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and Seasons: Paschal Tridium, the Great Fifty Days, and Initiation
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By
Sheila Browne, RSM From the March 1999 issue of NPM Newsletter
 This
practical and thoughtful set of suggestions about the Paschal Triduum
has been adapted with permission from the Winter 1999 issue (19:3)
of "Summit and Source," the newsletter of the Liturgy
Commissions and Office of Worship of the Diocese of Rockville Centre,
New York. Sister Sheila Browne, RSM, is the catechumenate director
for the diocese, and Msgr. Ronald E. Hayde, editor of "Summit
and Source," directs the Office of Worship.
[The Paschal Triduum is the Church's annual celebration of the Lord's
death and resurrection. It begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord's
Supper on Holy Thursday, and it ends with solemn evening prayer
on Easter Sunday. All the major services on these days should be
understood and experienced as unfolding stages of one great liturgy.]
HOLY THURSDAY
 The
Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper begins the Paschal Triduum, the
most sacred moment in the Church's life. The Mass of the Lord's
Supper is to be celebrated in parish churches between 4:00 and 9:00
PM. While an additional Mass of the Lord's Supper may be celebrated
between the hours of 4:00 and 9:00 PM, it would in no way be a mere
convenience and should in now way prejudice the principal Mass.
After the homily, the washing of the feet may take place. The Sacramentary
provides six antiphons to accompany the foot washing; other songs
reflecting mcharity and service may be used. This ritual action
represents the service and charity of Christ and is a way of accentuating
the evangelical command of the Lord to love one another. Those who
will have their feet washed, representing ,the diversity of the
parish community, come forward to a location that has been suitably
prepared and is visible to the assembly. The priest may be ,assisted
by a deacon or server in the foot washing. When the rite is completed,
all return to their places.
The "Sacramentary Supplement" provides a rite for the
reception of the holy oils from the Chrism Mass in the parish church.
The oils, in suitable vessels, are carried in the procession of
gifts, before the bread and wine, by members of the assembly. The
oils are received by the priest and are then placed on a suitably
prepared table in the sanctuary or in the repository where they
will be reserved. As each of the oils is presented, the following
or other similar words may be used to explain the significance of
the particular oil.
The Oil of the Sick:
Priest: May the sick who are anointed with this oil experience the
compassion of Christ and his saving love in body, mind, and soul.
Assembly: Blessed be God for ever.
The Oil of the Catechumens:
Priest: Through anointing with this oil may our catechumens who
are preparing to receive the saving waters of baptism be strengthened
by Christ to resist ,the power of Satan and reject evil in all its
forms.Assembly: Blessed be God for ever.
The Holy Chrism:
Priest: Through anointing with this perfumed chrism may children
and adults who are baptized and confirmed, and presbyters who are
ordained, experience the gracious gift of the Holy Spirit.
Assembly: Blessed be God for ever.
The bread and wine for the Eucharist are then received and Mass
continues in
the usual way.
After communion, the Blessed Sacrament is carried through the church
in procession. During the procession, the hymn "Pange Lingua"
(or another suitable eucharistic song) is sung. If the "Pange
Lingua" is used, the entire hymn is sung, exclusive of the
last two verses. When the procession reaches the place of reposition,
the last two verses are sung. After a period of silent adoration,
the repository (tabernacle) door is closed, and all depart in silence.
Adoration at the repository continues until midnight.
The stripping of the altar is no longer a formal part of the Holy
Thursday liturgy, but should be conducted quietly at the end.
GOOD FRIDAY
 On
Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the sacraments of baptism, confirmation,
and Eucharist (except for viaticum) may not be celebrated.
The Celebration of the Lord's Passion should begin about 3:00 PM.
But if pastoral reasons make it advisable, it may begin at a later
hour. The liturgy must be conducted in its entirety in accordance
with the Sacramentary. If the size or nature of a parish indicates
the pastoral need for additional liturgical services on Good Friday,
the service may be repeated.
Following the intercessions, the veneration of the cross takes place.
The invitation, "This is the wood of the cross," is sung
by the celebrant, who may be assisted in the singing by the deacon
or choir. For the veneration of the cross, the ideal is to use a
single cross. The Sacramentary permits the use of additional crosses
when the number of people is very large. The veneration of the cross
should be accompanied by appropriate music reflecting on the cross
and passion of Christ.
During the distribution of communion, any appropriate song may be
sung.
HOLY SATURDAY
Apart from the celebration of the liturgy of the hours, there is
no liturgical assembly on Holy Saturday. Holy communion may only
be given as viaticum. The preparatory rites for catechumens take
place in the morning. In certain cultural settings, the blessing
of food has been traditional. The Book of Blessings provides a rite
for the blessing of food.
THE EASTER VIGIL
The
entire celebration of the Easter Vigil takes place at night. It
should not begin before nightfall; it should end before daybreak
on Sunday. This rule should be taken in the strictest sense. It
is not permissible to celebrate the Easter Vigil at the time of
day it is customary to celebrate anticipated Sunday Mass. The people
should be advised and instructed about the integral nature of the
entire Vigil. The Easter Vigil Mass may never be celebrated more
than once in a given church, nor may the Mass of Easter Sunday be
anticipated before the Vigil. For pastoral reasons, in the Diocese
of Rockville Center, an additional Saturday evening Mass may be
celebrated after the Easter Vigil Mass. At this Mass, the Service
of Light, the Easter Proclamation, and the Baptismal Liturgy would
be omitted. [Editor's reflection: If the Vigil may not begin until
it is completely dark, which would be at about 8:00 PM in these
latitudes, and if it is celebrated appropriately, it would not conclude
until 10:30 PM or later. Any additional Saturday evening Mass would
not begin, then, until about 11:00 PM.]
