The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at Graymoor, Garrison, are planning a special four-day retreat that will start on Holy Thursday, April 2, and end on Easter Sunday, April 5.
The gathering is called “The Non-Violent Jesus: A Triduum Retreat at Graymoor.” The lead presenter will be Rev. Dr. Elias D. Mallon, SA. Father Mallon is special assistant to the President of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.
The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum, or Holy Triduum, is the Christian period of days that typically begins with the liturgy on the evening of Holy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with a prayer service on Easter Sunday.
Contemplating a non-violent Savior
“Triduum is the high point of the liturgical year. It prepares us to celebrate Easter which, as you know, is the linchpin of Christian faith. As Paul puts it, ‘If Christ is not raised, faith is vain.’ It doesn’t get any clearer than that,” Father Jim Gardiner, SA, former director of Graymoor, told The Good Newsroom in a March 23 email.
“One of the problems, however, is that the image of Christ that too often accompanies our Triduum celebrations is limited to the Suffering Servant. Nothing wrong with that, except it’s incomplete. Jesus was also non-violent,” Father Gardiner added, alluding to the retreat theme.
“Francis of Assisi learned that the hard way. He went off to war with Perugia and got himself captured and jailed. Most of us, hopefully, will not be captured during our lifetime and jailed, but we will be challenged time and again to be non-violent. Every time we support a war is a colossal failure in our effort to follow a non-violent Jesus.”
The Triduum Retreat will include a Holy Thursday evening Mass of Our Lord’s Supper, an afternoon Celebration of the Passion on Good Friday, followed by an outdoor, evening Ecumenical Stations of the Cross, a Holy Saturday Great Vigil of Easter, and an Easter Sunday Sunrise Service.
The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at Graymoor are planning other Lenten and Holy Week gatherings at their congregation site. For information on those events and on the Triduum Retreat cost and registration procedures, visit www.atonementfriars.org or call the Holy Mountain Franciscan Retreat Center at (845) 690-1104. The address is 40 Franciscan Way, Garrison.
Other Lenten events in the archdiocese
Jesus in Zion Lenten Night (Noche Cuaresmal) will be at St. Bartholomew Church in Yonkers (20 Roosevelt Street) on Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m. The event will be bilingual (English and Spanish). The presenters will be Father Vincent Druding, parochial vicar at Holy Cross, Bronx, and lay speaker Chinwe Esimai. Vocalist Marisel Rodriguez will lead the faithful in music. For more information, visit www.JesusinZion.com.
John XXII New York – Young Adults – Healing Holy Hour, at St. Anselm/St. Roch R.C. Church, 685 Tinton Ave., the Bronx, on Saturday, March 28, after the 6:30 p.m. Community Mass. The celebrant will be Father Carlos Limongi. Organizers highlight these words from Jeremiah 17:14: “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.” The parish website is: St. Anselm and St. Roch (Formerly St. Anselm) Main Church – Bronx, NY