LENT, TRIDUUM, AND EASTER ANSWER BOOK, THE *E-BOOK* ML Answers the 101 Most-Asked Questions ML Answers the 101 Most-Asked Questions series Paul J. Niemann PDF, $14.95 160 pages, 5½” x 8½” ISBN 0-89390-701-4 View Table of Contents View Excerpt Quantity: (see download instructions below)

This resource helps catechists understand and teach the liturgy of the Lent, Triduum and Easter seasons. It sorts through the official documents and helps you appreciate the deeper meaning of the liturgy. In a question-and-answer format, it addresses the commonly misunderstood or confusing aspects of preparing and celebrating the liturgy of these seasons. It opens to the reader the spirit of the rites, as well as the genius of the tradition that produced them. From a better understanding of these seasons, the catechist can also better prepare for teaching about the entire liturgical year, since the 90 days are the “source and summit” of the whole year.

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Table of Contents

 Preface: Why another book on Lent, Triduum and Easter?

1. What is included in the seasons of Lent and Easter?
2. How are the 40 days of Lent counted?
3. What is the Triduum?
4. What is the Easter Season?
5. How is the date of Easter determined? Why do Orthodox Christians have a different date?
6. Why do we wear ashes on Ash Wednesday when the Gospel advises us to make no outward display of religion?
7. What is the significance of 40 days?
8. What is fasting?
9. What is abstinence?
10. What is the origin of Mardi Gras or Carnival?
11. How are the main themes of Lent presented in the Lectionary?
12. What are the liturgical symbols of Lent?
13. Is there a rite for “burying the Alleluia?”
14. What is the meaning of veiling statues and images during Lent?
15. What about the use of holy water during Lent? Should the font be empty?
16. What kind of decorations are appropriate for Lent?
17. We used to conclude Stations of the Cross with Benediction. Is this no longer appropriate?
18. Are weddings permitted during Lent?
19. May infants be baptized during Lent?
20. What are our options for penance services?
21. How are saints’ days celebrated during Lent?
22. Is the Liturgy of the Hours different during Lent?
23. What is Laetare Sunday?
24. What is Passiontide?
25. What is Holy Week?
26. What is the chrism Mass?
27. Why is the feast of the Annunciation (March 25) celebrated after Easter some years?
28. May a funeral take place during the Triduum?
29. What are the proper liturgical colors of these days?
30. Are there any restrictions on music during Lent and the Triduum?
31. What aspects of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults are proper to Lent?
32. What is the Rite of Election?
33. Why is the bishop the celebrant of the rite of election?
34. Are candidates also elected?
35. Whose names are inscribed in the book of the elect?
36. What is “purification and enlightenment?”
37. What is a scrutiny? What is an exorcism?
38. Do the candidates also participate in the Scrutinies?
39. What are the presentations?
40. What is the meaning of the oil of the catechumens?
41. When does the Triduum begin?
42. What is meant by “Maundy Thursday?”
43. What are the main elements of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper?
44. What is the significance of the mandatum or foot-washing?
45. Who may participate in this rite?
46. How are the holy oils used during this Mass?
47. Our parish priests renewed their ordination vows at this Mass last year. Is this something new?
48. What is meant by the paschal fast? How is the paschal fast distinct from the Lenten fast?
49. May communion be given during the Triduum apart from Mass or liturgical services?
50. Should Christians celebrate Passover?
51. What is the Easter duty?
52. How is the Eucharist reserved during the Triduum?
53. How does adoration of the Eucharist take place?
54. What is meant by Tenebrae?
55. Is it advisable to have the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday?
56. What is the current thinking on proclaiming the Passion “in parts?”
57. Must there be a homily on Good Friday?
58. Should we use a cross or a crucifix for the Veneration of the Cross?
59. Why is there no sign of peace during the Good Friday liturgy?
60. Why is communion only under the form of bread on Good Friday?
61. What do we do with the Blessed Sacrament after the Good Friday Liturgy?
62. Where is the cross placed after the Good Friday Liturgy?
63. Our pastor says that it is now forbidden to hear confessions on Holy Saturday. Why is this so?
64. Why is there Evening Prayer on Holy Saturday and not on Holy Thursday and Good Friday?
65. How early may the Easter Vigil begin?
66. Any suggestions for the Easter fire?
67. Must we buy a new paschal candle every year?
68. How many readings must be used for the Vigil?
69. May we use other songs in place of the Responsorial Psalm?
70. How is the Alleluia to be sung at the Vigil?
71. What do the elect do on Holy Saturday?
72. What about those who are not being baptized this year?
73. We have never baptized anyone by immersion before. How can we introduce this option?
74. How do we baptize some, receive others, and renew the baptismal promises of everyone in the same service? When should the sprinkling rite take place?
75. Should the candidates wear baptismal robes?
76. Isn’t confirmation only administered by the bishop?
77. After all the other ceremonies of the Vigil, the Prayer of the Faithful seems redundant. Can it be omitted?
78. We would like to make the catechumens’ first communion more special. What can we do?
79. The neighboring parish had a blessing of food after the Easter Vigil. What is the significance of that custom?
80. When should we decorate the church for Easter?
81. What are the liturgical symbols of Easter?
82. How is the Easter Season presented in the Lectionary?
83. What is the purpose of the Sequence on Easter Sunday morning?
84. Should we renew baptismal promises again on Easter Sunday?
85. What is the Octave of Easter?
86. What about funerals and weddings during the Octave of Easter?
87. Our parish never uses the sprinkling rite except during Easter time. Why is this?
88. The fifty days of Easter just seem lost among all the other activities. How can we emphasize them?
89. How are the saints commemorated?
90. What were the Rogation Days and Ember Days?
91. Why does our music director refuse to play hymns to the Blessed Mother during May?
92. Is the May Crowning devotion liturgically incorrect?
93. What’s wrong with preaching about Mothers’ Day?
94. Whatever happened to Ascension Thursday?
95. Isn’t the Easter candle supposed to be put away after the Ascension?
96. I heard of a parish that has a novena to the Holy Spirit. What is that?
97. How can we celebrate the Vigil of Pentecost?
98. Shouldn’t we renew our confirmation on Pentecost, just like we renewed our baptism at Easter?
99. Why do some people call Pentecost the birthday of the Church?
100. Should other languages be used for the Pentecost Sequence?
101. I understand that the Easter Season concludes with Pentecost. How can we symbolize that?

