Triduum, in Latin, refers to a period of three days. It is the holiest of days for us Catholics. If Semana Santa is holy, the three days within that period is deeply sacred. They are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Three days filled with mystery, sacrifice and love.
We call the first of the three days Maundy Thursday. It is Maundy, from the word ‘mandatum’ which means an order or a commission. It centers on the final command of Jesus to his disciples at the Last Supper to “do this in memory of me.” On Maundy Thursday, Jesus celebrates the first Eucharist and He institutes the priesthood. At the last meal of Jesus, he uses the bread and wine as the signs of his very self, His body and blood. It is His gift and memory, His presence and love to all of us. When we attend the liturgy in our parish on Holy Thursday, we will witness the washing of the feet during the celebration of Eucharist to remember the Lord’s Last Supper. After communion at the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, there is no final blessing because the three days continue into each other. So the priest brings the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of Repose for adoration until midnight. Those taking part in the liturgy accompany Jesus into the night, and into the garden of olives, as they think of His arrest. It is the reversal of every religious expectation. People usually expect God to help them when they are in trouble. On this night, we are asked to help Jesus when He is in trouble. ‘Could you not watch one hour with me?’ In our world, God is weak, powerless. Only by being like that can God be with us and help us – when we are weak and powerless.
We call the second day of the Triduum Good Friday. There is great irony here calling the day Jesus dies ‘good.’ It should be a day of mourning, a bad day. Instead we call it good. It is because we Christian remember and celebrate how far God’s love was willing to go for us. That love was willing to go to the far and dark country we call sin and conquer it with His love. When we attend the liturgy in our parish on Good Friday, we shall witness the proclamation of the passion story of Jesus, how He suffered and died. It will be followed by the veneration of the cross of Jesus. The priest will raise it three times and people will honor the cross of Jesus by touching or kissing it. Afterwards, communion shall follow with the consecrated bread of the Mass of the Last Supper of Maundy Thursday. Again, quietly the Good Friday liturgy will flow to the third day of the Triduum. Meanwhile, the Filipino tradition of procession of the Santo Entierro follows. It is a small way of expressing our sorrow at the suffering and death of Jesus.
The last day of the Triduum include two adjoining days: Black Saturday and the Easter Vigil Mass which begins in the Evening of Saturday leading to Easter Sunday. On Black or Holy Saturday, nothing happens in the church. People come and pray in silence, many come to pray the way of the cross. We wait for the night of our glorious redemption to come. At 10PM, we gather to celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass. It will begin with a darken church with one light aglow: the Easter candle. Just as the priest raised the cross three times on Good Friday, he will raise the Easter candle three times to proclaim that Christ is risen and has defeated the darkness of sin. Many readings will be proclaimed especially from the Old Testament to remind us of the history of our redemption. The waters to be used for baptism shall also be blessed this holy night. We shall also welcome to our faith an adult person who has decided to receive baptism. From the night liturgy of Saturday to the full light of Easter Day, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, his ‘passover’ from death to life. God has not left his son crucified and in the bonds of death. God has raised him up. God has lifted him out of death. God has given God’s life to the one who gave his life for God and for us all. Christus vincit. Christus regnat. Christus imperat.
