In The Dry Salvages, T. S. Eliot writes,
But
to apprehend
The
point of intersection of the timeless
With
time, is an occupation for the saint –
No
occupation either, but something given
And
taken, in a lifetime’s death in love,
Ardour
and selflessness and self-surrender…
Here
the impossible union
Of
spheres of existence is actual,
Here
the past and future
Are
conquered, and reconciled…
In a sense, Eliot’s words – The point
of intersection of the timeless / With time – may some of the best I have
seen to describe the Easter Triduum –– its beauty and solemnity, its
pregnant meaning... Those who have experienced it just once find
themselves waiting impatiently for these three days throughout all the season
of Lent. Triduum is the goal, the culmination, the extraordinary
endpoint of our journey through forty days in the Lenten desert. It
is unlike any other moment in the Church’s liturgical calendar – it’s almost
like stepping over a threshold, out of chronological time and into kairos time,
into a sacred space unique in the depth of engagement it offers, and in the
beauty of liturgy that graces it. And
yet we are always in this, our time. Nothing, nothing,
is like the Triduum liturgy, three awed days of total immersion, body, heart,
and soul, into the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord. If
you have never participated before, now is the time: you will never
forget this incredible experience of time-out-of-time-yet-in-time.
Join us first on Holy Thursday evening for the Feast of the Lord’s Supper
and recall Jesus kneeling humbly before his disciples to wash their feet, then
blessing, breaking, and sharing bread – the first Eucharist – with his
disciples… Process afterwards with us to O'Brien Hall for Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament…
Follow in Jesus’ footsteps on the Way of the Cross Friday afternoon, and
venerate the Wood of the Cross in remembrance of his death at the most
extraordinary Communion service of the liturgical year… Friday evening,
join Christians from different Mill Valley churches at the ecumenical Tenebrae
service graciously hosted by Peace Lutheran Church…
Witness the Light of Christ as it slowly fills Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Church on Holy Saturday evening, and hear the story of salvation history, from
Genesis to Romans… punctuated with a joyful Gloria that tells us that
Resurrection is at hand…
And then, at last, on Easter Sunday, join in the joyful proclamation of
Jesus Risen and know in the depth of your being God’s faithful and abiding
love…. Alleluia!
Come, know that point
of intersection
of the timeless with time that is Triduum!
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