As we move into the final days of Lent, it's not too early to start planning one's activities around the events of Holy Week, particularly Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. These three days, called the Easter Triduum, are simply the most important in the entire Church year, as we follow Christ through his last supper with his disciples, his arrest, condemnation, suffering, death on the cross and resurrection, i.e., the Paschal Mystery.
I always tell people who only show up on Easter Sunday that they actually missed the main event: Jesus has already risen. Sure, it's great to celebrate that, but if we are present at the Easter Vigil on Saturday, we witness Christ's rising among us as we pass from darkness into light.I have written before about the importance of the Triduum, but I simply cannot say it enough.
Triduum (pronounced TRID-YOO-UM, not TRID-EE-UM, as many people say it) means 3 days. Since Pius XII restored the Easter Vigil in 1955 (based on ancient practice), the Church has celebrated these three days as a time apart - an experience of Paschal Mystery for the entire community. It is meant to be on every Catholic's calendar as a time to set other concerns aside. Even though it is less common for employers to suspend work during the period between noon and 3 p.m. on Friday, Catholics should still be able to find ways to participate in all three days, as many parishes provide an evening service.
Jesus loved you enough to go through his suffering and death, so the least you can do is acknowledge that with your presence at the important liturgies of the Triduum. Thursday night is beautiful as we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist and wash feet as he did. On Friday, we remember the great the love of a God who gave his only Son to suffering and death for our sake. On Saturday night, we witness the lighting of the fire of renewed life and hear about God's great plan for our salvation as we wait for the proclamation of Christ's Resurrection.
Maybe it's just me, but I have never once missed a day of the Triduum since I became Catholic. I cannot imagine not being there, and I certainly cannot understand why anyone would stay home or carry on with normal life activities while something this important is happening. Humor me, please, if you are one who has not typically attended the celebrations of the Triduum. Mark your calendar now - or as soon as the times for the liturgies of the Three Days are announced at your parish. I guarantee you will not regret it.
My best guess is that the people in the pews this weekend who witness the First Scrutiny - a purification rite for those preparing for baptism - have no idea they are actually witnessing a liturgical exorcism. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults states the scrutinies are intended to
....uncover then heal all that is weak, defective or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong and good. For the scrutinies are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life. These rites therefore, should complete the conversion of the elect and deepen their resolve to hold fast to Christ and to carry out their decision to love God above all. (RCIA 141)
If their preparation has been what the Church desires, the elect have already been "instructed gradually about the mystery of sin." (143). The explanatory material before the rite continues, mentioning that the elect "have already learned from the Church as their mother the mystery of deliverance from sin by Christ" (144)
Most already-baptized adults in the pews received this kind of instruction on sin in 2nd grade, and perhaps again in 8th grade or high school. At best, the last time they thought about it was when they talked about it again in the context of the preparation for baptism of their children.
Do we really understand what is meant by "the mystery of deliverance of sin by Christ?" "Mystery" is not a word we hear often in relation to sin. Just what does this mean for the catechumens, and for us, the baptized, as we watch the ritual casting out of the demons of sin over the next three weekends?
Remember that those over whom the priest or deacon will pray the Prayer of Exorcism over the next three weeks are not yet baptized, and are therefore subject to the full effects of Original Sin and seduction by the Devil. At baptism, they will put on Christ and receive the blessing of eternal life and the strength to resist temptation. In the meantime, the exorcism and our prayers will strengthen them in their last days as unbaptized people moving toward baptism. It has been said that the closer a person gets to the font, the more the Devil tries to keep him or her away. The prayers of the scrutinies are designed to combat that.
We are talking about "sin" here - with no "s", not "sins" - which, of course, still are committed after baptism by even the best of us. "Sin" - the consequence of the Fall of Adam and Eve, condemned us to eternal death. Christ's coming reversed that. And THAT is the mystery. The fullness of this mystery will be revealed at the Easter Vigil, when, during theExsultet, we sing:
O wonder of your humble care for us! O love, O charity beyond all telling, to ransom a slave you gave away your Son! O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer.
This is the mystery - that God could bring something wonderful - eternal life - out of the darkness of sin and death. That Christ's rising from the dead conquered Satan, sin and death for all time.
So, this weekend, as the elect come forward to have their demons exorcised, we the baptized should rejoice that we have been saved in Christ by our own baptism and are no longer subject to the full effect of Original Sin. For us, this is part of preparation for our renewal of baptismal promises at Easter, when we will once again reject Satan and his empty promises.
This Sunday we hear in the Roman Missal how Christ set the pattern for Lent and how we today are to take it to heart. When we really listen to what the presider prays we can learn much about the attitudes and expectations of the season. This is not surprising. Lex orandi, lex credendi is an ancient saying, meaning literally "the law of prayer is the law of belief" - or what we pray (in the liturgy) is what we believe (see CCC 1124.) Let's take a look at what the texts of the First Sunday in Lent say.
In the Collect, we hear:
Grant, almighty God,
through the yearly observances of holy Lent,
that we may grow in understanding
of the riches hidden in Christ,
and by worthy conduct pursue their effects...
In the Prayer over the Offerings:
Give us the right dispositions, O Lord, we pray,
to make these offerings,
for with them we celebrate the beginning
of this venerable and sacred time....
In the Preface:
...By abstaining forty long days from earthly food,
he [Christ] consecrated through his fast
the pattern of our Lenten observance
and, by overturning all the snares of the ancient serpent,
taught us to cast out the leaven of malice,
so that celebrating worthily the Paschal Mystery,
we might pass over at last to the eternal paschal feast.
In the Prayer after Communion:
Renewed now with heavenly bread,
by which faith is nourished, hope is increased,
and charity strengthened,
we pray, O Lord,
that we may learn to hunger for Christ,
the true and living Bread,
and strive to live by every word
which proceeds from your mouth...
Finally, in the Prayer over the People:
May bountiful blessing, O Lord, we pray,
come down upon your people,
that hope my grow in tribulation,
virtue may be strengthened in temptation,
and eternal redemption be assured.
What do we learn? That Lent is about not only right actions, but right attitudes (dispositions). That Christ himself, in his 40 days in the desert, is the model for Lent. That all of Lent is focused toward our celebration of the Easter Triduum (the Paschal Mystery) and that the Eucharist we receive at Mass strengthens and nourishes our ability to live the Cardinal Virtues - faith, hope and charity - as well as our ability to resist temptation. All of this, of course, is with reference to our eternal salvation and the eternal banquet in heaven.
So, convoluted though they may be, the prayers at Mass have a lot of catechesis about Lent in them. Listen this weekend, and take them to heart. How will you allow Jesus in the Eucharist to help you with your Lenten journey?
Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments: they signify effects, particularly of a spiritual kind, which are obtained through the Church's intercession. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy. (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 60)
We begin Lent with ashes, a sacramental made from the burning of the blest palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday. By the definition above, the ashes should resemble the sacraments, but which ones?
The cross of ashes on our forehead is placed exactly where the cross of oil was placed on our heads during Baptism and Confirmation. Yet, made from ashes instead of holy oil, this mark is clearly visible - a public statement that we belong to Christ.
When an adult preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation is first signed with the cross, at the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechism, it is an invisible sign, traced on their forehead by their sponsor or catechist: a foreshadowing of the cross of oil they will later receive at Easter. These are the words spoken:
Receive the cross on your forehead. It is Christ himself who now strengthens you with this sign of his love. Learn to know and follow him.
Words to remember today. The cross of Ashes is a renewed call to follow Christ, who first called us at our baptism and calls us every day of our lives to keep learning to follow him. It is the visible connection to the baptismal character of Lent that that Constitution laid out:
The season of Lent has a twofold character: primarily by recalling or preparing for baptism and by penance, it disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the paschal mystery. This twofold character is to be brought into greater prominence both in the liturgy and by liturgical catechesis. Hence:
a) More use is to be made of the baptismal features proper to the Lenten liturgy; some of them, which used to flourish in bygone days, are to be restored as may seem good. b) The same is to apply to the penitential elements... (SC 109)
So today, consider how your Ashes recall your baptismal invitation to follow Christ in everything. It began when oil was used to make that cross on your forehead...
I have mentioned before that I try to remember to offer myself to God as the gifts are being prepared or during the epiclesis (when the priest holds his hands over the bread and wine and calls down the Holy Spirit to change them into the Body and Blood). It's that part in CCC 901 about lay people offering their lives with the gifts. You can read my explanation of that HERE.
On most days, it's pretty tame. Something like "God, take it all" or "I give it all to you, Lord". Sometimes, however, because I'm a musician and my head is full of random stuff, the whimsey in me comes up with this:
As I continue to navigate the challenges of being a Catholic and being recently diagnosed with celiac disease, I have to admit I get a little catch in my gut as a reaction to anything referring to bread or wheat in songs or in the text of the Mass. It's obviously psychological, like my latest tendency to pass longingly and nostalgically through the bakery section of the grocery store and glance at things I can never eat again.
