Forty days of Lent have prepared us for the Paschal Triduum - "Three Days" in time but, liturgically, just one long celebration in three parts running from sundown to sundown, beginning with the Evening Mass of the Lord‟s Supper, continuing through Good Friday, reaching its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closing with Vespers on Easter Sunday. Thus Christ‟s death and resurrection are not seen as separate events. St Ambrose wrote of this at the end of the 4th century:

Only one Mass is celebrated; in 1955 it was restored to the Evening as it had been from as early as the 7th century. Although the words of Institution ("Take this, all of you….") are, of course, used by the priest as the bread and wine are consecrated, the Gospel, telling of the Last Supper, is that of John where the words of Institution do not appear. Instead we hear of Christ, after supper, washing the feet of his disciples and telling those who would follow him to do this for each other, in other words the 'New Commandment' or 'Mandatum'. The liturgy of Holy Thursday does not simply tell of Christ's love; through word, ritual action and sacrament we experience it. There is no dismissal at the end of the Mass – the celebration will not be completed now until we celebrate the Resurrection. After the Mass the Church enters into a period of prayer. The Blessed Sacrament is taken to an altar of repose where we are encouraged to watch and pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. We will do this in the Priory church until 11.00pm – the last hour will be a 'Holy Hour' of readings, songs, meditations and silence.

These are days of paring down distractions so that we may be free for prayer and anticipation, for reflection, preparation and silence. When the church is opened in the morning it should feel stark and empty – no flowers or candles, no water, an empty tabernacle. The Church is getting ready for the Great Night of the Easter Vigil.

Tenebrae (Morning Prayer) is celebrated quietly, our ecumenical Silent Walk of Witness takes place, but by far the most important part of the day is the continuation of the Triduum Liturgy – the Solemn Liturgy of the Passion and Veneration of the Cross. Nothing should detract from this. In order to focus on the Passion and Veneration, we will fast, too, from Holy Communion. Until the reforms of the 1950s, communion was received only by the Presider at this liturgy. In the more ancient practice (up to the 7th century) no-one received communion at all. This is what we will do, fasting from the sacraments from the end of the Mass of the Lord's Supper until the Vigil. The Good Friday liturgy has no formal beginning or end – this is because it is a continuation of what happened the previous evening and will be continued when the community gathers for the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening. The rest of the day is empty – no Evening Prayer and no Stations of the Cross, but the Priory church remains open today and tomorrow for quiet prayer and reflection.

 This quiet, prayerful but concentrated attitude continues through Holy Saturday. Tenebrae is once again celebrated but nothing else until the community, thirsting and hungering for new life, gathers in darkness round the fire for the lighting of the Paschal Candle, the sign of Resurrection which will make the night bright for us and burn through the Easter season. After the great hymn, the Exsultet, is sung, we keep vigil, listening to stories from the Old Covenant in the light of the Paschal Candle. Our story culminates, of course, in the Gospel-telling of the Resurrection. We proclaim that we are the people of the Resurrection by renewing our baptismal promises and being sprinkled with baptismal water. Refreshed, once again, we move to the Liturgy of the Eucharist, break our fast joyfully and sing our 'alleluias', from which we have been fasting since Ash Wednesday.

 The Masses of Sunday resound, of course, with alleluias, and the renewal of baptismal promises and sprinkling rite are repeated. The Easter Triduum, however, is only completed with the celebration of Paschal Vespers. So important has our liturgy over the past three days been, that this takes the form of a reminder of where we have been and what we have done. We move from the crucifix to the church following the Paschal Candle in procession – a reminder of the pillar of fire that was the sign of God‟s guiding and protecting presence for the people of the Exodus. We sing psalms of deliverance and gather round the font for our intercessions and a final sprinkling with the newly-blessed water.