Triduum. Yes, there are 2 “u” in a row. (I don’t know Latin, so I can’t answer why.) For Catholic Christians, the 3 days leading up to Easter are as important, if not more, than Easter Sunday itself. It is one long church service, starting at dusk on Thursday night and ending on Saturday, usually around 11pm or midnight.

So, what is it and why bother? Triduum is the celebration and remembrance of the history of salvation, the days leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Thursday is the remembrance of the Last Supper. Friday is the solemn reading of the Passion and remembrance of the crucifixion. Saturday is The Party.

Holy Thursday, called Maundy Thursday by some of our brethren Christians, starts at dusk. We begin as we do at any Mass, with an opening hymn, introductory prayers, and the Liturgy of the Word – a reading from the old testament, a sung psalm, a reading from the new testament, and a gospel reading. The gospel is the Last Supper – the institution of the Eucharist. After the homily (sermon), there is a Washing of Feet. In a ritual reenactment, members of the community wash the feet of the others, or have their feet washed. After, the Mass continues much as usual, with the Liturgy of the Eucharist. At the consecration, there are twice the usual number of hosts. These that are not consumed on Thursday are reserved for Friday. Then, the Big Deal part of the night. Instead of the closing prayers and dismissal, the reserved consecrated hosts (Catholics believe it is LITERALLY the Body of Christ – Transubstantiation is the theological term)are processed through the church and set out for adoration.

Good Friday is the second part, the remembrance and re-presentation of the Crucifixion. Since this is a continuation of Thursday’s worship service, there is no opening hymn or prayers. The readings are in the usual pattern: old testament, psalm, new testament, gospel. But the gospel reading is special. It is the passion from the gospel of John. There are 2 lectors (readers) who alternate paragraphs, the priest who speaks the lines Jesus speaks, and the congregation speaks the lines of the crowds. A very brief homily, then there is the Veneration of the Cross. A cross, often with the corpus, is processed into the church and the community is given the opportunity to approach and pray at the cross. Many people kneel for a brief prayer, some kiss the cross or the feet or wounds of the corpus. The reserved hosts are distributed, and the service ends in silence.

Finally, The Party. Holy Saturday, the Great Vigil, the Proclamation of the Resurrection. 3+ hours of amazingness. This takes more than a single paragraph, so hang on for the ride!

The service begins after full dark. Outside, the priest and congregation gathers. The Easter fire is lit, a new fire that is used to light the baptismal candle and from that candle, candles held by every member of the congregation. Everyone processes into the dark church, following the lit candle. The candle is put in place next to the lectern, and the Exsultet is proclaimed. Seriously, look on youtube and listen to the chant.

“Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven,
exult, let Angel ministers of God exult,
let the trumpet of salvation
sound aloud our mighty King’s triumph!…”

Lots of incense, lots of amazing imagery! Next is the proclamation of the history of salvation. While the church is lit only by the candles held by the congregation, there are 7 readings from the old testament, each paired with a psalm, that lead from the Creation to the anticipation of the Messiah. My personal favorite is the 3rd reading – the crossing of the Red Sea. At our church, the lector who does this reading is very tall with a deep bass voice. He was a coach for a high school speech team and knows how to deliver a dramatic story without overdoing it. This is followed by my husband singing the Exodus “psalm”. The version we use is by Scott Soper. AMAZING. My husband is an amazing singer and the combination of Paul reading and my husband singing really makes this a powerful reading.

After 7 readings, the lights come on and we sing the Gloria for the first time in the Easter season. A new testament reading and a gospel reading, telling of the Resurrection. After a (hopefully brief) homily, the night gets special. Those who are entering the Church and have not yet been baptized in any Christian tradition receive the sacrament of Baptism. The entire congregation is sprinkled with holy water as a reminder of their own baptism. Next, any who are entering the Catholic Church receive Confirmation, including those who were just baptized. It is an awesome experience to see adults who have prayed and studied and committed to their faith.

After all this, the altar is “redressed”. The cloth is placed, candles lit, and everything is prepared for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The new Catholics receive their first Eucharist, followed by the whole community. The 3 day service ends with a solemn blessing and dismissal. This whole night takes 3-4 hours. An amazing night.

As a church musician, Triduum is a marathon. Three nights of difficult music that you only sing once a year. All the different ensembles come together and have to mesh into one. By the end of the Great Vigil, you are exhausted. Your voice is rasping, your embouchure is aching, and you are so high on the adrenaline that you won’t sleep any time soon anyway. Amazing, exhausting, and deeply moving.

At St. Lawrence Newman Center in Dinkytown, this year there were 3 priests, 4 baptisms, 10 additional confirmations, 18 musicians, and 20 altar servers. The entire church was packed, including the old choir loft upstairs. (If the fire marshal was there, he was very careful about not counting the number of people in the building.)

So, not only do I get to give a very brief overview of an amazing Catholic Christian tradition, I can give an reason/excuse why I didn’t manage to get all of my homework done this week. Feel free to leave a comment whether or not this is an reason or an excuse, or if you want me to answer any questions about Triduum. If I don’t know the answer, I will look it up and get back to you.

Hugs and Hi-Fives,
Val