The Sacred Triduum

Webmaster • March 26, 2021

Sunset on Holy Thursday to sunset on Easter Sunday is considered the most solemn part of the liturgical year. This three-day period is referred to as the Easter Triduum, also known as the Sacred Triduum, or Paschal Triduum. The word ‘triduum’ comes from the Latin word triduum, which comes from tris (‘three’) + dies (‘day’). Basically, the Sacred Triduum is one great festival recounting the last three days of Jesus’ life on earth, the events of his Passion and Resurrection, when the Lamb of God laid down his life in atonement for our sins.

“Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ's Paschal Mystery.”

It is known as the ‘Paschal Mystery’ because it is the ultimate fulfilment of the ancient Jewish Passover (or Pasch), which itself was a recollection of how God brought the Jews out of their slavery in Egypt. The spotless lamb was slaughtered at the Passover meal and consumed - that same night the destroying angel ‘passed over’ the homes marked with the blood of the Passover Lamb, and those covered by the Blood were saved. This was the Old Testament prefiguring of Jesus’ work at the Last Supper - where he inserted himself as the Paschal Lamb - and Calvary, where the sacrifice was offered to save us from our slavery to sin. With the Eucharist, we consume the victim that died for our sins. The Paschal Mystery is, therefore, God’s plan of redemption for our fallen human race through the passion, death, and resurrection of the God-man Jesus Christ. It is one marvellous event stretched out over three days.

The evening Mass on Holy Thursday is referred to as The Mass of the Lord's Supper. This is where the Church re-lives the institution of the Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass at the Last Supper, as well as the institution of the priesthood, which took place on the evening before Jesus was crucified. Extra hosts are consecrated at this Mass to be used on Good Friday when Mass is not celebrated.

Good Friday is a mandatory day of fasting and abstinence. This is the day of the crucifixion, the day Jesus died for the sins of the world. The Parish altar looks very different on Good Friday: it is plain and bare. There are no consecrated Hosts in the tabernacle; it was carried away on Holy Thursday night to the ‘altar of repose’ to signify Jesus’ death. The candle by the tabernacle is not lit, and the tabernacle doors are open to show that it is empty. Jesus is gone. This is quite dramatic, reminding us that Good Friday is a solemn day of mourning and prayer.

The ceremony on Good Friday is not a Mass - it is a service of Commemoration using consecrated hosts from Holy Thursday. Good Friday is the only day of the year on which Mass is not celebrated.

There is no daytime Mass on Holy Saturday. It is still a day of fasting and sorrow before the Easter Vigil begins in the evening. We recall, with Mary and the disciples, that Jesus died and was separated from them for the first time as he lay in the tomb. The faithful often continue their Good Friday fast through Holy Saturday.

In the Apostles Creed we pray ‘He descended into hell’ (translated hades, that is, the temporary abode of the dead - not the eternal lake of fire) which describes what Jesus did in the time between his burial and Resurrection. Jesus descended to the realm of the dead on Holy Saturday to save the righteous souls - the Old Testament patriarchs, for example - who died before his crucifixion.

The Catechism of the Church calls Jesus’ descent into the realm of the dead ‘the last phase of Jesus’ messianic mission,’ during which he ‘opened heaven’s gates for the just who had gone before him.’ Before Holy Saturday, there were no souls enjoying the beatific vision of God in heaven! Christ’s work on Holy Saturday is also known as the ‘Harrowing of Hell.’

An Easter Vigil Mass is held after nightfall on Holy Saturday, or before dawn on Easter Sunday, in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. This is called the Easter Vigil: the most glorious, beautiful, and dramatic liturgy for the Church. This vigil is divided into four parts: 1) the Service of Light, 2) the Liturgy of the Word, 3) the Liturgy of Baptism, and 4) the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

This is also the Mass in which many RCIA catechumens are brought into the Catholic Church.

