But there is no good reason or justification to give our children the freedom to seek out their own destruction. The above excuses are just that—excuses not to do the hard work of teaching and parenting. Besides, we have so much ourselves to give them: our time and attention, for one. We can give them physical toys, books, art supplies, journals, and bikes. We can give them chores and useful skills for adulthood. We can encourage friendships, give them edifying conversation and advice, and show them how to pray. We can teach them to trust in us and to speak with us. We can teach them that they are loved and wanted without having to imitate someone else’s Internet fantasy life. We can teach them that we are made for Heaven, not for virtual fantasies. We can teach them that the world is against them and wants to hurt them but that we are for them—and God is for us.
The Paschal Triduum begins with the evening Mass of Holy Thursday and lasts through the evening of Easter Sunday. Dating to the earliest days of the Church, the three-day liturgy is the summit of the Liturgical year for Catholics. Through the centuries, Catholics have developed many customs and rituals special to these days that really form one prolonged memorial and sacrifice in the life of the faithful. Here are five amazing facts about the Triduum to get you ready for Easter.
Tucked at the end of a hotly debated passage in Lumen Gentium about the Church’s role in salvation comes one sentence that has not received as much attention. What follows the statement that “all the Church’s children” have received their holy Catholic faith not from merit, but from “the special grace of Christ,” is the most harrowing line of Vatican II: If they fail moreover to respond to that grace in thought, word and deed, not only shall they not be saved but they will be the more severely judged. (LG 14) These words are worth pondering deeply as we approach Good Friday and Easter this week.
This willingness to die for us was a note of the Lord’s whole life, St. Alphonsus observes, citing “With desire have I desired to eat this pasch with you.” (Lk 22:15) The Apostle Thomas responds, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (Jn 11:16) Whether the remark is heartfelt or, as some have thought, sarcastic, either way it testifies to Our Lord’s evident keenness. Philosophers have long debated whether courage is absence of fear or holding fast despite fears. Jesus’s example seems to teach something else: it is feeling proportionate fear, but then, when it is clear that one must die, embracing death willingly. Now, a coward dies a thousand deaths. But a Christian must die four.