Paschal Triduum brings us close to the Lord, sharing in His passion, death, resurrection

Each year, the Church gives us the opportunity to share in the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ through our celebration of the liturgies for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. As Pope Francis reminds us, this is “a time of grace” for us, a time to grow closer to God and to one other by experiencing prayerfully the powerful moments of Christ’s last days on Earth.

How can we be indifferent to Christ’s suffering and death if we participate in His Last Supper; if we share His agony in the garden; if we see Him scourged, mocked and crowned with thorns; if we witness His condemnation by religious and political authority; if we walk with Him on the Way of the Cross; if we stand before the Crucified One as He utters His last words; and if we help His mother and a few faithful friends lay Him in the tomb? How can we abandon Him—as Peter and most of the others did—when we know that He will rise again on the third day?

The Paschal Triduum is meant to be a liturgical experience that runs the gamut from profound sorrow to intense joy. Why do we put ourselves through this every year? Why relive experiences that were excruciatingly painful—and shameful—for all concerned? Why re-enact the disciples’ infidelity and their failure to understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead (Jn 20:1–9)?

Pope Francis says we do these things in order to break through our indifference to our neighbor and to God. We observe the discipline of Lent, and we celebrate the great mysteries of the Paschal Triduum, in order to “trouble our conscience.” We need this time of interior renewal and reawakening, the Holy Father says, “lest we become indifferent and withdraw into ourselves.”

St. Alphonsus Liguori, the founder of my religious community, The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), composed a series of prayers for use during the Stations of the Cross—a popular Lenten devotion.

Click here to continue reading Cardinal Tobin’s column Rejoice in the Lord.