A few years ago I wrote an introduction to the Triduum for children and families. Here's an excerpt:
***
HOLY THURSDAY.
Lent is over.
It ends today, late in the afternoon.
Triduum has begun.
Since we only come to church for a little while on each of the THREE DAYS, it seems like three separate things—but it isn’t. Triduum is one, big, long event. It is part of us wherever we are during those days. Holy Thursday starts Triduum.
Tonight we remember the Last Supper.
Jesus and his friends shared this night around a table.
In the story we hear tonight, Jesus washes his friends’ feet.
He teaches them to be humble.
He teaches them to serve other people:
to find the people
who are
lonely
hungry
sad
outcast
frightened
disenfranchised
homeless
poor
weird
unloved
voiceless
sick
different
hurting,
rejected
grubby.
And he teaches them
to take those people
and hold them in their hearts—
to make it so that
they
never
again
will be lonely,
hungry,
sad,
outcast
frightened,
disenfranchised,
homeless,
poor,
weird,
unloved,
voiceless,
sick,
differenct,
hurting,
rejected
and
grubby.
To show them that they are good and lovable.
To show them how God feels about them.
To see in them the face of God.
We can be like Jesus and his friends.
We can learn the same things Jesus taught his friends when he washed their feet.
***
Who has washed my feet?
Who has noticed when I was in need?
Who has helped me when I needed help?
Who has made me feel better when I was lonely, hungry, sad, outcast, frightened, disenfranchised, homeless, poor, weird, unloved, voiceless, sick, different, hurting, rejected, grubby?
Whose feet have I washed?
Who have I helped in some way?
Whose needs are more important to me than my own?
For whom do I make personal sacrifices?
Whose silenced voice do I try to speak out for?
When do I get involved and help make a difference in others’ lives?
Who else can I help?
Who in our world needs love and attention?
To whom can I listen better?
Whose loneliness can I overcome?
Whose poverty can we help change?
What prejudices can I help end?
What injustices can we help to make right to end someone’s suffering?
What can we do to make a difference and wash the feet of our world?
