For Sunday, March 16, 2008

My Brothers and Sisters,

The tomatoes, peppers, beans and (this year) corn planted in the rectory garden seem to grow another inch each day. A few feet away, our apricot and plum trees are in full bloom. The citrus blossoms look ready to burst open at any time. The mountains and deserts surrounding us are blanketed in green and sprinkled with wildflowers. The days are now noticeably longer than they were just a couple of weeks ago.

Spring is such a wonderful time of year; it seems especially so in Arizona. We see signs of new life – and, in some cases, unexpected life – everywhere we look.

How appropriate, then, that we have now entered Holy Week… our annual reminder as Christians of the very core of our Catholic Christian faith: death gives way to new life, darkness gives way to light, God’s love conquers all other powers in our world (including sin itself). Today we join with Jesus as he enters the holy city Jerusalem, acclaimed as king as he is greeted with the crowds waving palms and olive branches, to enter into the events of his life-giving Passion, Death and Resurrection.

This is the week our Lenten journey comes to its conclusion and climax, on Holy Thursday as we begin the Sacred Triduum with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The Triduum (pronounced “trid-dew-um”) is the highpoint of our liturgical year as Catholics; it is in a very real way one Liturgy that lasts three days! We begin with the sign of the cross (as we begin every Mass) on Holy Thursday as we come together to commemorate the gift of the Eucharist and the call to serve given to us at the Last Supper. There is no sign of the cross (blessing) given at the end of this Liturgy, rather we continue in quiet adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Father Feeney Hall, joining in prayer with the Lord as the disciples joined with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. On Good Friday, the Liturgy resumes with the celebration of the Lord’s Passion – there is no sign of the cross beginning or ending this meditative service, in which we listen to the Passion According to St. John, venerate the wood of the cross and receive Holy Communion consecrated the night before at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Finally, we gather for the conclusion of the Triduum on Holy Saturday for the Great Easter Vigil. There is no sign of the cross at the beginning of the vigil; rather we begin in a darkened church listening to the story of salvation from the Hebrew Scriptures, our Old Testament. Then the darkness is conquered as we light the Easter Fire and the new paschal candle, chanting the Exsultet – the Easter proclamation of Christ’s victory over sin and death. We welcome our Elect (catechumens) and Candidates into full communion with the Catholic Church through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and renew the vows of our own baptism. Then, we celebrate the Easter Eucharist – and finally conclude the Triduum joyously with the Easter Blessing and the sign of the cross.

Holy Week has often been called “the Church’s annual retreat” – and the Triduum is the “springtime bridge” between the Seasons of Lent and Easter. Darkness to light, death to new life… bursting forth in our lives as Christ’s disciples.

I invite you to participate in this Liturgy of these sacred three days of the Triduum, so that together we may be nourished by celebrating the core mysteries of our Faith. This year, we will begin at 7:00PM each evening: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. No morning Mass is celebrated on these days, nor is the 5PM Vigil Mass celebrated on Holy Saturday, so important is the Triduum.

May the Holy Spirit fill us at this sacred time of year, and in this holiest of weeks, may our “springtime growth” of Lent bear abundant fruit.

With love and prayers,

Rev. Charles G. Kieffer, V.F.
Pastor