North American Forum for Small Christian Communities
The Sacred Triduum
The liturgy of the church beckons to us this week. The Triduum (three days) concludes Lent and moves us into the joy of the Easter season. The Triduum begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday with Adoration and night prayer; Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord in which we venerate the cross; Holy Saturday with morning prayer and the Easter Vigil at night. The Easter Vigil celebrates all that is new with the rising of Jesus.
The Vigil is ripe with symbols and meaning: the new fire (outside of the church), the lighting of the Easter Candle symbolizing light piercing the darkness through the resurrection of Jesus, the faithful processing behind the Easter Candle singing “Christ our light” as we enter the church as a community, the Word of God recounting salvation history through Old and New Testament readings and psalms, the lights coming on as we sing the Gloria for the first time since the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, receiving the Eucharist together, the Easter flowers, the lighting of the sanctuary lamp and the rousing singing.
Our small communities have been preparing for this great liturgy for six weeks. The Lenten reflecions have prepared us well for the celebrations. All of us on the NAFSCC Board wish you a blessed Holy Week and Easter Season
Amy McEntee
Kimberly Kay Cox
Mark Mogilka
Armando Cervantes
Anna Betancourt
Andrea Chavez-Kopp