The most moving celebration I have encountered within the Catholic faith is the Easter Triduum. The three days -- Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday -- are a single, solemn, powerful, and ultimately, triumphant rememberance of Jesus' last supper, death, and resurrection.
Having converted to Catholicism Easter, 2006, this year was the first time I could participate as a Catholic in all the aspects of the Easter Triduum. For me, it is an intense and intimate time of prayer, remembrance, and in-depth introspection.
One of the most personal and humbling aspects of a Catholic celebration of Holy Thursday is foot-washing, which commemorates the foot-washing story from John's gospel. Experiencing this ritual firsthand was, in large part, responsible for my decision to become Catholic.
Remembering our Lord's passion, death, and resurrection these three holy days culminates in a renewal through the restatement and affirmation of our baptismal promises. I am so grateful to be able to remember my own baptism since I made my initial baptismal promises as an adult. So many memories from last year returned to me this Lent and these past few days, especially this evening, at the Easter Vigil celebration. I remember standing before the baptismal font as the water was poured into it and blessed by my pastor. I recalled bending at the waist over the font and my spiritual advisor pouring holy water over my head, reciting the words "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" in a silent church full of people -- purely one of the most energizing and electric moments of my entire life!
There are so many more memories that came to me this evening and these past days, but for me, what it all adds up to is I have found a deep and everlasting love in Jesus Christ, I remember that love he expressed for me on the Cross, and seek to ever-renew myself in that love.
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