Preparing Our Homes for Holy Week (Part II - Holy Thursday)

Preparing Our Homes for Holy Week – Part II

Holy Thursday

We continue our journey through Holy Week, the most sacred time of the Church year.  In the previous post we focused on how to commemorate the beginning few days of Holy Week, by readying our homes and our hearts for Jesus’ passion and death.  Now we’ll focus on how we can observe the Triduum (pronounced ˈtri-jə-wəm) in our homes. 

The Triduum marks the summit of our Catholic year, and begins on the evening of Holy Thursday, and ends the evening of Easter Sunday.  The heart of our faith life centers around these three days - the sacraments of the Eucharist and Holy Orders, how we celebrate Mass, the prayers we pray all stem from events that take place during the Triduum. 

It truly is an incredible story.  As a result of our pride, man alienates himself from God.  God, with such humility, becomes man, one of his creation, not because he has to, but because he wants to – for love of us – to then bridge the divide of our own making.  Jesus endures cruel suffering and dies a terrible death, and seemingly all is lost.  But then, the morning of the third day, Jesus is resurrected, conquering sin and death and redeeming humanity, giving us the opportunity and the graces needed to be able to obtain life eternal with him.  Wow!  There’s not a writer in Hollywood who could come up with a story as compelling. 

Just as there is so much packed into these three days, there are also a number of things we can do at home to observe the Triduum. 

In this post we’re going to focus on Holy Thursday.  The historical events of this day include the Last Supper and Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Some things we can do at home to observe this day include imitating our Lord in the washing of the feet, and participating in the Seven Churches Pilgrimage.

Washing the feet of another person is a very humbling act of servant leadership.  In John Chapter 13, Jesus tells us, “as I have done for you, you should also do,” and “I give you a new commandment:  love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”  And this is the example set for us, as Jesus washed the feet of his apostles during the Last Supper.  To model this in your home the father or head of the household could wash the feet of the other family members after dinner. 

Typically at the conclusion of the Holy Thursday evening Mass, the altar is stripped, the tabernacle is left empty, and the Blessed Sacrament is placed on an altar of repose.  This is the time when we remember the events that occurred after Jesus and his apostles shared the Passover meal at the Last Supper.  They then go to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus asks them to pray, as the hour of his capture draws near.  Just as he asked Peter, James and John to “remain here, and watch with me,” (Matthew 26:38) Jesus asks the same of us. 

In 1551 St. Philip Neri began the custom of the Seven Churches Pilgrimage.  St. Philip would lead the faithful in prayer at the seven pilgrim churches in Rome at the conclusion of the Holy Thursday Mass.  The prayers often included a Scriptural account of the events unfolding after the Last Supper. 

While we can’t make the traditional Seven Churches Pilgrimage, we can certainly adapt this practice to our own circumstances.  These are unusual times in which we find ourselves, so you’ll need to act accordingly with what works best for you.  Perhaps you live in an area where it would not be cumbersome to drive to seven churches and spend time (outside, due to the corona-virus) in prayer with our Lord.  Another option would be to make a virtual pilgrimage.  Some churches which you might include are:

From the traditional Rome route:
St. John Lateran
Basilica of St. Peter
St. Paul Outside the Walls
Basilica of St. Mary Major
 
Other churches and chapels include:
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (Washington, DC)
Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame, IN)
Basilica of the Assumption (Baltimore, MD)
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
Cathedral of St. Paul (St. Paul, MN)
St. Patrick Cathedral (New York, NY)
Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (France)
Sistine Chapel (Vatican City)
Pauline Chapel (Vatican City)
 
The options for prayer during this pilgrimage can also be suited to your circumstances.  If time is an issue, then a simple Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be would suffice.  You could also pray these Scripture based prayers, or contemplate on the Seven Sorrows of Mary.  You could also use the Taize song Stay with Me as a part of your meditation.

So whether it is through the washing of the feet, the Seven Churches Pilgrimage, or other appropriate forms of prayer, take the time this Holy Thursday to join our Lord as he begins his suffering, passion and death.