THE most solemn days in the Catholic calendar — and also in the Orthodox Church, but according to their own reckoning of days. What many do not realize is that Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, which, in popular piety, are the climax of Semana Santa, are no longer in the Lenten season. Lent, that started with Ash Wednesday, ends with the Mass of the Institution of the Lord’s Supper — the Maundy Thursday evening Mass, which is why, at this Mass the choir leads the congregation in breaking forth into the exultant doxology “Gloria in excelsis Deo... Glory to God in the highest,” and the liturgical color is white or gold.
The Maundy Thursday Mass is the beginning of what is known as the “Solemn Paschal Triduum” — the three-day celebration of the Christian “Passover”: Jesus’ own “passover” from Calvary to the Risen Life and our passover with him through the waters of baptism into participation in the Lord’s Resurrection. Maundy Thursday is dramatic because of the ritual of the washing of the feet, but it is not a show put on by the Church for the entertainment of the congregation. It is a liturgical challenge to the authenticity of discipleship, for one can be a true follower of the Master only to the extent that one is willing to bend in the gesture of abject servility and to wash the feet even of those one believes to be of lower stature in life. This is where “Maundy” comes from — “Novum mandatum do vobis... a new commandment I give you” — and that is the indefeasible commandment of love.
After the Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is transferred to the Altar of Repose. In the past, this was known as the “Procession to the Monumento” — but since the Church wishes to disabuse the faithful from the belief that the Lord is “entombed,” the place where the Blessed Sacrament is kept is properly known as “the Altar of Repose.” It is regrettable that many priests expose the Blessed Sacrament in an ostensorium or a monstrance. What the liturgy ordains is not “exposition” but “reposition.” The main reason for this is to have consecrated bread for distribution on Good Friday, when there is really no Mass, and therefore no consecration of the gifts. At the same time, preparing altars of repose has become an avenue for the pious and aesthetic expression of the faithful. Many altars of repose are truly magnificent — and this is not at all inappropriate, considering that Maundy Thursday invites meditation on the institution of the Eucharist and adoration of the Eucharistic Lord.
On Good Friday, the Commemoration of the Death of the Lord starts with the afternoon service. The Siete Palabras are not part of the liturgical celebration, although, in the Philippines, they have become some kind of “speech fest” at which preachers — often, ascending the pulpit as “sacred orators” — lead in meditations on the words from the Cross, drawn from the four Gospels. The Good Friday service starts somberly: the priests prostrate and the people kneel. Then follow the readings of which the Passion from the Gospel of John — often by three priests or ministers, assisted by the choir taking up the parts of the “turba” — the crowd — is the high point. The Church then returns to the ancient manner that prayers for the world were said — and various intentions are called out, and the people are asked to kneel for each petition and then rise for the prayer. What follows is the ritual that many associate with Good Friday: the Veneration of the Cross that starts with the presider being handed a totally veiled cross that is then unveiled gradually while the priest chants: “This is the wood of the Cross on which hung the Savior of the World,” to which all respond, “Come, let us adore.” And people have many times wondered why the cross has to be unveiled gradually — three times. The Cross is so familiar to us that we seldom give it a second thought. The fact that this is a ritual that most remember is exactly the point: unveiling it gradually invites the people to pay closer and reverent attention to the Cross by which Jesus, God’s son, made expiation for the sins of the world and made of himself the priest, the altar and the lamb of the Sacrifice. The consecrated hosts that were reposed on Maundy Thursday are then brought to the altar and distributed as communion. On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, the services end without a dismissal — and this, for a very beautiful, historical reason. In the very early days of the Church, one particular ancient document that scholars date to the fourth century — Peregrinatio Egeriae (or Etheriae) — tell us how the sacred days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil were observed. Prayers, meditations and allocutions were continuous — interrupted only by brief breaks for meals. So, on these days, the familiar dismissal “Ite Misa est” will not be heard.
Black Saturday does not count — in the sense that there is no liturgical celebration for this day other than the Liturgy of the Hours. “Non dies est... It is not a day” was a common patristic persuasion. The Church comes alive as night falls, preparing for the Easter Vigil — “the mother of all vigils.” In the ancient Church, this was when catechumens who prepared during the entire Lenten Season for baptism, received admission into the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism. Till this day, it is strongly urged that there be baptisms at the Easter Vigil. But whoever joins this celebration is in for a long service: The new fire — the symbol of the Light of the Resurrection piercing the darkness — is blessed, from which the Paschal Candle, the symbol of the Risen Lord, is blessed. Through a darkened Church, the deacon bears the candle and chants “Lumen Christi... light of Christ,” and, as the faithful light their own candles from the Paschal candle, the Church glows with increasing intensity. The Exsultet — the proclamation of Easter — is chanted. In the Philippines, there is a catchy rendition popularly dubbed “Maligayang Araw.” While some have reservations about it, I consider it an apt musical rendition of what would otherwise be the monotonous chanting of a priest or a deacon struggling to stay in tune! The symbolism is rich: light and water — the effulgence of the Resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit of the Risen Lord.
The Masses on Easter Sunday complete the Paschal Triduum (the solemn three days), and instead of the Creed, the faithful are asked to renew their baptismal promises and receive a sprinkling of holy water — a reminder of their baptism and a symbol of the Spirit who gives us a share in the Risen Life. It is at the end of the Mass that the dismissal is chanted: “Ite Misa est, alleluia!” bringing the Paschal Triduum to a close.
Lord Jesus, crucified and Risen, have mercy on us.
rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph
rannie_aquiono@csu.edu.ph