Church mouse Update 12th April 2026

By Webmaster • April 10, 2026
The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . A very quiet week around The Presbytery; Fr D took off in the car on Easter Sunday evening to stay with a friend in Reigate before being picked up at 04.30 to be taken to Heathrow ready to catch a plane to Toulouse and from there by coach to Lourdes. Fr D was back looking after special needs children once more. However, he was also meeting up with the ‘Old & Bold’ group from last year (those are more senior adults who in the past were helpers in various groups before deciding that they were now too old to be going as helpers/wranglers for the children). They were able to join in with all of the Trust liturgies during the week but otherwise have a more sedate (and calm) time without children. Fr D has been a couple of times with this older group (perhaps he’s getting ready for when he could be classed as ‘Old & Bold’!). He should be returning to the Parish on Sunday evening when he will no doubt start messing about with the big white tin boxes in the utility room! Before leaving he did leave me with a schedule of what they’ve been doing during the week: • Monday - depart Heathrow for Toulouse, coach to hotel in Lourdes, relax at a local café before evening meal with the rest of the group and night prayers. • Tuesday - Mass at Sheepfold chapel (Fr D’s favourite), walk to see Grotto before lunch, rest before a ‘tour of town (Cachot, Boly Mill, Parish Church, Maison Paternelle) café stop, then back to hotel for dinner, before joining in Torchlight Procession. • Wednesday - Stations of the Cross on the Prairie before lunch, Coach to Hosanna House, Mass in Hosanna House Chapel. Fr D to join Old & Bold for late celebration lunch in a Bartres restaurant. • Thursday - Join Trust Mass in underground Basilica, Blessed Sacrament Procession, Torchlight Procession. • Friday - Mass in the St Frai chapel and shops (Fr D intends to buy the special crosses for our First Eucharist candidates), drinks at a Café overlooking the river Garve. • Saturday - Free time in Lourdes before catching coach to Toulouse airport and flight home (- to rest!)

Church mouse Update 5th April 2026

By Webmaster • April 3, 2026
The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Very, very busy around The Presbytery this week as we enter into Holy Week, the commemoration of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection which we celebrate each year . . . . At the weekend we began our Masses remembering the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to great crowds and acclamations “Hosanna to the king of David . . .” Then the Gospel reading (this year from St Matthew’s account) told us of his arrest, trial, and execution on the Cross. In the afternoon we celebrated the last of our Lenten Evening Prayer and Benediction services. Monday morning and Fr D was up early to be ready for the lighting engineers who are undertaking the upgrade to the lighting in the church. This was the first of three stages in the process and gave the whole system a new ‘brain’ so that it could work with LED units (low energy usage) rather than the present halogen units (high energy usage). For the present the halogen units will still be used but the next development will be their replacement with LED. By 17.00 all the works had been completed and the church left tidy once more. After celebrating Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday, Fr D was down to Crawley once more to the Tribunal office. When he got home late afternoon he was just back in time to meet a parishioner who was coming to reseal the church floor ready for Easter. In the evening Fr D was working on the booklet for the Triduum services (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil). Having celebrated Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday, Fr D finalised the Triduum Booklet and was completing the Easter Newsletter. On Thursday Fr D went across to St Joseph’s, Epsom to collect the Holy Oils that were blessed a the Chrism Mass in Arundel Cathedral on Wednesday evening and which will be used for the celebration of the sacraments in the Parish until next Easter. He had lunch with the sisters next door and then prepared for the first of the Triduum celebrations.  On Friday morning Fr D was with several children from the Parish celebrating a special Children’s Way of the Cross in the church before preparing for the Commemoration of the Passion in the afternoon (the only day of the year on which the Church never celebrates Mass!).

CHRISM MASS

By Webmaster • March 28, 2026
Wednesday 1st April, 18.00, Arundel Cathedral, BN18 9AY. People from across our diocesan family of faith are invited to join Bishop Gerard Bradley and members of clergy at the annual Chrism Mass – one of the most beautiful Masses of the year, celebrated in Catholic cathedrals across the world in Holy Week. All are welcome

‘Spy’ Wednesday . . .

