By Viory Janeo
I have always found the Paschal Triduum in UA&P to be one of the most solemn and meaningful celebrations of the year. There is something deeply moving in how the community comes together to participate in the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. Each year, I look forward to the liturgical season of Lent—especially the solemn services of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil—when we are invited to pause, reflect, and enter more deeply into the mystery of our faith. In the rhythm of University life, this opportunity to step out of busyness does not always come easy but I have always found it worthwhile.
Thus, this year, I again accepted with gratitude the invitation to serve as a commentator for the Triduum services. The commentator’s role is simple yet vital: to guide the congregation through the liturgy — explaining the parts, leading the responses, and instructing the faithful when to sit, kneel, and stand, so as to give proper reverence to each liturgical part.
Preparing for each celebration required careful reading and review, but more than that, it called for reflection. In immersing myself in the texts, I found that I was not merely understanding the liturgy—I was being drawn into it. The words became prayer, shaping the way I encountered the mystery of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection.
Sitting close to the altar, I witnessed the quiet actions that bring about the harmony of the liturgy. The altar servers and priest-celebrants moved with attentiveness and humility, each gesture deliberate and each action ordered toward the sacred. I noticed the humility of the priest-celebrants in allowing themselves to be guided by the altar servers and the priest emcee. There was no place for display—only a shared orientation toward something greater than themselves.
It was also a blessing to witness the quiet details, each imbued with care and love: the floral arrangements, thoughtfully prepared; the choir, offering their music in a way that facilitated prayer; the readers, who proclaimed the readings with clarity and reverence, helping bring the Word of God to life for the community; and the priest, chanting the parts of the liturgy with humble devotion. Even the air of reverence in the congregation spoke of a collective awareness that something sacred was unfolding. These were not mere embellishments; they were expressions of love—love made visible in the smallest acts of service. And this is how things are lived in UA&P: where a culture of love is expressed and nourished through attention to detail, and where even the smallest things are done with care, offered for God and for others.
On Holy Thursday, we were invited to reflect on God’s love for humanity—Christ’s charity and obedience, even unto death. From the Good Friday homily came the call to “watch and pray,” to remain with Him in His agony, rather than retreat into comfort or distraction. In the Easter Vigil, we were invited to place ourselves within the Gospel—not merely as observers, but as important characters in the story. Together, these reflections formed a deep call that resonated in me: Am I among those who keep vigil, or those who fall asleep? Do I remain at the foot of the Cross, or do I turn away when it becomes difficult?
As the Easter Octave progresses, the ceremonial splendor and the serene atmosphere that accompanied the celebration of the Paschal mystery are tempered and the intensity gives way to a more quiet grace. We gradually return to our everyday life, challenged to find the extraordinary within the ordinary. The charity we felt during the Triduum can seem distant in the face of difficulties, disagreements, and disappointments. However, this is the deeper invitation of the Triduum. It is not meant to be a fleeting spiritual high. It is meant to form us—to make us people who watch, who pray, who remain oriented toward the good even when it goes unnoticed. The holiness we are called to is not a retreat from university life; it is lived precisely within it, in the ordinary encounters where charity is deliberately chosen every day despite our imperfections.
In serving, I came to realize that the best way to live Holy Week is to truly enter into it — to prepare, to be present, and to allow oneself to be moved and transformed. The Triduum is not merely something we attend; it is a mystery we are invited to live. And living it does not end when the Easter light is extinguished. It continues in every small act of fidelity, kindness, and courage that follows.
May the joy and peace of Christ’s Resurrection abide with us — not only in these days, but in all the ordinary ones that come after. Easter blessings to the entire UA&P community!
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