/Ash / Triduum Notes:

● Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday. Lent lasts for forty-day time period that leads up to the Easter Triduum. ● Lent is a season of , reflection, and which prepares us for Easter. The liturgical color for Lent is violet/purple. Purple is a color that represents penance. ● Lent is a time of conversion, of turning to God with all our hearts. ● Ash Wednesday is NOT a . Catholics receive ashes on this day that symbolize Jesus’ death and are a reminder of our morality. The ashes used come from burning the remains of palms blessed on of the previous year. ● The priest marks our forehead with ashes in the shape of a cross, saying “remember you are dust, and to this you shall return”. ● During Lent, Catholics participate in Lenten practices to remind ourselves of the major sacrifice Jesus made when he gave His life for us. Three Lenten practices are: ○ Almsgiving - giving food or money (alms) to the poor and/or care for the needs of others especially those who are poor, sick, the suffering and the outcast. ○ Fasting - to intentionally give something up to strengthen our will so that we are better able to say no to temptations and avoid sin. ( ​ means refraining from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, Good and every Friday in Lent.) ○ - opening our hearts to God’s love, being in His presence and listening to Him talk to us.

● The Sunday before Easter Triduum is known as Palm Sunday or . ● The palm branches that are blessed on Palm Sunday remind us that Lent is a time of renewal and hope. ● During , the reading is of the Passion of our Lord. On this day, we recall Jesus’ Passion: the judgment to put him to Death, his carrying of the cross and his suffering and dying on the cross. This is one of the longest Gospel readings we hear all year, it helps to prepare us for the celebration of the Easter Triduum that will begin on Holy Thursday. ● The Easter Triduum is the ’s greatest celebration of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. It lasts for three days. We celebrate the Triduum from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. ● At the evening Mass on Holy Thursday, we recall the events of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet as a sign of his love for him. We have a special ceremony of the washing of the feet; this commits us to follow in Jesus’ example of love and service. ● The liturgy on Holy Thursday doesn’t actually end, following the Church is set up for to remind us of the connection between Holy Thursday and Good Friday. ● On Good Friday, we have the celebration of Jesus’ Passion. The cross is the central image of this day’s liturgy. It is a sign of Christ’s suffering and Death and a sign of his victory over death and the salvation he brings to the whole world. ● The third day of the Triduum begins on Saturday evening and continues until the evening of Easter Sunday. Throughout the day on we spend time thinking and praying. In the evening, we gather together for the celebration of the . At this Liturgy, we welcome new members into the Church through the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation. ● On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the Christ.