March 18, 2005

The Paschal Mystery

by Archbishop Raymond L. Burke


Introduction

This year, the date of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord coincides with Good Friday (March 25). In the Latin Rite, when the Annunciation falls within the Sacred Triduum, it is transferred to the first available date, when it can be celebrated as its own solemnity. In the Byzantine Rite, when this happens, the celebration of the Annunciation and of Good Friday or Holy Saturday are held on the same day. While it is easy enough to understand why the Solemnity of the Annunciation is transferred in the Latin Rite to a day on which it can be celebrated alone, we may wonder why the Byzantine Rite does not transfer the Solemnity, especially when it falls on Good Friday or Holy Saturday. The answer to the question uncovers the profound truth about the Paschal Mystery which we will be celebrating during the Sacred Triduum and throughout the Easter Octave. 

An ancient tradition in the Church holds that Christ died on the cross on the same date as He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, that is, March 25. The liturgical practice of the Byzantine Rite respects the inseparable connection of the Incarnation and the Crucifixion. To quote a great theologian of our time, the late Hans Urs von Balthasar: "To say Incarnation is to say Cross" (quoted in John Saward, The Mysteries of March, Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1990, page 3). The whole reason of the Incarnation is the Redemption of man on the Cross. God the Son’s total outpouring of self by taking our human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary reached its fullest expression when He died on the cross for us.   

When Christ expired on the Cross, His human heart, the Most Sacred Heart, which He took under the Immaculate Heart of Mary, was pierced by the Roman centurion. The blood and water which flowed from His pierced Heart are signs of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, into our hearts. From His glorious Sacred Heart, there never ceases to flow the grace of our Redemption, the gift of His own life given up for us, so that we might always share in the life which He has shared with God the Father, in the Holy Spirit, from all eternity. The two mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption are inseparably united.

Our Holy Father is fond of referring to them as one great mystery which he calls the Redemptive Incarnation. For that reason, when the Solemnity of the Incarnation and Good Friday or Holy Saturday fall on the same day, the Byzantine Rite keeps the two celebrations on the same day, even if it makes the liturgical rites a bit more complicated. 

Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum

There is one week of the whole Church year which we call "holy" by a special title, for during Holy Week we commemorate the events by which Christ saved us from sin and everlasting death, and won for us eternal life. The Mass prayers during Lent frequently remind us that our Lenten observance is to prepare us for Holy Week, so that we can celebrate the mystery of the Redemptive Incarnation with full mind and heart. 

Within Holy Week, there are three days which are the holiest of all days: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. These days are known as the Sacred Triduum. The Sacred Triduum begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday and concludes with the First Mass of Easter during the Easter Vigil. As devout Catholics, we should observe these days with the greatest possible attention, making every necessary sacrifice in order to participate in the Sacred Liturgy on each of these three holiest days. 

Accompanying Christ, through prayer and worship, during the days of His Passion and Death, we come to understand more fully the mystery of His Life within us. During the days of Holy Week, and especially of the Sacred Triduum, Christ reveals to us the deepest truth about our life in Him. Through our Lenten penance of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we have come to recognize more fully that our life is a pilgrimage with Christ, which leads us home to God the Father. The Sacred Liturgy during Holy Week, especially the Sacred Triduum, draws us to the source of our life in Christ, in His Suffering, Dying and Rising from the Dead. Through the Sacred Liturgy of Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum, we become more deeply conscious of Christ’s life within us through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. During the Sacred Triduum, we receive especially strong grace to place our poor and sinful hearts into the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the fountain of our salvation. 

Passion or Palm Sunday

We begin Holy Week by participating in the Mass on Passion or Palm Sunday. The Mass begins with the blessing and distribution of palms, and the procession which recalls Christ’s final entry into Jerusalem, in obedience to the will of the Father, to suffer the cruelest form of passion and death known at the time. Mel Gibson’s film, "The Passion of the Christ," is a wonderful help to us in understanding better how much Christ suffered for love of us, in His thirst for our souls. At the Gospel, the account of the Passion and Death of our Lord is proclaimed to us in its fullness, so that we may understand the significance of the holy time into which we are entering. 

In truth, we will never understand fully the depth of Christ’s love, what His suffering and dying meant for Him. As we recall Christ’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, with the crowds hailing Him as King, we also the repeated cry of the people: "Let Him be crucified" (Matthew 27:22-23). We meditate upon the obedience of Christ in carrying out the mission which the Father had entrusted to Him from the moment of His Incarnation in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Christ prays in the Garden of Gethsemane: "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Thy will be done" (Matthew 26:42). In the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, we participate in the fruit of Christ’s perfect obedience, His perfect union with the Father. In the Holy Eucharist, Christ pours out anew, now in an unbloody manner, His life for us. 

Once we have begun Holy Week with the celebration of Palm Sunday, we make every effort to accompany our Lord during the days which led up to His Passion and Death. Participation in Holy Mass on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week would be a wonderful way of accompanying Christ during these days. If participation in Mass is not possible, it would be good to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament each day. For all, some time in quiet prayer each day will keep us united to Christ during these holiest of days. Praying the rosary is especially helpful for our meditation upon the mystery of the Redemptive Incarnation. 

Chrism Mass

On Holy Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, I, together with the priests of the archdiocese, will offer the Chrism Mass, during which the Sacred Chrism will be consecrated and the holy oils will be blessed for use in the celebration of the sacraments and other sacred rites during the coming year. The word chrism comes from the same root as Christ, the word for the anointed. Throughout the Chrism Mass, we recall how Christ was anointed by God the Father with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, so that He might win for us the gift of the Holy Spirit by His Suffering, Dying and Rising from the Dead. 

