From the Pastor March 21/22

Lent Approaches Its Climax

The days of Lent are few but it’s culmination, the Sacred Triduum is approaching. Lent ends on Holy Thursday evening and the Triduum begins extending until the evening of Easter Sunday. Triduum is the Latin word for three days. We reckon the days of the Triduum the Jewish way with the day extending from sundown to sundown. 

Last week I started a series of articles offering parishioners some insights into the various holy days celebrated as Easter approaches. I hope that with a better understanding of the importance of these days more parishioners will be anxious to participate. The Triduum is really one liturgy celebrated over three days. Attending it all can be exhausting but paradoxically, energizing and exquisitely beautiful, each in its own way. While Catholics aren’t under an obligation to attend these services, they are so central to the Christian faith it’s hard to believe a faithful person wouldn’t want to participate. 

The Church’s Triduum celebrations date back to at least the Third Century. We begin on Holy Thursday evening with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This mass grounds our Lenten practices in the sacrament of service. That night we celebrate Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist and his establishing the priesthood. The most striking part of this Mass is the Mandatum when the priest imitates Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles. It reminds us that our Christian faith is one of service. After the Mass we set aside several hours for Eucharistic Adoration to signify our call to pray with Jesus as he did in the Garden of Gethsemani. 

The Triduum continues with Good Friday. As we commemorate the day Jesus died on the cross, we should, as far as possible make it a day for quit prayer and reflection. Remember it is a day of fast and abstinence. I’m sad to hear the Monomoy Schools aren’t closed that day. Make plans to stop by church for quiet prayer on Good Friday.

On Good Friday afternoon the Triduum liturgy continues with the Service of the Passion of the Lord. The solemn liturgy of Good Friday grounds us in the sacrament of compassion and contrition. It usually begins at 3 pm, the traditional hour of Jesus’ death on the cross. The liturgy begins in silence as the Celebrant and Deacon prostrate themselves in prayer before the altar. The story of Jesus’ Passion according to St. John is read. There is a short homily followed by praying the Intercessions. Then comes the Veneration of the Cross and distribution of Communion. The Passion Service ends as it began, in somber silence.

In the evening of Good Friday, we will recite the Stations of the Cross. This is not part of the official Liturgy of the Triduum but a devotion usually held especially for those unable to attend the afternoon service. The Stations of the Cross follow Jesus’ way from his trial before Pontus Pilate, through the streets of Jerusalem to the Mount of Calvary, his Crucifixion, and burial. During the recital of the Stations of the Cross a reflection based on the incident is read and prayers recited. Like the Triduum liturgy, the origins of the Station of the Cross date back centuries. They were developed to help people unable to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to reflect on the Passion and Death of Jesus. 

The Sacred Triduum continues through Holy Saturday. While not required, a holy custom is to continue the fast and abstinence practiced on Good Friday throughout the Holy Saturday thus honoring Jesus who lays dead in the tomb. Holy Saturday doesn’t have any liturgy of its own, emphasis that day is on preparing for the Easter Vigil, the most important liturgy of the year on Holy Saturday evening. I’ll be writing about the Easter Vigil next week. 

Lenten Devotions

Throughout Lent the Stations of the Cross and Evening Prayer will be celebrated Friday afternoons at 4:30 PM. A simple soup supper will follow in the Parish Center. This Lent come and join us for this time of prayer and fellowship. 

Lenten Folders

Have you been filling your Lenten Folder? At the beginning of Lent every parish household was sent a Lenten Folder to use to encourage almsgiving, one of the Lenten disciplines along with prayer and fasting. We asked you to put aside 25₵ every day for a total of $10 for the season. Proceeds from the folders go to a local charity, The Cape Cod Foster Closet. The Closet supplies necessary clothing and supplies for local foster families providing a temporary home for a foster child. Please fill your folder and support this important charity. We’ll start collecting the folders on Palm Sunday, March 29. 

Lenten Reconciliation Service

Holy Redeemer hold a Lenten Reconciliation Service on Sunday, March 22 at 3 pm. We will begin with a short prayer service lasting about twenty-five minutes to help us reflect on our sins. At the end of the service Fr. Sullivan and three other priests from our neighboring parishes will be available for individual confessions. Take this opportunity to insure your soul is in the state of grace before Easter. 

During Lent Fr. Sullivan is also scheduling extra time to hear Confessions in the Reconciliation Room at the back of the church. In addition to his regular availability on Saturday afternoons from 3-3:45 pm, he is there Friday afternoons from 3:30-4:30 pm. 

Novena of Prayer for Priests

The Chrism Mass is one of the most significant of Holy Week. At this Mass, the Holy Oils used in the Sacraments are blessed and priests renew the promises of their ordination. In the Diocese of Fall River, we celebrate it on the Tuesday afternoon of that week. To celebrate the day the Diocese of Fall River's Office of Clergy Support invites you to join a nine-day Novena for Priests leading up to the Chrism Mass. This time of prayer is a meaningful way to support our priests as they prepare to renew their priestly promises. The Novena begins on Monday, March 23, and continues through the nine days leading up to the Chrism Mass taking place on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at 4:00 PM at Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. To participate in the Chrism Mass Novena for Priests, contact Matt Robinson, Director of Clergy Support, at mrobinson@dioc-fr.org or 508-492-0995. The Chrism Mass is open to the public, so feel free to attend. I’d like to see some familiar faces.