The Liturgy Course: Getting Ready for Mass

On special family days you bring out the best stuff - decorations, place settings and clothes that don't get used on other days of the year. We keep some treasures hidden away and bring them out for only the most important occasions.

The Easter Vigil is the most important Mass of the year. In the complete ranking of all Catholic Church celebrations, the Triduum occupies the top spot. The Triduum, which begins with Holy Thursday's Mass of the Lord's Supper, concludes with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday.

Holy Saturday is the day before Easter Sunday. On this day, the Church recalls the period between the burial and the Resurrection of Jesus.

One of the most impressive parts of the Good Friday Liturgy is when the faithful come forward to show their respect for the Cross of Christ.

On Good Friday, should the liturgy feature the use of a Cross or a Crucifix? In practice, either one is acceptable. Although, the long tradition at St. Peter's Basilica is to use a Crucifix, the official rubrics of Good Friday simply use the word Cross.

The Church solemnly observes Good Friday with a special liturgy called the Celebration of the Lord's Passion. It should take place at 3 pm, but another time may be chosen.

"No shirt, no shoes, no service." Restaurants often display this sign to show who's not welcome at their table. A sign at the Last Supper could have read, "No shirt, no shoes = service."

The Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday ends the season of Lent and begins the Triduum, the sacred three days when we commemorate the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.

The Paschal fast is part of the community's spiritual preparation for celebrating the Easter Vigil. Those who are to be baptized as well as the faithful are encouraged to abstain from food and drink as much as possible on Holy Saturday (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, 185 §1; Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 110).