Holy Thursday is a most special day for priests, for Christ instituted the ordained priesthood on Holy Thursday at the Last Supper. Also, the priests, united around the bishop at the Chrism Mass, are reminded that they, by their ordination, have been constituted the ministers of the sanctifying and healing Sacred Chrism, oil of the catechumens and oil of the sick. Before the consecration of the Sacred Chrism and the blessing of the holy oils, the priests of the archdiocese renew their commitment to priestly service. After the priests have renewed their commitment, all of the faithful present pray for the priests and archbishop. 

The Chrism Mass is one of the most beautiful liturgical celebrations. All of the faithful of the archdiocese are most welcome to take part in the celebration of the Chrism Mass. 

Mass of the Lord’s Supper

The Sacred Triduum begins with the celebration of the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper.  During the Eucharistic Sacrifice, we recall how Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist on the night before He died, in order that the fruits of His suffering and dying might be available to us always in the Church. At the Last Supper, on the night before He died, Christ anticipated the outpouring of His life on the Cross, giving to the Apostles the Sacrament of His true Body and Blood. For that reason, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper is central to the celebration of the mysteries of our Redemption. At the Gloria, all of the bells of the church are rung with exultant joy and then remain silent until they are even more exultantly rung at the Gloria of the First Mass of Easter during the Easter Vigil. 

After the Gospel and homily, the priest carries out the Washing of the Feet. This rite recalls what our Lord Himself did during the Last Supper, and His command that His disciples do likewise. The love of Christ which we receive in the Holy Eucharist is expressed in our humble service of our brothers and sisters, especially those in most need. 

At the conclusion of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Blessed Sacrament is carried in solemn procession throughout the church and is then reposed in a fittingly decorated chapel. The faithful are invited to make a holy hour in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament during this holy night of its institution. After the Mass, the altar is stripped. Mass will not be celebrated at the altar again until the Easter Vigil. 

Celebration of the Lord’s Passion

Around three p.m. on Good Friday, we solemnly celebrate our Lord’s Passion and Death. We call this Friday good because it is the day on which Christ won for us our salvation. 

The celebration begins with the Liturgy of the Word, the heart of which is the proclamation of the Passion from the Gospels. After the homily, the Liturgy of the Word concludes with the general intercessions for the needs of the universal Church and of the world. 

The second part of the celebration is the Veneration of the Cross. A large crucifix is carried in procession to honor the Cross on which Christ won for us our salvation. We, then, venerate the crucifix, recognizing the Cross of Christ as our only hope of salvation. Looking upon the Cross, we cannot fail to deepen our knowledge of God’s love for us and to respond with love, in return. 

The celebration concludes with Holy Communion. The hosts consecrated at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper are brought to the altar and distributed to the faithful. Any hosts remaining are reposed in a place outside the main body of the church, so that the church building remains without the Real Presence as the Church waits at the tomb of Christ for the celebration of His glorious Resurrection at the Easter Vigil. 

I remind you that Good Friday is a day of abstinence and fasting. In our homes, we should make a special effort to foster silence on Good Friday to honor our Lord in His Suffering and Dying. 

The Easter Vigil

The Sacred Triduum concludes and the Easter Season begins with the celebration of the Easter Vigil. The Easter Vigil marks the holiest night of the year. The liturgical rites of the Easter Vigil are rightly the most ample and rich of all the liturgical rites. 

The Easter Vigil begins with the Blessing of the Fire and the Lighting of the Easter Candle, signifying Christ the Light, dispelling the darkness of our sins and restoring life in us by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) sung before the Easter Candle is a hymn of praise of the great mystery of the Redemptive Incarnation. 

The Liturgy of the Word is very ample. Nine readings, seven from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament, are provided, in order that we may have the fullest instruction from the Word of God regarding the events of the Redemptive Incarnation. After the last reading from the Old Testament has been proclaimed, the candles on the altar are lighted and the Gloria is sung with the joy-filled ringing of all the church bells which have been silent since the celebration of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. 

The third part of the Easter Vigil is the Liturgy of Baptism, during which we witness the lasting fruit of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection in the baptism of catechumens, and in the conferral of Confirmation and the reception of First Holy Communion for the newly baptized. In many churches, this is also the time for the conferral of Confirmation and the reception of First Holy Communion for those being received into the full communion of the Catholic Church or for those who were baptized Catholic but not catechized. During the Liturgy of Baptism, we return mystically to our own baptism and confirmation, and give praise to God for Christ’s life within us through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

The final part of the Easter Vigil is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Christ renews His paschal sacrifice, so that we may be healed and nourished with His true Body and Blood. Every aspect of the liturgical observance of the Sacred Triduum finds its fullest expression in the celebration of the First Mass of our Lord’s Resurrection. 

Conclusion

As archbishop, as your shepherd, I urge you to plan now your full participation in the sacred liturgies of Holy Week and, especially, of the Sacred Triduum. If you have not yet confessed your sins and received our Lord’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance in preparation for your participation, please do so in these days. 

Be assured that you and your intentions will be constantly in my prayers during the coming holiest of days. May our celebration of Holy Week lead us into a fuller knowledge of the mystery of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, to a fuller knowledge of the mystery of the Redemptive Incarnation, and to a more ardent love of our Divine Savior