The Triduum, or the three days in which we commemorate the passion of Jesus Christ, can be a fruitful reminder that our Savior is, as we say in Ignatian spirituality, a “whole person” who gives all to his Father and us.
On Holy Thursday, he exemplifies the humble service that often shows itself in care for bodies, as in foot washing; but he also shows us his vibrant emotional life when he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. Further, he gives us the Eucharist that conveys his very spirit.
Good Friday has its strong bodily element, of course, but it also makes us think of how sacrifice and suffering have meaning in our tradition.
On Holy Saturday, the primary action is spiritual, as we recall Christ’s redemption and liberation of the souls of the dead. In this, we also see his mercy and concern that no one should be lost.
These three days prepare us for the Resurrection, which provides the ultimate vision of “the human person fully alive” that we seek to develop in Jesuit education. He shows us what a fully integrated and animated human being looks like, and to our humanistic eyes, that is glorious!
May these holy days remind us that our greatest desire at Marquette and any Jesuit work is that people may have life and enjoy it fully, on all levels of their being.
