The Triduum

Today was Easter Monday – a return to a bit of normal after the Triduum.
Like much of Holy Week, yesterday was a blur of coming and going, and all of the chaos that comes with school vacation week. Added to that was the excitement of the Easter Bunny and the craze of sugar, and well… Easter Sunday was less spiritual than I’d have hoped.
Even still, at Easter Mass, the pews were so full that the priest and ministers had to break up the hosts during Communion to ensure enough for all who received. There was enough, thank goodness! And God willing, some who came yesterday will be inspired to come to Mass again before next Easter! Our parish had to hold two extra Masses yesterday to hold everyone, and we needed to bring in a guest priest. That IS a beautiful thing, so I certainly have no complaints!

But it is the Easter Vigil, though, that is favorite event of the Liturgical Year. And so I suppose that is why Easter Sunday was almost a little anti-climactic.
Oh, the Vigil! What a profound and beautiful evening!

Just a few months ago, I went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land – to Israel and Palestine. Over the course of one life-changing week, my fellow parishioners and I followed the footsteps of Christ. We went to places I’d read about but never really tried to visualize. Admittedly, most of the locations are significantly different than they would have been during Jesus’s time. The ornate churches built up around the places of His birth, death, and resurrection must certainly make them unrecognizable to what they once were. Even still – we were there. We saw the locations of His birth, and His death, and His ministry. It was an amazing experience.

At the Vigil, and again on Easter morning, we renewed our Baptismal vows.
Just two short months ago, I stood in the Jordan River where Jesus was Baptized, and on its shore I renewed those same vows:

I DO renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his show.
I DO believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.
I DO believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death and was buried, rose again from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
I DO believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

More than that – at the Vigil we had new Catholics make those vows for the first time. I had the honor of standing in as sponsor for one of them.
I placed my hands on this young man’s shoulder while he made those same vows, and though he may not know it – his life has been changed by saying “I DO!”
My life has been changed by hearing him say it.
Our Church has grown richer and fuller with her new additions.

Moments later, I served as an Extraordinary Minster of Holy Communion.
Now, I know many believe that only priests should be able to serve Communion, and if there were enough priests, I would happily agree. But as it stands, there aren’t enough. And so I help. It is one of my greatest joys and privileges to be able to serve the Body of Christ to those who approach the altar to receive Him.
Every time I do it, I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the act.
At the Vigil, I almost wept. The reality of Christ’s sacrifice hit me as I stood there, and.I could barely contain myself. I thought of the pilgrimage, of all of those places I saw when the Gospel unfolded before me. I thought of my family, who guided me Home to the Church when the Holy Spirit called me. I thought of the baptismal vows I’d only just heard said by our newest Catholics, and saw the earnestness in their faces.
I thought of vows we’d ALL made. And I looked at each parishioner who approached me – brothers and sisters in Christ. And I loved them! They are my church family!

While the pews are full on Easter Sunday of families who are making their annual Mass, the Vigil is full of the Church faithful. They are the familiar faces I see all the time. They are the devout.
The same is true for Holy Thursday, when I sat at the front of the church having my foot washed by a priest. Those in front of me were my fellow parishioners, and humbling (I repeat: HUMBLING!) though the experience was, I trusted it. I trusted them.
I knew I was amongst family! I was home!

This weekend has been a profound one! It IS a blessing to see the pews so full on Easter Sunday. I do hope to see all those faces again next week.
But it was the rest of the week that has moved me! The multiple times I came together with my brothers and sisters of the parish to remember what Jesus sacrificed for us, and to celebrate that He conquered death for us.

Thank God Easter is not just a day. Let us celebrate this whole season in joyous memory of Christ’s resurrection, and the glory of the empty tomb.

I hope your Easter was, and continues to be, as moving as mine.
Happy Easter!

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