Every time we get close to Easter, I can’t help but think about how different it is from Christmas. Besides the obvious differences, the Church clues us in that Easter is really the height of the Christian calendar. Even the lead up to Easter is different. Advent is four weeks followed by one big feast and the 12 days of Christmas. In Advent, we don’t sing the Gloria. For most of Advent, we swap out the ordinary green colours of the priests’ vestments and adornments for a sedate purple. The Scripture readings tend to be prophecies about the messiah or the work of John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord. It’s a season of thoughtful anticipation and preparation. 

Lent might look the same on the outside — no Gloria, purple vestments, etc. — but it is different when we pay attention. Lent lasts for 40 days, during which we are called to pray, fast, and give to the needy. We are given more opportunities to seek reconciliation, to pray, and to draw our focus more clearly onto God. Rather than being a season of anticipation like Advent, it’s a season of silence and temperance. There are no Alleluias in this season. We give praise and glory to God, but, like the followers of Jesus after his crucifixion, wait in penitent silence. We are training ourselves up, body and soul, for the impending marathon of Holy Week. 

During Holy Week, all our prayer and fasting get a big payoff. If we’ve invested ourselves in our Lenten preparation, we should be primed and ready to focus on the different days of Holy Week. Every day of Holy Week matters, but the high point is the Triduum (a fancy way of talking about the Thursday-Saturday before Easter Sunday). The Easter Triduum is essentially one long Mass stretched across 3 days, followed by Easter Sunday. How we experience each of these days will be unlike any other days in the Church calendar. 

On Holy Thursday, we celebrate Jesus giving the Church the Eucharist at the Last Supper. No matter how long it’s been since your first Communion, this Mass offers you the opportunity to think about what (or who) the Eucharist really is and how the gift of Eucharist has changed your life. We leave Holy Thursday in silence. 

Good Friday is the day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. We leave in silence on Holy Thursday and come back on Good Friday in silence. This is also the only day of the Church that no Catholic Church in the world has a Mass, because we don’t have the Eucharistic prayer or consecrate any new communion hosts. We can receive Communion, but it’s from the reserve in the Tabernacle. On Good Friday, we can venerate the Cross and participate in the Stations of the Cross. We leave Good Friday in silence, too. 

At the Easter Vigil, just like the apostles and disciples did, we hold vigil after we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. In that time of waiting, we consider the history of our salvation. This Mass features a series of readings from the Old Testament, taking us from Adam and Eve, through Exodus with Moses, through to the Prophets awaiting the Messiah. We are reminded that we are part of a long line of people who were loved and saved by God. Our solemnity turns to joy as we turn on all the lights and ring the bells to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. The hope of God’s children, which we remember throughout the ages, is fulfilled in Jesus rising from the dead! This Mass has everything — fire, bells, Alleluias, resurrection! You’re invited to bring bells to ring during Mass to celebrate! This is also the Mass where adults who are joining the Church are baptised, confirmed, and receive their first communion. 

Easter Sunday picks up from Easter Vigil. It is the Sunday where we pay special attention to celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection. We do this every Sunday, but we come to Easter Sunday after 40 days of Lent and the intensity of the Triduum. The Church helps us to prepare and puts us in the right headspace to appreciate and celebrate the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice and the miracle of his resurrection. 

Christ has risen from the dead and has conquered death, not just for himself but for us, his followers. We’ve heard it so often, that this incredible, wondrous, overwhelming reality of our salvation can be dulled. Through Lent and Easter, the Church gives us the chance to re-awaken our sense of the mystery by guiding us through the story of God’s endless love for his children.