By Webmaster • March 28, 2026
Any wrong or insult which is done to us would surely be made worse if it was done by a friend. It’s one thing to be cheated by a stranger but quite another when that person has spent the past few years enjoying our company, sharing meals with us and even participating in some of our life’s most significant moments. Indeed, so grave is the crime of treachery that Dante assigned it the lowest, and most terrible, circle of Hell. Deep down at the centre of the Inferno, in Dante’s vision, sits the Devil, whose ultimate act of Treason, rejecting God himself, started the story of Sin, Death and Destruction. Second only to the Devil and the fallen angels in Dante’s Hell is Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus.  Of course Dante did not in fact know the fate of Judas and no living person does. Even though the Lord told his apostles that it would have been better for the traitor ‘had he not been born’, we do not know what wonders God may yet have worked for this soul that betrayed him. However, as our Triduum begins and we turn our minds to consider the great wonder God worked for all of us, reconciling us with himself through the Passion and Death of his Son, we should pause to note that the glorious victory of God began in a moment of ignominious betrayal. We can be confident, that no matter how bad things are or seem to be, God can bring light out of darkness – indeed he has already done so.

Escaping from pain . . .(Passion Sunday Year A)

By Webmaster • March 28, 2026
On Passion (Palm) Sunday, we hear two Gospel readings. The first tells us of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The second is the full Passion account. In between are readings from Isaiah and Philippians, reminding us of Jesus’ humility and willingness to be the suffering servant of God. The combination of scriptures moves us from rejoicing and praising Jesus along with the people waving their palms on the roadside to the disturbing events that lead to his arrest, trial, and death. These scripture passages are an emotional roller coaster ride. The entire Passion story is difficult to read and hear because it is challenging to be with people who are in pain, especially when they are people we know and love. Even if we have the desire to stay present and remain loyal, Peter, James, and John remind us that sometimes the pain is just too great and we escape from it. Jesus’ three friends escaped the discomfort of being with Jesus in his agony by sleeping. Others of us avoid pain in other ways, perhaps with food, alcohol or drugs, exercise, forms of entertainment or technology use, overworking, etc. Sometimes our escape is simply by finding reasons not to spend time with the person in pain. St. Ignatius wrote a program of prayer called The Spiritual Exercises. He urges all those who are praying the Exercises to stay present to Jesus during his Passion. He suggests that we allow ourselves to feel the agony, sorrow, and distress as much as we can, to remain with Jesus, and watch with him as he asked his friends to do in the Garden of Gethsemane.  We cannot be physically present to Jesus in his suffering now, but surely there are people in our lives who are suffering with whom we can remain awake. It might be a form of agony for us to watch and to share in another’s pain, but when we do it for others, we do it for Jesus. Questions of the week Think about an experience you have had of being with someone in their pain: physical or otherwise. Did you have any urge to run away or escape it? Think of someone in your life now who is suffering. How might you make yourself available so that person will know he or she is not alone?

Church mouse Update 29th March 2026

By Webmaster • March 27, 2026
The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Really very busy this week as preparations for Holy Week start running full-tilt around The Presbytery . . . . Last Saturday morning Fr D celebrated a Lenten Reconciliation Service for Primary school aged children; this was also a ‘second bite at the cherry’ for those who are preparing to receive their First Eucharist in June. After the children’s service Fr D was meeting with a young couple who will be getting married in Ireland at the end of May to complete their formal marriage preparation. All parishioners are reminded that the diocese requires a minimum notice of twelve months before the date of marriage for adequate preparation to be completed. After Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday Fr D was meeting with a parishioner who will be Received Into Full Communion with the Church alongside her daughter being baptised at our Easter Vigil next Saturday. In the afternoon he was off down to Shoreham to attend a Governors meetings for a Primary School which is part of the BOSCO Catholic Education Trust - this is a school that Fr D was a governor for until he was asked by the bishop to help form the BOSCO Trust. Following Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday Fr D was upstairs in the Parish Office to meet the independent auditors the diocese uses to test a sample of parishes each year. Sacred Heart has cropped up twice in the six and a half years that Fr D has been in Cobham. When all the tests are completed around the diocese there is normally a report back to the test parishes. Fr D thinks that we are travelling in the right direction on hearing from the auditor that what normally takes about five hours in other parishes was achieved in one and a half hours, that we run a ‘tight ship!’ Thursday after celebrating Morning Prayer and Mass Fr D went off down to the diocesan offices in Crawley wearing his ‘other hat’ as a canon lawyer. He now has four cases awaiting his judgement (one and a half of which are now ready to be judged, probably around mid April). Whilst in the office he dropped off the marriage papers he’d prepared for Ireland - these now go out to the diocese in Ireland and finally to the parish where the couple are getting married.  After celebrating Morning Prayer and Mass on Friday Fr D passed on the work he had done on the newsletter to Sarah for her bits to be added. Later in the morning we had the last stations and soup lunch of Lent . . . .

