That 1 Day

It's the Triduum. That's TRID-OOO-UM.

Ummmmmm.....what's that?

It's the end of Lent, a three-day event where we remember the Passion, Suffering, Death, and ultimately Resurrection of Jesus. The Triduum has three parts:

• Holy Thursday -- We celebrate the Last Supper where Jesus gave us the Eucharist, washed the feet of his apostles, and instituted the priesthood. Soon after, his suffering would begin. It ends with a procession of the Eucharist around the Church and typically Adoration of the Eucharist until midnight.
• Good Friday -- The one day Catholics don't celebrate Mass, we remember the Passion of Jesus where he was betrayed, captured, tortured, wrongly convicted, lashed, mocked, made to carry the cross, and crucified. We venerate the cross as the symbol of God's love, Christ's sacrifice, and the place our hope died to rise again.
• Holy Saturday -- That in-between day when Jesus is in the tomb. We wait. When the sun sets, a beautiful celebration (liturgy) begins. By candlelight, we process into the Church, read our salvation story (up to seven readings and six psalms), and then when the Gospel is proclaimed, ring bells and bring up the lights. Jesus is risen! Alleluia! We also welcome new Catholics into full communion with the Church through the initiation sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation. It's a long Mass, but why not? It's the high point of history and worth celebrating.

We celebrate because Jesus wins. Love wins. God wins. We know the end of the story. Thank God we have hope in our individual brokenness, in our world's fallenness. We celebrate because Jesus wins.

Today is THAT 1 DAY when our Lord endured incredible pain physically, emotionally, and spiritually so that we could serve Him in this life and be forever with Him in the next life. Come worship today, Good Friday, THAT 1 DAY.