Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week  | Sacred Triduum

Easter of Hope is a Lenten reflection and video series by Array of Hope. Daily reading and a Lenten reflection including tips on how to live out the hope of Christ's resurrection. Sundays you will receive a short inspirational video from one of our Array of Hope Presenters.  
​Invite your friends and family to experience Easter of Hope too!
 
All content is created by "Array of Hope".  If you would like to directly receive all of the content created by this ministry you can sign up at www.arrayofhope.net

---

01 April
Exodus 12:1-8
Psalm 116
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
​Live Stream

Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lord's Supper
John 13:1-15

This festive Mass is embroidered by several special rites: the reading of the mandatum, the foot washing, communion under both forms, and a procession with the Blessed Sacrament from the main tabernacle to an altar of repose. We linger after this celebration for prayer in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and in our lives. We relish the Eucharist as our milk and honey for spiritual nourishment. In 48 hours, the catechumens will share this great gift of Jesus himself for the first time. Returning home, we continue the spirit of the mandatum and Eucharist around our own table.

 - JohnBefore the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." Simon Peter said to him, "M aster, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well." Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean." So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do." - John 13:1-15

---

In Today’s Gospel, we hear, “He loved His own in the world and He loved them to the end.” This beautiful and profound scripture is in reference to the incredible mystery of Christ’s divinity being fully Man and fully God. Like us, Jesus had friends and family who He loved dearly. Despite the fact that most would abandon Him during His Passion, He still cared for each of them. Knowing that He was going to die and they would watch, truly broke His heart. They were His friends; He didn’t want them to suffer, but He knew it would happen. So, He washed the Apostles’ feet and commanded them to do the same to others. He wanted them to know that He served out of love and He desired them to follow His example and do the same. 

Do you understand the magnitude of Christ’s love for you? It is unlike any other love on earth and goes beyond our human comprehension.We are His own in the world. He loves us to the end. Despite how many times we’ve sinned or betrayed Him, we are still loved and seen as His priceless sons and daughters. Jesus gave up everything for you and me. He held nothing back. We are about to enter the Triduum; the final three days of Lent. In these final days, let us look to Christ and hold nothing back. As we await in the darkness, let us remain awake and journey with Christ as He begins to prepare for His passion. Let us pursue the lives of love and sacrifice as Christ did. As we enter into the Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection beginning this evening, let us think of something that we can do to honor and glorify our Lord.

Today’s Tip: Think of one thing you can do to change someone else’s life and do it. It doesn’t have to be anything too extraordinary. The smallest acts of kindness make the biggest impacts. Jesus washed our feet as a servant, so let us do the same with our neighbors!

---

02  April
Isaiah 52: 13-53:12
Psalm 31
Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9
Live Stream

Good Friday (Friday of the Passion of the Lord)
John 18:1 - 19:42

Good Friday tells us two things. First, it truly is a celebration, and second, what we celebrate is the sacrifice of Christ's life. For catechumens, Good Friday is also a day to reflect on the dying-to-self and rising-in-Christ that baptism symbolizes.

For many, Good Friday is dreary and uncomfortable, something to be quickly passed over on the way to Easter. But Good Friday cannot be skipped over lightly. We must pass through Jesus' death and ponder what it means for us. The day is marked by fasting. 

There are no Masses said on this day. The church itself is stripped bare of anything that would distract us from today's central theme: Jesus died for us and for our salvation. Through Baptism, we must die with Jesus too. 

The principal movements of Good Friday's liturgy are: the readings and the proclamation of the Passion according to John; the Universal Prayer (an expanded and beautifully sung Prayer of the Faithful); the Veneration of the Cross; and since there is no Mass celebrated today, a simple communion service.

Today’s Gospel is set in a garden familiar to all of Jesus’ disciples.  For all the beauty and tragedy found in that place, the garden was a place of encounter. It was in a garden that man first chose not to trust God, leading to our separation from Him, and here we are, again, in a garden,  watching our redemption take place.  “Whom are you looking for?” Jesus asks the gathered crowd; they state His name, He replies with the Biblical name of God, “I AM”, not once, but three times - a Biblical sign of completeness and finality, that Jesus is completely God and His moment has finally arrived.  

Jesus turns to each of us today and asks the same question, “Whom are you looking for?”Are you looking for hope? I AM. Are you looking for healing? I AM. Are you looking for love? I AM. Are you looking for a relationship with Me? I AM looking for you, too. Jesus is waiting for us in the garden of our hearts and beckoning us to join Him in proclaiming His Gospel through Word and Deed.

