil. Standing around the Easter fire. Receiving the light of Christ from it. Hearing the Exaltet in a church of friends who are the Lights of Christ to me.Tracing the path of salvation all the way back from the creation of the world. Rejoicing with those baptized and those who enter into full communion, our RCIA catechumens and candidates. Doing all this bilingually–remembering I am part of a universal church. Singing the Gloria again!
- Easter Sunday morning. If it is clear, it is good to go out and watch the sun rise on the morning that changed the world forever. All by myself. Like Mary Magdalene. What was it like when she recognized him?
- Mass with all the crowds, all those whom God calls to remember this morning. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Yes, I am thrilled you are here…and COME BACK AGAIN NEXT SUNDAY. God loves you! He reached out to you today. He calls for you, to you….
- Sharing Eucharist then with Carebound who could not come to mass. Being on the road to Emmaus as I do.
- And yes, then feasting, celebrating, partying, resting in the Glory of the Lord.
So, friends everywhere, Enter In. Enter in liturgy, mystery, community, communion. Let God find your body, mind, heart, and soul in Church, or in meditation if you are prevented from church.
Enter in.
Prayer: The Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds hide me.
Permit me not to be separated from you.
From the wicked foe, defend me.
At the hour of my death, call me
and bid me come to you
That with your saints I may praise you
For ever and ever. Amen
