The Paschal Triduum
140. Every year, the Church celebrates the great mysteries of the
redemption of mankind in the "most sacred triduum of the crucifixion, burial and
resurrection"(143). The Sacred Triduum extends from the Mass of the Lord's
Supper to Vespers on Easter Sunday and is celebrated "in intimate communion with
Christ her Spouse"(144).
Holy Thursday
Visiting the Altar of Repose
141. Popular piety is particularly sensitive to the adoration of
the Most Blessed Sacrament in the wake of the Mass of the Lord's supper(145).
Because of a long historical process, whose origins are not entirely clear, the
place of repose has traditionally been referred to as a "a holy sepulchre". The
faithful go there to venerate Jesus who was placed in a tomb following the
crucifixion and in which he remained for some forty hours.
It is necessary to instruct the faithful on the meaning of the
reposition: it is an austere solemn conservation of the Body of Christ for the
community of the faithful which takes part in the liturgy of Good Friday and for
the viaticum of the infirmed(146). It is an invitation to silent and prolonged
adoration of the wondrous sacrament instituted by Jesus on this day.
In reference to the altar of repose, therefore, the term
"sepulchre" should be avoided, and its decoration should not have any suggestion
of a tomb. The tabernacle on this altar should not be in the form of a tomb or
funerary urn. The Blessed Sacrament should be conserved in a closed tabernacle
and should not be exposed in a monstrance(147).
After mid-night on Holy Thursday, the adoration should conclude
without solemnity, since the day of the Lord's Passion has already
begun(148).
Good Friday
Good Friday Procession
142. The Church celebrates the redemptive death of Christ on Good
Friday. The Church meditates on the Lord's Passion in the afternoon liturgical
action, in which she prays for the salvation of the word, adores the Cross and
commemorates her very origin in the sacred wound in Christ's side (cf. John 19,
34)(149).
In addition to the various forms of popular piety on Good Friday
such as the Via Crucis, the passion processions are undoubtedly the most
important. These correspond, after the fashion of popular piety, to the small
procession of friends and disciples who, having taken the body of Jesus down
from the Cross, carried it to the place where there "was a tomb hewn in the rock
in which no one had yet been buried" (Lk 23, 53).
The procession of the "dead Christ" is usually conducted in
austere silence, prayer, and the participation of many of the faithful, who
intuit much of the significance of the Lord's burial.
143. It is necessary, however, to ensure that such manifestations
of popular piety, either by time or the manner in which the faithful are
convoked, do not become a surrogate for the liturgical celebrations of Good
Friday.
In the pastoral planning of Good Friday primary attention and
maximum importance must be given to the solemn liturgical action and the
faithful must be brought to realize that no other exercise can objectively
substitute for this liturgical celebration.
Finally, the integration of the "dead Christ" procession with the
solemn liturgical action of Good Friday should be avoided for such would
constitute a distorted celebrative hybrid.
Passion Plays
144. In many countries, passion plays take place during Holy Week,
especially on Good Friday. These are often "sacred representations"which can
justly be regarded as pious exercises. Indeed, such sacred representations have
their origins in the Sacred Liturgy. Some of these plays, which began in the
monks' choir, so as to speak, have undergone a progressive dramatisation that
has taken them outside of the church.
In some places, responsibility for the representations of the
Lord's passion has been given over to the Confraternities, whose members have
assumed particular responsibilities to live the Christian life. In such
representations, actors and spectators are involved in a movement of faith and
genuine piety. It is singularly important to ensure that representations of the
Lord's Passion do not deviate from this pure line of sincere and gratuitous
piety, or take on the characteristics of folk productions, which are not so much
manifestations of piety as tourist attractions.
In relation to sacred "representations" it is important to
instruct the faithful on the difference between a "representation" which is
commemorative, and the "liturgical actions" which are anamnesis, or mysterious
presence of the redemptive event of the Passion.
Penitential practices leading to self-crucifixion with nails are
not to be encouraged.
Our Lady of Dolours
145. Because of its doctrinal and pastoral importance, it is
recommended that "the memorial of Our Lady of Dolours"(150) should be recalled.
Popular piety, following the Gospel account, emphasizes the association of Mary
with the saving Passion her Son (cf, John 19, 25-27; Lk 2, 34f), and has given
rise to many pious exercises, including:
the Planctus Mariae, an intense expression of sorrow, often
accompanied by literary or musical pieces of a very high quality, in which Our
Lady cries not only for the death of her Son, the Innocent, Holy, and Good One,
but also for the errors of his people and the sins of mankind;
the Ora della Desolata, in which the faithful devoutly keep
vigil with the Mother of Our Lord, in her abandonment and profound sorrow
following the death of her only Son; they contemplate Our Lady as she receives
the dead body of Christ (the Pietà ) realizing that the sorrow of the world for
the Lord's death finds expression in Mary; in her they behold the
personification of all mothers throughout the ages who have mourned the loss of
a son. This pious exercise, which in some parts of Latin America is called El
Pésame, should not be limited merely to the expression of emotion before a
sorrowing mother. Rather, with faith in the resurrection, it should assist in
understanding the greatness of Christ's redemptive love and his Mother's
participation in it.
Holy Saturday
146. "On Holy Saturday, the Church pauses at the Lord's tomb,
meditating his Passion and Death, his descent into Hell, and, with prayer and
fasting, awaits his resurrection"(151).
Popular piety should not be impervious to the peculiar character
of Holy Saturday. The festive customs and practices connected with this day, on
which the celebration of the Lord's resurrection was once anticipated, should be
reserved for the vigil and for Easter Sunday.
The "Ora della Madre"
147. According to tradition, the entire body of the Church is
represented in Mary: she is the "credentium collectio universa"(152). Thus, the
Blessed Virgin Mary, as she waits near the Lord's tomb, as she is represented in
Christian tradition, is an icon of the Virgin Church keeping vigil at the tomb
of her Spouse while awaiting the celebration of his resurrection.
The pious exercise of the Ora di Maria is inspired by this
intuition of the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the Church: while the
body of her Son lays in the tomb and his soul has descended to the dead to
announce liberation from the shadow of darkness to his ancestors, the Blessed
Virgin Mary, foreshadowing and representing the Church, awaits, in faith, the
victorious triumph of her Son over death.