The Liturgy of Baptism at the Easter Vigil begins with the Litany
of the Saints sung by two cantors. After the blessing of water,
the people sing the acclamation "Springs of water, bless the
Lord," or any appropriate acclamation. When there are baptisms,
a short acclamation is fittingly sung after each one.
Adults who are baptized or received into the full communion of the
Catholic Church by a profession of faith should be confirmed at
the same time, according to the ritual contained in the Rite of
Christian Initiation of Adults. Catholics who were baptized in infancy
but were uncatechized, especially those who have participated in
a process modeled on the catechumenate, ought to be confirmed on
Pentecost Sunday. However, with a faculty from the bishop, they
may be confirmed at the Vigil.
EASTER SUNDAY
The celebration of Easter Day should carry over the beauty of the
Vigil.
After the second reading, the Lectionary provides both a prose and
a poetic text of the sequence. Several hymnals offer metrical settings
of the sequence hymn. It is followed by the Alleluia.
The renewal of baptismal promises replaces the profession of faith
at all Masses. The people are then sprinkled with blessed water
while a baptismal song is sung.
THE GREAT FIFTY DAYS
[The celebration of the Triduum flows over into Easter Day, which
concludes with solemn vespers. And the joy of Easter overflows into
the Easter Season, the "great fifty days" between Easter
and Pentecost.]
The entire Easter Season is characterized by the singing of the
Alleluia, for the festive character of Easter Day should extend
through all the fifty days.
Most catechumens, as the elect of the Church, are fully initiated
at the Easter Vigil. At the same time, baptized candidates may be
received into full communion with the Catholic Church, that is,
they are confirmed and receive holy communion for the first time.
Sometimes this great celebration of the Easter Vigil ends a parish's
process of initiation. Team members are exhausted from the work
of preparing for the celebration, but the neophytes and those welcomed
into full communion may be wondering, "What else is there?"
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and the National Statutes
for the Catechumenate (found in the back of the ritual for adult
initiation) make plain that, indeed, there is more to be done.
Those fully initiated into the Church as well as those received
into the Church's communion begin the final period of postbaptismal
catechesis, termed "mystagogy," during the Great Fifty
Days. This means that several things have to happen:
1) Neophytes (and those newly in communion with the Church) continue
to gather each week--after Mass on Sunday or on a weekday evening--to
reflect on their experience of the Easter Vigil and on what it means
to be a fully initiated member of the Church (National Statutes
#22). The white garment of the neophyte may be worn at Mass during
this season.
2) The Sunday readings of Cycle A in the Easter Season are particularly
evocative of the initiation experience. A weekly gathering to "break
open the word" is especially important, therefore. A good book
to use as a guide for this process is "Experiencing Mystagogy:
The Sacred Pause of Easter" by Gerard
F. Baumbach (New York: Paulist Press, 1996).
3) The ritual of adult initiation invites the neophytes and their
godparents to continue to gather for Sunday Eucharist and to sit
together in the assembly. The homily and general intercessions should
take into account the presence and needs of the neophytes (RCIA
#247, 248).
4) Some sort of celebration may be held at or near Pentecost to
mark the end of the Easter season for the neophytes. Parishes have
held picnics, potluck suppers, dessert parties, and similar festivities
to mark the end of this introduction to mystagogy (RCIA #250).
5) It is the practice in Rockville Centre for Bishop McGann to invite
all the neophytes and those received into the Church to the annual
Neophyte Mass (held this year on the Sunday after Easter), so he
can meet with them and encourage their perseverance in the life
of faith.
6) During the Easter Season, some parishes invite neophytes to give
a brief witness talk after the prayer after communion at a particular
Sunday Mass, so they can tell the parish of their joy at being initiated
and becoming a member of the baptized community. Other places publish
pictures of the neophytes and those newly received in a parish journal,
along with a few sentences written by those who are pictured.
7) As parishes continue to develop a year-long catechumenate (National
Statutes #6), some people will remain as catechumens through the
Easter Season, preparing for full initiation in the following year.
The regular dismissal from the eucharistic assembly to break open
the word continues for these catechumens (RCIA #75.3, 83) as does
the weekly gatherings for catechesis.
8) Very often, the celebration of the rites of initiation calls
forth
inquirers from the local community. They may have witnessed the
Easter Vigil or heard of the festivities surrounding the celebration
and found their sleeping faith aroused. The parish team should be
prepared to meet with these new inquirers, a process that may culminate
in the celebration of their acceptance into the catechumenate before
summer.
9) The Easter Season can be an excellent time for a parish to gather
new members for the catechumenate team. Enthusiasm for the Easter
Vigil with all its initiatory celebrations runs high at this time.
The parish's core team usually can find time in this season to encourage
new members and to share the vision of the initiation ministry set
forth in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
PENTECOST
Pentecost (and not, as formerly, Ascension Day) brings the Easter
Season to a conclusion. On this day it is appropriate to confirm
Catholics who were baptized, perhaps as infants, but uncatechized
until they came forward to prepare for confirmation. The bishop
of Rockville Centre has granted an indult to every priest in the
diocese to confirm on this final feast of the Easter Season all
adults who have participated in a preparatory process similar to
the catechumenate. |
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