Tomorrow evening, the Church will begin her annual commemoration of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Savior. This year, however, the churches will not be overflowing: the Eucharistic procession will be silent, the crucifix will not be kissed, and the Exsultet will not be proclaimed to pews full of people.
Though we mourn this untimely development, let us participate insofar as we are able, by uniting our homes to the life of the Church, whose heart still pulses and overflows with grace for you and for me. In this way, the Church can still chant the Pange Lingua, venerate the crucified Lord, and hear the Exsultet.
To this end, I have compiled a simple document to guide you in your domestic observance of the Paschal Triduum. Each day, you will find spiritual exercises that you can do in order to commemorate the mystery of the day, and there are meditations and hymns from scriptural and patristic texts that should aid your life of prayer. The purpose of this guide is the renewal of faith, the next best thing to renewing your baptismal promises in the liturgy.
Of course, these traditions for the home do not replace the liturgies of the Church; at times, the insufficiency of this guide will be obvious, such as when one reads the Exsultet and references the paschal candle without the paschal candle being present. However, in these unusual times I hope that it will bring comfort to your house, unity among the members of the Church, holiness to your lives, and joy to your souls.
May we live this Paschal Triduum vigilantly and fruitfully so that, as our desire for the liturgy of the Church grows in its absence, our desire for the resurrected Lord abounds as well.
Download the document here: Domestic_Triduum_Booklet_2020.
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Photo by Rowan Heuvel on Unsplash
