Triduum Customs and Easter Celebration

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Parish Site of the Month
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It’s time to look forward to the Easter season and to update your parish Web site, replacing Lent material with links and content appropriate for the upcoming liturgical season. First comes the Triduum, the once-a-year way in which we commemorate the Eucharist, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Prepare your site visitors for this moment with information on the days of the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) and their corresponding rituals and meanings. A concise introduction to Triduum rituals (washing of the feet, veneration of the cross and baptizing of the elect) can be found in “Lenten Customs: Baptism is Key.” Further information on the Triduum can be found at other AmericanCatholic.org features.

• March 24 is Holy Thursday and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This celebration takes on a deeper meaning as we mark the Year of the Eucharist. Supplement your site’s current information on Holy Thursday observances with a link to our Eucharist feature. Visitors will find several newsletter articles, FAQs and reflections on the Eucharist submitted by visitors to AmericanCatholic.org.

• March 25 is Good Friday and is often marked by the Stations of the Cross. Provide links on your site to our Stations of the Cross feature. In addition to articles, this feature includes excerpts from Stations of the Cross: I Am There and video clips from The Way of the Cross: Stations on Our Journey of Faith, which will help your visitors prepare for the commemoration of Jesus’ passion on Good Friday.

• March 26 is Holy Saturday and a time for all Catholics to reflect on the meaning of their Baptism as newly baptized are welcomed into the Church family at Easter Vigil. Our Baptism feature contains newsletter articles as well as questions and answers on topics such as infant Baptism, godparents, saints’ names and more. It is an excellent resource not only for those entering the Church but also for any Catholic wishing to reaffirm or further understand his or her baptismal commitment.

Just as it is important to emphasize the celebration before Easter Sunday, it is crucial that Catholics understand that the Easter celebration does not end March 27. Link to our Easter feature, which provides a calendar, links to Sunday readings and articles on the Resurrection for the entire 50 days of the Easter Season. Starting Holy Thursday, this feature will be updated with daily meditations and weekly radio homilies to nourish visitors returning day after day during the season. Consider updating your own site's home page throughout the Easter season with daily or weekly prayers to stress the continuing Easter celebration of Jesus’ resurrection and its meaning in our lives.

As the season unfolds we'll update our Easter logo. The "Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen" graphic will be replaced with a "From Easter to Pentecost" graphic. This change will take place on April 24 as AmericanCatholic.org prepares for Pentecost (May 15).

Parish Site of the Month

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Visit this attractive Web site to learn about what's going on today, tomorrow and next month at this very busy parish. The calendar feature looks ahead two months and provides a simple interface through which visitors can browse dates for upcoming events, meetings and special church services. St. John's Web committee does an excellent job keeping up with the parish and keeping the site's material fresh. You can read about the history of the Web site committee and its upcoming plans for updating and improving the site. Also, check out the Web site statistics.

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The Catholic Question and Answer Auditorium
Catholic college students come to CatholicQandA.org to find answers to questions about Scripture, liturgy, morality and more. This Web site, sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, allows visitors to interact in chat sessions and submit questions to be answered privately via e-mail. Check out a live chat session or browse the archives of FAQs and chat transcripts to find answers to the important questions you need answered.

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