Triduum: Holy Saturday / Easter Vigil

1st class

Saturday before Easter

The Church waits at the Lord’s tomb, meditating on his suffering and death. Easter celebrations begin after the Vigil.

Attend Easter Vigil Mass

The feast is of course celebrated on the same day in both the old and the new calendars. Note that the Holy Week liturgy underwent major changes between 1951 and 1969. There are three major iterations:

The pre-1955 liturgy

Pope Pius XII reformed Holy Week on November 16, 1955. However, the Easter Vigil had already been modified “on an experimental basis” on February 9, 1951.

The 1962 liturgy

The liturgy of the 1962 Daily Missal is better known as the “Tridentine Mass”, “Traditional Latin Rite” or “Traditional Roman Rite”. This missal introduced further changes to the Holy Week liturgy.

The 1969 liturgy

This 1969 Missal is more or less the Mass that we know as the modern Catholic Mass.

The Holy Week liturgy is the place where these changes are most evident. If you attend Mass at a modern church, you will experience the 1969 liturgy. If you attend Mass at most traditional churches, you will experience the 1962 liturgy. Some churches (such as those under the care of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest [ICKSP]) offer the pre-1955 liturgy and it is a true beauty to behold!

The unfortunate fact is, much of the splendor was gradually stripped away from Holy Week with each new missal.

If you would like to attend a traditional Mass for the feast, find a Traditional Latin Mass near you (click here to explore).

Decorate Easter eggs and prepare food

This is just a reminder—not an injunction—this is the day to put finishing touches on your preparation for the Easter feast! The kids can, of course, decorate some Easter eggs, which can be hidden in a fun tradition meant to evoke the finding of hidden spiritual treasure. Here’s a passage from Fisheaters.com on the origin of Easter eggs:

Another level of symbolism is that of the egg, which represents birth, the Creation, the elements, and the world itself, with the shell representing the firmament, the vault of the sky where the fiery stars lie; the thin membrane symbolizing air; the white symbolizing the waters; and the yolk representing earth. Painted red, eggs are a demonstration that the salvation and re-birth of the world comes through Christ’s Blood and Resurrection. Old legend has it that St. Mary Magdalen went to Rome and met with the Emperor Tiberius to tell him about the Resurrection of Jesus. She held out an egg to him as a symbol of this, and he scoffed, saying that a man could no more rise from the dead than that egg that she held could turn scarlet. The egg turned deep red in her hands, and this is the origin of Easter eggs, and the reason why Mary Magdalen is often portrayed holding an egg, often colored scarlet.

Bless food: lamb or ham, buns/bread, Easter eggs, a dish of salt

In some places the blessing of special Easter food takes place on Holy Saturday. Among the Slovaks a basket containing lamb meat (which of course signifies Jesus, the Lamb of God), boiled eggs, dyed and plain, Pascha (a special Easter bread), and other foods, is taken to the church in the afternoon where the priest blesses it, using the prayer [Editor’s Note: This is an older version of the blessing. The current blessing can be found in the Book of Blessings]:

Bless, O Lord, this creation that it may be a means of salvation to the human race, And grant that, by the invocation of Thy Holy Name, it may promote health of body, and salvation of soul in those who partake of it, through Christ our Lord.

The food is then taken home and eaten for breakfast on Easter Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Among the Polish people the same custom is practiced, but the main foods blessed are an egg which is broken and shared by all on Easter Sunday morning, and a lamb moulded of butter or pastry. This butter-lamb and blessed Easter egg have a place of honor on the festive Easter table.

In Rome on Holy Saturday there is an old custom which is still in practice. A fresh table cloth is spread on the table in the dining room and on it are laid out the Easter meal, including the uncooked Easter Lamb which is decorated with flowers, eggs, wine, fruit, and a large traditional cake called “pizza”. These are sprinkled with holy water, and are given a special blessing by the priest.

(From How to Make Your House a Home by Rev. Bernard Stokes, O.F.M., Family Life Bureau, Washington D.C., 1955)

Renew baptismal vows

To unify yourself spiritually with the new baptisms that very often occur during the East Vigil Mass, if you haven’t already this year, today is another excellent opportunity to renew baptismal vows as a family. Here is an idea for how you might conduct this private ceremony from Helen McLoughlin’s Christmas to Candlemas in a Catholic Home:

An idea is to hold open house and let the children’s godparents drop in when they please.

Bring out the baptismal gowns if you have saved them. Reminisce about each child’s baptismal day, which is his or her rebirth in Christ. With godparents and family gathered in the living room, light the children’s baptismal candles, or light a holy candle for each child. When the candles are ready, the father presents one to each child and prays as the Church did at baptism:

Take this white robe and keep it spotless until you arrive at the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you may be rewarded with everlasting life.

Take this burning candle as a reminder to keep your baptismal innocence. Obey God’s commandments, so that when our Lord comes for the joyous wedding feast you may go forth to meet Him with all the saints in the halls of heaven, and be happy with Him forevermore.

Amen.

Grown-ups and children repeat together their baptismal vows:

I [name] promise to reject Satan, and all his works and empty promises.

Then recite the Apostles Creed, which repeats the basic beliefs of our faith:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

Amen.

Then follows a Christmas song.

This ceremony takes only a few minutes, but leaves a memory that lasts a lifetime and builds a sense of security in children. It also focuses their attention on the wonderful gift of Baptism.

Uncover images and icons after Vigil

Especially if you attend an Easter Vigil Mass in the Extraordinary Form, you will have the privilege of witnessing the glorious return of the organ, the Alleluia, and the unveiling of the statues.

In any case, when you return home from the Vigil Mass, or sometime in the evening on Saturday, be sure to unveil your statues, crucifixes, and holy images. Consider singing the glorious hymn of Christ’s divine kingship, Christus Vincit: