Only a deep formation can help our communities make the leap from religiosity to faith; from commemoration of events to depth of spirituality. Photo: McCarthy’s PhotoWorks/Shutterstock.comThis week is different from all other weeks of the year, a holy week which for Christians becomes the source and summit of their spiritual life.
The heart of Holy Week is the Easter Vigil, in which the Church, as a bride, relives her love for her Saviour and receives from the Risen Lord the life-giving gift of his breath in the mystery of his Resurrection.
The richness of liturgical symbols used during this week all seek to help us to encounter the Risen Christ. As we are presented the mysteries and truth of our faith we are called to let ourselves be changed and transfigured through the mysteries that we celebrate.
But experience shows that the layers of traditions, gestures and devotions that have accumulated over the centuries have alienated us from the essence of what they originally stood for. The mysteries became even more obscure and impoverished. It is truly sad when, instead of being messages that evangelise, these liturgies turn into mere pageantry, folklore and tourist attractions. As Chesterton said, we need to “learn to look at things familiar until they look unfamiliar again.”
For Christians, this week is meant to regenerate faith in a profound way, and to introduce non-believers to the Christian community.
The Pascal Triduum starts with the great feast of Holy Thursday, in which we celebrate the day of love. As we celebrate the gift of Christ’s self-giving Eucharist we also celebrate our communities, as we too are called to become the body of Christ.
During this liturgy the priest recalls the gesture of the washing of the feet, a gesture which scandalises as much as it reveals the incarnation itself.
Good Friday is the day of faith. On this day the high point of the liturgy is not the Eucharist but the adoration of the Cross – “the centre of the liturgy is not the sacrament but the event” (Raniero Cantalamessa).
On this day not only is suffering not discarded but it is put at the very centre of the liturgy as it is gradually revealed to the faithful as the way of our salvation.
Holy Saturday, the day of silence, is followed by the great Easter Vigil in which we celebrate hope. As the Easter song resounds, and the Easter candle is lit, we proclaim that Christ is risen from the dead, and that we are not called to live in darkness but to let his light penetrate the depths of darkness of the world.
The Easter week is, in fact, a great symphony through which the heart of our God is revealed. St Augustine gives us a snapshot of these liturgies in the early church: “What joy dear friends! Joy in all being together, joy in singing the psalms. Joy in remembering Christ’s passion and resurrection, joy in our hope of the life to come! If hope alone gives us such happiness what will possession do?”
The first Christians used to be introduced to these liturgies slowly through what was then called a ‘mystagogic catechesis’. The bishop would explain to the newly baptised the meaning behind the liturgies and the symbolic gestures celebrated until what was celebrated resonated with the people celebrating them. Tertullian testifies that “the new Christians were startled by the revelation of these truths”.
I believe that in our age and culture we have to rediscover these treasures and do our utmost to form our Christian communities for such celebrations as they once again become the centre of the liturgical year.
Only a deep formation can help our communities make the leap from religiosity to faith; from commemoration of events to depth of spirituality. Only a renovated Easter liturgy can help us express to an agnostic world what the first disciples did to Thomas – the one who was absent: “We have seen the Lord.”
Let us pray that this week once again becomes the heart and summit of our Christian faith.
frmartincilia@gmail.com
Fr Martin Cilia is a member of the Missionary Society of St Paul.