Today’s Tip: Think of one thing you can do to change someone else’s life and do it. It doesn’t have to be anything too extraordinary. The smallest acts of kindness make the biggest impacts. Jesus washed our feet as a servant, so let us do the same with our neighbors!

---

03  April
Various Readings from the Old Testament
Romans 6: 3-11
​Live Stream 

Holy Saturday
Mark 16:1-7

Liturgical note There is no liturgy for Holy Saturday. Christian tradition has the Church waiting at the Lord’s tomb, meditating on his suffering and death. Today’s meditation is taken from the Gospel reading for Easter Sunday at the Easter Vigil.

The celebration of the Resurrection and the reception of the Easter sacraments. Since Ash Wednesday we have been engaged in a struggle with sin and death-to-self. Now we spend a few hours before the Vigil service in rest, remembrance, and anticipation, more symbols as fire, light, water, oil, and bread. The Sacramentary (the Church's book of worship) divides the liturgy of the Vigil into four elements:
+ a brief service of light, when a new fire is struck, the Easter candle is lit, and the Easter proclamation is solemnly sung;
+ the Liturgy of the Word, when the Church meditates on all the wonderful things God has
done for his people from the beginning of creation;
+ the Liturgy of Baptism, when the new members of the Church are reborn in the freshly blessed water as the day of resurrection approaches;
+ the Liturgy of the Eucharist, when the whole Church is called to the table that the Lord prepared for his people through his death and Resurrection.

In the early Church, the Easter Vigil lasted all night and unfolded into Easter morning. Today, the Easter Vigil will usually begin after sundown and take up the early evening hours. Through the course of the liturgy, daylight will symbolically unfold through the beauty of candles, flowers, music, singing, the immersion of --- or pouring of water over ----the catechumens elected for Baptism, the scents of oil used for their Confirmation, and the taste of bread and wine of the Eucharist shared by the entire assembly. “This is the night!” proclaims the Church.

Gospel When the sabbath was over,  Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome  bought spices so that they might go and anoint Him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.
They were saying to one another,  "Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, "Do not be afraid! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him. But go and tell His disciples and Peter,  'He is going before you to Galilee;  there you will see Him, as He told you.'" - Mark 16:1-7

Reflection The days following a great tragedy are always marked with a profound silence; a silence that feels incredibly empty, much like a void. As the women approached the tomb, they were most likely silent, feeling incredibly empty, and sensing a void where Jesus’ presence used to be. Once they arrive at the tomb, a young man in white announces that Jesus is alive, and Scripture says that, “they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.” Grief becomes amazement and sorrow becomes joy. God literally shook them out of their mourning and filled them with cause to rejoice. Like the two women, none of us can escape the pain of grief and sorrow in our lives. Loss, pain, tragedy, and suffering are a part of our experience in this broken world, but in the Resurrection story we find evidence of how God confronts us in our loss and offers us hope and redemption. 

Each of us have a choice when faced with tragedy in our own lives. We can face grief with anger, trying to guard and defend ourselves, and not reach out to God in any way. When confronted with God’s grace and desire to heal, we can harden our hearts and become insensitive to God’s love. Or we can follow the example of these biblical women who remained with Jesus throughout His sufferings and came to Him in service even after His death. Even though they could not see Him in their pain, they believed He was with them. When they arrived at the tomb, they were consoled in their sorrow. Jesus entered into their human experience and revealed Himself to them. He then entrusted them with a mission to announce the good news of His Resurrection to others. 

What will we choose when we are experiencing great suffering and grief? Will we resist God, guarding our hearts from Him, not allowing Him into our pain? Or will we open our heart and share our sorrow with Him? Those who trust in God will encounter Him on the path of life, during the beautiful and difficult moments. If we invite Him into our hearts filled with pain and sorrow, He will share with us the joy of His Resurrection. Once transformed by His Resurrection, He will send us out, like the women, to tell others that they, too, can see Him in their pain, if only they desire.
​
Today’s Tip: Reflect on how you approach grief, for this will determine if you are prepared to receive the joys that are to come this Easter. By carrying the crosses in your own life with trust and hope, you can pierce through the darkness of your deepest sorrow. It is there that you can truly experience the goodness that comes from our Lord’s Resurrection and share the Good News with our fellow brothers and sisters.

---