It’s Maundy Thursday, the first day of the Easter Triduum. It will be followed by Good Friday and Holy Saturday, finally Easter Sunday, the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
These are solemn days, the most solemn in the Catholic calendar, but this is not about the significance of the three days. Lots has been written about that and a lot more will be written, in these three days, too.
This is about something that, apart from the meaningful services that one participates in, has always interested me.
Apart from the solemnity of the services on all three days leading to the Easter Vigil, what has interested me is how the interiors of the churches transform on these three days, each day the church looking different.
Churches, in recent times, have used backdrops to create a more meaningful or prayerful atmosphere for the faithful, who till midnight, remain in adoration, even as the Eucharist is incensed.
The vestments change on Ash Wednesday, with the priests donning purple, the colour of mourning, many churches have a purple curtain behind the altar. And, on Sundays, different statues of Christ depicting His passion are placed alongside or behind the altar.
It is a practice in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Panjim, the parish I belong to.
Just as one has got accustomed to this, the entire church changes on Maundy Thursday. The day begins with the interior of the church being almost normal, except for the purple curtains and the statues covered in purple cloth.
It is in the evening, after the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, that includes the washing of the feet, that the church gets its first transformation.
Following the solemn service, the Eucharist is taken in procession and placed on the altar of repose. Here, churches in recent times have used backdrops to create a more meaningful or prayerful atmosphere for the faithful, who till midnight, remain in adoration, even as the Eucharist is incensed.
While, on other days, Catholics will sit at the pews, on this evening, you can find them also seated on the ground in meditation and adoration.
Enter a church in Goa on the morning of Holy Saturday, and it is almost as if one has entered a tomb. It is difficult to believe that just two mornings earlier, it was a very different scene in the church.
There being no mass on Good Friday, the only service begins in the late afternoon or early evening with a bare altar and against the backdrop of black curtains.
At the end of the service, the curtains are opened to unveil the life size image of Christ crucified. The enactment of the Crucifixion then begins and the image is brought down and placed on a bier and carried in procession, followed by the image of Mary, the mother of Christ.
At the end of the procession, the statues enter the church and are kept near the altar.
Enter a church in Goa on the morning of Holy Saturday, and it is almost as if one has entered a tomb. The faint smell of abolim and zayo, the dimmed lighting, illuminating the image of the dead Christ as His mother looks on, and the cross in the background complete the scene.
It is difficult to believe that just two mornings earlier, it was a very different scene in the church. There being no service on Holy Saturday, the church closes its doors midmorning to prepare for the Easter Vigil that will take place that night.
At the Easter Vigil, the church interior returns to normal, to the look that will remain for the rest of the year till Ash Wednesday, or in some cases till the next Maundy Thursday.
Goa, perhaps, has this unique tradition where the church interiors transform on these days. A search over the internet to discover other places where such a tradition exists, did not turn up much.
The processions do take place on Good Friday, but the manner in which the statues are kept for veneration till Holy Saturday morning could be something that happens only in Goa.
It is admirable that there still are those from the parishes who make it a point to go to the church on these days to create this transformation of its interiors. It is not an easy task.
How much longer will this continue is difficult to say, but it is indeed meaningful and creates the atmosphere for a more prayerful time in the church.