Lenten Reconciliation Service for Adults

By Webmaster • March 23, 2026
DO NOT FORGET ! Our annual ‘Lenten Reconciliation Service for Adults’ takes place THIS FRIDAY 27th March at 19.30 in the church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Effingham, KT24 5JP. We join with the Parish of Effingham & Fetcham in celebrating the Lord’s forgiveness ready for the great festival of Easter. We will be joined by four priests to aid us in this celebration. This is the major opportunity this Lent to ask for God’s forgiveness.

Mysteries(Fifth Sunday of Lent Year A)

By Webmaster • March 23, 2026
The first reading from Ezekiel is perfectly paired with the Gospel reading of the raising of Lazarus. Ezekiel hears God say very clearly that God will raise his people from the dead, animating them with the spirit that will bring them back to life. The second reading from St. Paul also addresses the Jewish and Christian theological question, “Is death the end of every thing?” Paul is as emphatic as Ezekiel. No. “The One who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also.” Of course, it might seem easy to believe in life after death until we have had a loved one die. Martha and Mary might have believed in an afterlife because, as Jews, they would have been familiar with the promise from Ezekiel. Yet when their brother died and the reality of him being gone for four days sank in, they doubted too. Not only did they doubt, but they grieved deeply, and even got angry at Jesus. Martha told Jesus she believes Lazarus “will rise, in the resurrection on the last day,” but believing that didn’t lessen her other perfectly normal human emotions. Even after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, mysteries remain. Why didn’t Jesus go to Lazarus immediately when the sisters summoned him? Why did he let them experience heart-breaking sadness for four days? Why did Jesus cry if he knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead? Why did Jesus raise Lazarus but not others who died during his lifetime? Why do some people today get to experience healing miracles, but others don’t? Why do we have to wait for the resurrection of the dead to see our loved ones again?  These readings today don’t solve any mysteries of our faith. They don’t give us answers about God, but they point to the complete conviction of three different biblical writers who do not doubt that Jesus is “the resurrection and the life.” Questions of the week  What most stands out to you when you hear the Gospel reading today? Why?  If you have lost a loved one(s), did that affect on what you believe about the afterlife? How so?

The Annunciation of the Lord . . .

By Webmaster • March 22, 2026
The solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord was first celebrated in the fourth or fifth century. Its central focus is the Incarnation: God has become one of us. From all eternity God had decided that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity should become human. Now, as Luke 1:26-38 tells us, the decision is being realised. The God-Man embraces all of humanity, indeed all creation, to bring it to God in one great act of love. Because human beings have rejected God, Jesus will accept a life of suffering and a terrible death: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Since Mary is the instrument of Incarnation, she has a role to play with Jesus in creation and redemption. It is a Godgiven role. It is God’s grace from beginning to end. Mary becomes the eminent figure she is only by God’s grace. She is the empty space where God could act. Everything she is she owes to the Trinity. Mary is the virgin-mother who fulfils Isaiah 7:14 in a way that Isaiah could not have imagined.  Together with Jesus, the privileged and graced Mary is the link between heaven and earth. She is the human being who best, after Jesus, exemplifies the possibilities of human existence. She received into her lowliness the infinite love of God. She shows how an ordinary human being can reflect God in the ordinary circumstances of life.

EASTER COLLECTION

By Webmaster • March 22, 2026
EASTER COLLECTION FOR THE SUPPORT OF PARISH CLERGY - This provides income to the Parish for the support of clergy and may be Gift Aided. Any cheques should be made payable to the ‘Sacred Heart Parish, Cobham’ (any cheques made out personally to a member of clergy are direct gifts and cannot be received into Parish funds or Gift Aided). You will find a supply of Gift Aid Envelopes for this collection in the Church Narthex