Monday • Tenebrae (Service of Shadows) 

March 25th • 7:00PM • Basilica

Tenebrae (“shadows” or “darkness”) is a Holy Week service that is at least 1,000 years old. Originally held after midnight but later held at a variety of times, Tenebrae would be sung each day of the Triduum in a church lit only by 15 candles. These were extinguished one by one until the church was left in darkness. At that point, a loud noise (“strepitus”) would be produced – sometimes by slamming a hymnal or other book shut, sometimes by stomping on the floor – symbolizing the earthquake after Christ’s death. Like the “lessons and carols” services familiar at Christmas, Tenebrae consists of hymns and readings.

The Office of Readings and Morning Prayer 

8:00AM • Basilica • Dominican Choir • Every Morning of the Triduum (Thu, Fri, Sat)

"The office of readings seeks to provide God's people, and in particular those consecrated to God in a special way, with a wider selection of passages from sacred Scripture for meditation, together with the finest excerpts from spiritual writers. Even though the cycle of scriptural readings at daily Mass is now richer, the treasures of revelation and tradition to be found in the office of readings will also contribute greatly to the spiritual life" (General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours [GILH], no. 55).

Holy Thursday • March 28th 

 6:00PM Basilica, 6:30PM Holy Trinity, 7:00PM Holy Family

One of the most eventful and vital days in the liturgy of the Church, Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with His disciples, where He instituted both the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders (the priesthood). As we read in 1 Corinthians about the Eucharist,  “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  And in the Gospel of John, Chapter 13 about the Sacrament of Holy Orders, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and urged them to follow after Him and spread the Good News: “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” To reenact this final night of Christ’s life, most churches will wash the feet of several parishioners and hold Eucharistic adoration following Mass. At the end of the Evening Mass, there is no concluding prayer. Instead, the altar is stripped, lit candles remain the only source of light, and incense is used to prepare the Church for the upcoming procession of the Eucharist. Wearing a humeral veil (to cover his hands as he carries the Blessed Sacrament), the priest and procession bring the Body of Christ to an Altar of Repose, often in a sanctuary or chapel separate from the main altar, where the faithful are encouraged to pray before the Eucharist following the Mass. This special worship after Mass replicates the patient waiting of the disciples as they kept a vigil with Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane: Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Matthew 26 The beautiful Holy Thursday liturgy guides us to consider the many ways in which Christ calls us to remember Him, to place our trust in Him, and to follow His example – to keep our own vigil with Him as we await His Passion and Resurrection.

Good Friday: The Passion of Christ • March 29th

Good Friday is, above all, the day in which we recognize Christ’s ultimate, loving sacrifice for each of us: His death on the cross. As St. Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians, “And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” (2 Cor. 5:15) Like Lent, Catholics recognize this day through fasting, abstinence, and prayer.

Good Friday • A Day of Fasting & Abstinence

The Catholic Church obligates its members to fast and abstain from meat on Good Friday. Fasting allows for one full meal and two smaller meals (that combined do not equal a full meal), with an expectation to abstain from meat on Good Friday. The norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Church from age 14 onwards. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection.

Stations of the Cross 

 Noon Basilica 

3:00PM Holy Cross, Holy Family, Our Lady

Tradition holds that after Christ’s death and resurrection, the Blessed Mother retraced Jesus’ last day every day. Over the centuries following Christ’s Resurrection, this practice transformed into what we know as the Stations of the Cross today. To put it simply, the Good News continued to spread, and so did the popularity of following in the footsteps of Christ, either in the Holy Land or with the stations elsewhere.

Good Friday Services

 6:00 PM Basilica • 6:30 PM Holy Cross • 7:00 PM Our Lady

Although Good Friday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, many Catholics still attend a service on this solemn day. While this service is similar to a Mass with a liturgy, intercessory prayers, and communion, the Eucharist is never consecrated on Good Friday. (Consecrating the Eucharist is what differentiates the Mass from the service.) The Eucharist is typically consecrated the day before, on Holy Thursday, and then distributed on Good Friday. Attending a Good Friday service is a profoundly humbling experience. There is no entry procession, no music, the altar is bare, and the tabernacle stands open and empty. Many services also include a Veneration of the Cross, in which we approach the crucifix one-by-one and kiss the feet of Christ.

Easter Vigil Masses  

7:30PM Holy Cross en español

8:00PM  Basilica, Holy Family, 

Holy Trinity

The Roman Missal borrows a quote from St. Augustine when it refers to the Easter Vigil as “the mother of all holy vigils.” Anyone who has attended this beautiful, unique Holy Week liturgy would be hard-pressed to disagree. The Easter Vigil is the longest service of the year, for good reason. It’s filled with powerful scripture and beautiful liturgical traditions. It’s also when the Church grows, since the Easter Vigil is the night when catechumens can receive the Catholic sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion on the same night. The Easter Vigil is a one-of-a-kind Mass, more different than a regular Sunday liturgy than any other Mass of the year.  On Good Friday, the altar is bare; the church sparsely decorated. Crosses and statues are covered. The next day, on Holy Saturday, there is no morning Mass before the Easter Vigil. The church remains empty, quiet and dark before the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Throughout the day, we await Christ’s imminent Resurrection, resting with Him in the darkness. As Pope Francis recently said,  “There are moments when life seems to be a sealed tomb: all is dark, and around us we see only sorrow and despair … Jesus tells us that in these moments we are not alone. Precisely in these moments He comes closer than ever to restore life to us.” The Easter Vigil that night marks the first sign of Christ’s light and resurrection. After churchgoers have filed into the church, the Easter Vigil service begins at sunset with an invitation from the priest to walk from the dark church outside to begin the Service of Light. A fire burns, dispelling the night’s darkness, as the priest takes the Paschal Candle, carves a cross and other symbols into it, and lights the candle. With incense burning, the priest passes light from the candle to smaller candles held by everyone in attendance. As everyone moves inside, the light from Christ illuminates the dark worship space. It serves as a powerful symbol, as Christ is the Light of the World. As Christ’s light enters the church, it can also enter our hearts. As Pope Benedict XVI said, “Beginning with the resurrection, God’s light spreads throughout the world and throughout history..This Light alone – Jesus Christ – is the true light, something more than the physical phenomenon of light..”

Easter Sunday Masses 

7:00AM Basilica, 8:30AM Our Lady & Holy Cross, 10:30AM Basilica & Holy Trinity, 11:00AM Holy Family
5:00PM Holy Family, 5:30PM Bates College Chapel

On Christmas, we celebrate the Incarnation—God becoming human – with Jesus’s birth. During Lent, we recall the cross—Jesus’s crucifixion and death.At Easter, we rejoice in the empty tomb—Jesus’s resurrection. Easter is the day Jesus rose from the dead after being crucified. The empty tomb means that Jesus’s words rang true. He fulfilled the promises of Scripture and conquered sin and death.Had Jesus not risen from the dead, the world would have seen Him as just a prophet or teacher instead of who he is: the Son of God, the Messiah. Jesus overcoming death is the reason we know His name today. It’s the foundation of all Christianity. With His death and resurrection, Jesus opened heaven to all of us. Because of Easter, we know that no matter what sufferings we experience or what sins we struggle with, God is always with us. Easter is everything