This evening begins the holiest time of the year. The ocean of God’s grace is poised to flood your soul as we are brought into the sacred mysteries and transformed by them. He stands ready to open our hearts as we bear witness to the greatest story our world has ever seen.
I still remember the first time I attended the Holy Triduum. I don’t think my experience of Catholicism has ever really been the same since. I was in high school at the time and though I had been growing in my faith, that Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil opened up something in my soul. What was it about those three days? If I had to put my finger on it, it was the experience of closeness to Christ, mediated by the tangible and symbolic elements of those sacred liturgies.
I remember the Holy Thursday evening Mass, when my pastor washed the feet of twelve parishioners. I was transported back to the Upper Room where Jesus washed the feet of his twelve apostles. When my pastor carried the Eucharist away at the end of the Mass, I remember the feeling of quiet helplessness as we prayed at the altar of repose, knowing that Jesus would soon be handed over to his enemies. I remember how the seven church pilgrimage during the night of Holy Thursday brought to life the agony in the garden in a way I had never encountered. I remember the palpable feeling of tense stillness during that night. We watched and waited, anticipating the coming cross.
On Good Friday, we experienced the Passion together and adored the Lord in his suffering. We fasted and prayed. I remember being near tears at the pronouncement: “Father, forgive them.” We even kissed the instrument of his torture and death, because it is also the instrument of our salvation. It was striking that there was no Mass, no consecration of the Body and Blood, which recalls the striking reality of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice on the Cross. We had to wait one more day until the victory, though.
I remember the agonizing quiet of Holy Saturday, counting the hours before the Easter Vigil.
Finally, the evening arrived. As our congregation gathered with candles illuminating the whole church, I was reminded in a very visual way that darkness never overcomes light. The readings were a tour through salvation history and a reminder of God’s fidelity despite all of our failings. And as we belted out our favorite Easter hymns I felt the joy of Easter come alive for me in a special way that year—Jesus Christ has risen, never to die again! I wanted to live that joy forever.
Looking back on that first Triduum, I think God gave me a new sense of connection to the mysteries of our faith—they became more real, more urgent for my practice of the faith. Every Mass became more of a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and the call to share God’s redeeming love with the world. I came to understand that, through the sacred liturgy, the Church gives us a way to live the Mysteries every day, week, and year. Now, Holy Week is my favorite time of the year. I still love how physically engaging and ritualistic the Triduum is for us Catholics. I still love visiting churches on the evening of Holy Thursday, kissing the cross on Good Friday, and the bitter wait of Holy Saturday. But most of all, I love the joy at Easter and the reminder that there is no evil that God cannot overcome.
That sacred time is upon us once again. Perhaps this will be your 20th or 50th Triduum. Perhaps you’ve never celebrated the whole Triduum with the Church; I can assure you, you won’t regret it if you do. Either way, this evening begins the holiest time of the year. The ocean of God’s grace is poised to flood your soul as we are brought into the sacred mysteries and transformed by them. He stands ready to open our hearts as we bear witness to the greatest story our world has ever seen. And who knows? Perhaps this Triduum will change your life, too.
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Republished with gracious permission from Dominicana (April 2026).
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Photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. (used with permission)
