Paschal is a word from the Hebrew meaning "passing." Triduum (trid-yoo-um) is Latin for "three days." Paschal Triduum commemorates the essential parts of our redemption. Christ's sacrifice, his burial, and his resurrection. In accordance with the custom in biblical times, each "day" begins in the evning.

Why are there three days of liturgical celebration? Isn't Easter Sunday the most important of all?

The Sacred Triduum reflects the fact that the joy of Easter came about through Jesus's suffering and death, not in spite of it. The Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday sets the context for the Triduum. Jesus's Passover begins in love -- the love he has for his disciples as well as the love he has for the Father. Good Friday features the Adoration of the Cross in a solemn liturgy focused on Jesus's death and burial. The Easter Vigil is the high point of the liturgical year, culminating in the renewal of our baptismal promises.

By celebrating these three days, the Church offers us the big picture in which the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus are not isolated from one another but form one continuouact of love for us. Likewise, the liturgies of these three days are one continuouliturgy.