And yet this is important to who we are:
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eatsmy flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:53-58)
So what do you do when the bread that is broken and shared as Jesus' flesh can hurt you? When your low-gluten host is brought and distributed separately and is no longer part of the bread of the community?
You pray a lot. You feel sad. You learn that you will never know what part of the Cross you will be called upon to bear next in this life.
I know it's still the Eucharist, but now it's just a lot more complicated.
Dan Gonzalez is a man who loves the Mass. In fact, he loves it so much that he has spent a great deal of time and effort creating a new way for others to deepen their appreciation of it. The Mass Explainedapp, available now from the iTunes store, is a fascinating kaleidoscopic tour of important elements of ancient culture, history and Church tradition that have influenced or been incorporated into the development of the Mass and some of the cultural effects and connections that have resulted from it... and this is only Part I (Liturgy of the Word). Currently, this app is only available for iPad, but a version for Android devices will be developed soon.
Gonzalez, a cradle Catholic who admits to starting out not knowing very much about his faith, says he was awakened to a desire to learn as much as he could about Catholicism after an experience in 1989 with a non-denominational Bible-study group. He began to read everything he could get his hands on about the biblical basis for Catholic faith and moved from an initial focus on apologetics to a deeper love and appreciation for "the beauty and majesty of the Mass." Gonzalez says "Amen, Kyrie Eleison and Agnus Dei—the Mass is a virtual tour of tongues and time-frames. The Hebrews, Greeks and Romans have all pressed their thumbprints into the liturgy." It is these "thumbprints" that he wanted to communicate in his app, along with ways for those who participate in the Mass to understand not only how the Mass got to be the way it is, but what it means to each of us as participants - how we live the Mass through understanding its meaning. The promo video outlines the underlying philosophy:
This new app focuses on the Ordinary Form of the Mass - the Mass in English as most American Catholics experience it, but references the Latin Mass appropriately throughout. Gonzales manages to steer clear of any particular "agenda" by being inclusive of the variety of worship that is embraced by the whole Church.
The Mass Explained answers such basic questions as
Why do we do what we do at Mass?
What is the historical or cultural root or connection of each prayer, musical element or gesture?
What does this mean for the worshiper participating today?
Designed as a learning experience in the form of a textbook divided into chapters, The Mass Explained app is more than a typical e-book. It is a full multimedia learning experience that takes advantage of visual and aural technology. The pages are filled with pop-up definitions and explanations, podcasts, 3-D tours, slide-shows, maps and more. You can read excerpts from Church documents, hear Jewish prayers that are the precursors of Mass prayers read in the original Hebrew, learn about how what the ancient Romans did in civil ceremonies influenced what we do at Mass, how our church buildings, processions and Catholic customs reflect ancient culture and both its religious and political practices. One of my favorite features as a church musician, is the samples of musical settings of the Gloria - from Gregorian chant, to Medieval, Baroque and Romantic classical composers.
The placement of the Liturgical Year in the discussion of the Gospel reading cycle may seem odd, but is deliberate - a decision, Gonzalez says, based on how the readings lead us through the life of Christ during the Church Year.
If I had anything to quibble about with this app, it would be that sometimes there seems like almost too much information. While reviewing the app, I tended to go down a few "rabbit holes" of fascinating history or custom and when I emerged I had to go back to the chapter title to remind myself why I had been there in the first place! Still, that just means this is a deep-level learning experience that will bear repeated use. It is perhaps not for the casual adult user, but for those who are seriously fascinated by history, culture, factual connections and more. It is, in fact, a short-course on the liturgy. As an information addict myself, I was hooked.
How could this app be useful? Gonzalez has suggested this could be used in high schools and in RCIA as well as in seminaries. I would expand that to general adult and parent formation for those who are willing to go deeper. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter could serve as a focus for group use. The promotional video above does a good job of suggesting reasons for use and could be used in a parish to promote participation in a group study.
At $24.99 each, this app may seem expensive, but a group discount for institutions through the Apple volume discount program means that ordering 20 or more takes the price down by 50% per copy. The app, Gonzalez notes, was created out-of-pocket with no outside funding and pricing reflects his costs, along with fees he will pay to Apple and to ICEL for use of copyrighted texts.
NOTE: I did not know Dan before I was given access to a pre-publication draft of this app and did not receive anything in return for my review process (other than a small spot in the Acknowledgements for some suggested tweaks.)
