Otherwise known as the Pascal Triduum – Easter is coming soon.
The figure of Christ carrying the cross up Calvary on Good Friday. The sky is dark and stormy.With the setting of the sun, the sacred three days are upon us. These three days, the Triduum, are at the center of the entire liturgical year. Many people wonder why we refer to these days as “three days” when it seems there are actually four days from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday. We need to reach back into our Jewish roots for the answer. Remember that the Jewish people count days from sundown to sundown. The first day of the Triduum, then, is counted as the “day” between sundown on Holy Thursday and sundown on Good Friday. The second is counted from sundown Friday to sundown on Saturday, and the third is made up of the time between sundown on Saturday and sundown on Easter Sunday.
Holy Thursday – April 13, 2017 – 6:30 p.m. – Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
After Mass until 10:00 p.m. – Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Beginning with this evening’s solemn liturgy, God draws us into the mystery that forever changed us. We are plunged into the Paschal Mystery over the course of these three days. For those who are to be baptized, this is a privileged time consisting of many “firsts.” For the rest of us, we celebrate these days as reminders of the wonders God has worked and continues to work in our lives. Let us be open to God’s healing love.
We encourage you to continue Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament until 10:00 p.m.
Good Friday – April 14, 2017 – 3:00 p.m. – Passion of the Lord – Veneration of the Cross
Today is the day when we are given the opportunity to lay our pain and suffering at the foot of the cross of Christ. The responsorial psalm expresses human feelings that resonate with us all at one time or another. Today is the day to bring all of the very real human feelings of rejection to this liturgy, to hear God’s saving words and to venerate the cross honestly. This year bring every part of you to that cross, your pains and your joys, your sufferings and your triumphs, your acceptances and your rejections. Somehow, through the mystery of the cross, Christ experienced defeat and triumph at the same time. We venerate the cross as a community, we are never alone.
Holy Saturday – April 15, 2017 – 9:00 a.m. – Blessing of Easter Baskets
The blessing of Easter baskets has been carried on through the centuries. In every house, from the richest to the poorest, the table is spread with the food that is blessed on Holy Saturday.
The Easter Vigil Mass – Saturday, April 15, 2017 – 8:00 p.m. – NO 4:00 p.m. Mass
Tonight’s Easter Vigil is as full and rich as liturgy can be. Allow yourself to be drawn into the Service of Light. Let the word of God be a living word for you. Let the celebration of Baptism and Confirmation touch your own heart. Ask Christ, the Bread of Life, to strengthen you on your journey of discipleship. Let the wonder of this holy night of Easter fill us all with the wonder of the Resurrection. Let this place resound with Joy!
Easter Sunday – April 16, 2017 – Masses: 7:15 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Today hundreds of millions of Christians around the world gather to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. From small adobe churches in Peru to grand cathedrals throughout the western world the defining event for Christians draws people from every race and language to praise God for the mystery of Christ’s Death and Resurrection. Today the paschal candle burns brightly before us, announcing that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. This day the church is adorned with flowers, announcing that or Lenten fast is completed and Christ has emerged from the grave. Today we renew our Baptismal promises and encounter the waters of Baptism in an everlasting remembrance of our having put on Christ in Baptism. Today we are nurtured and sustained by our God to be people who bring the good news of Peace and Healing to the entire world.