Following is the preface from The Lent, Triduum, and Easter Answer Book. All rights reserved. Copyright © Resource Publications, Inc.

 Preface

 The paschal mystery of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the heart of the Christian faith. The paschal mystery is celebrated every Sunday, the Lord’s Day, as well as in every Eucharist; indeed, the entire liturgical life of the Church draws us into the redemptive work of Christ. The “ninety days” of Lent, Triduum, and Easter, the liturgical celebration of this paschal mystery, is a special moment of grace in the liturgical year.

 This book is intended for parish ministers, especially for those just beginning to work with parish liturgy. The goal is a deeper appreciation of the paschal mystery itself and of the unique way in which it is celebrated in the Roman Catholic tradition. This tradition is articulated in the official ritual books and in various instructions and commentaries from such sources as the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy. The questions and answers that follow are offered as a resource to those who plan liturgical celebrations in the Roman Catholic tradition. They may also serve as a point of reflection and evaluation for those whose celebrations would benefit from taking a closer look at why we do what we do as a church at worship.

 The reader must be familiar with the sacramentary, the lectionary, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the Liturgy of the Hours and the Book of Blessings, and the introductions contained within them. Instructions such as General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, the Ceremonial of Bishops and the Circular Letter for the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts are also essential resources. But “familiar” does not mean that the contents must be memorized. Nor does this imply that the answer to every pastoral or ritual question is found within them. These sources preserve our common heritage and our liturgical principles.

 The enduring genius of the Roman liturgy is its simplicity; it serves as a pattern or ground-plan that has been adapted and used by many people through the centuries. Those who plan liturgy in parishes need a deep respect for that basic order of worship. In musical terms, one has to know the scales and keys before one can improvise. In artistic terms, one must know the basics of color, form and composition before developing one’s own style. There is no substitute for mastery of the principles of ritual worship.

 Ritual has great power to touch the human spirit. While essentially traditional, that is, handed down to us from those who have gone before, ritual is always done by living people. The liturgy frequently speaks of “today.” This is the day, the hour, of the Lord. The Scylla and Charybis of liturgical worship are formalism and trivialization. Formalism is the repetition of gesture and word without engagement of mind, heart and soul. We may carry out the rites in perfect accord with the rubrics, but we have not worshipped. The opposite tendency is a simple appeal to emotions by use of gimmicks. Sometimes “good liturgy” is evaluated on the basis of how we feel immediately after a particular celebration. We may have perhaps made the mystery too comfortable, too casual. We have attempted to domesticate the Holy One, making for ourselves a god in our own image. This is junk food for the soul. Good liturgical worship provides the people of God with bread from heaven: fresh, tasty and nourishing, made from the old family recipe. It is this living bread that we need in order to bring life to our physically and spiritually hungry world. It is only when the world’s hungers have been fed that we can be assured of the adequacy of our liturgy.

 The questions that follow are those that have been asked by clergy, liturgy commission members, religious educators and others who serve the Church at worship. Some questions are quite basic, some are complex; all may be starting points for other discussions in a variety of directions. The author can only hope that the searching and discussion that takes place beyond these pages will not become an adventure into rubrical trivia or divisive argument. May our questions and conversations bring all of us into holy wonder; may they open us to the river of life, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, through the streets of a new Jerusalem. This is the ultimate purpose of liturgical celebration.