The Easter Triduum began on Holy Thursday. Although it is not a holy day of obligation, Benjamin and Chelsea Nye made it a point to attend mass at Corpus Christi Cathedral with their five children. “I love taking our whole family to all the different masses and services during Holy Week,” says Chelsea. “It allows us to draw into the Paschal Mystery as a family.” Not only did the Nyes attend mass, but their two oldest children were asked to participate in the washing of the feet.
In his homily that evening, Bishop Michael Mulvey spoke about how during the Easter Triduum (from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday) Jesus showed His merciful love. At the Last Supper he showed his love by washing the feet of the Apostles, and by instituting the Eucharist. As he died on the Cross, he fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament, gave us Mary to be our mother, and forgave us from the Cross.
The Holy Eucharist is God’s means of reaching out to every person, allowing us to partake in His mercy and love. It is “the new and eternal covenant.” “The Lamb of God, whom the Father Himself has provided, is what we offer back to the Father,” Bishop Mulvey explained. The bishop then shared what is known as Jesus “Seven Last Words”, saying that these were not words a dying man would speak, but instead a redeeming God: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”; “Today you will be with me in paradise”; “Woman, behold your son”; “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”; “I thirst”; “It is finished”; “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit”. Bishop concluded that, with these words, Jesus fulfilled what St. Paul wrote when he said, “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end”.
Belief in the Eucharist throughout this country has decreased significantly in recent decades. The solution, says Bishop Mulvey, is to come to the Cross. “Spend time in front of it, at home or at church. Especially the cross that hangs in front of the tabernacle.” He said the second way is to “wash each other’s feet” - to be in service to others, out of love for Christ. In these ways we can contemplate and experience the Love of God and share it with others who are in doubt.
The Nye’s two oldest children were part of the 12 men and women who had their feet washed before the altar by the bishop, just before the Eucharistic Prayer. “Seeing my children up there participating in a tangible way, having their feet washed, is a beautiful way of helping them grow in their faith,” Chelsea shared afterward. She felt that it was one way for her children to see the fullness of the Church. Her daughter Felicity added, “I felt like it was special to have my feet washed. I’ve never had that happen before. I think it was special because only 12 people did it, and it was symbolic of when the Apostles did it. I like how I’m doing it, too, like the Apostles 2,000 years ago.” Felicity is barely 12 years old, and yet felt greatly impacted by the solemn tradition.
The Mass ended with the stripping of the main altar. The Eucharist was processed to the side altar and hidden in the beautiful tabernacle there. This last tradition prepares us for the darkness to come on Good Friday. That is where the Lord will repose until the Easter Vigil.