What is in Kelvin's Head?

The Triduum Promise

02/04/2015
Over the next couple of days, I will be entering into a different time zone.

It is one thing to put the clock forward to British Summer Time but it is quite another to step into the triduum zone.

The Triduum is the set of services that begin with the Maundy Thursday communion service tonight and which culminate (if Jesus rises) with a great feast on Sunday morning.

When I say that it is like stepping into a timezone, people might presume that it is like stepping back 2000 years but in fact it feels different to that. It is more as though the events surrounding the crucifixion step into our time than that we are looking backwards.

Every year I make the same promise – if you come and keep the Triduum here in St Mary’s it will change your life and change the way you think about Christianity forever. I’ve never had anyone say that my promise wasn’t kept.

What I’m talking about is coming to all of the following:
- The Maundy Thursday service followed by as much of the Watch as possible. (The Watch will be kept until Midnight and some people go away after the communion and return for some of the Watch later in the evening).
- The Good Friday Three Hour devotions and at least one of the other services (either Veneration of the Cross at 9.30 am or Stations of the Cross at 7.30 pm)
- The clean and polish on Holy Saturday – (Yes, this really is part of the triduum experience).
- The Fire Vigil at 7 am on Easter Day.
- High Mass on Easter Day.
It seems like a lot. It is a lot.

But it is a big promise and I’ve found that there’s always one or two who try it out every year. They tend to come back and repeat the experience and yes, they describe it as life changing.

There’s at least one description of what it is like from someone who tested the promise out online, but there’s plenty more accounts circulating in the congregation.

[The previous links in the post above all point to previous descriptions I’ve written on this blog about those services – a couple of years out of date, 2000 years up to date – I don’t know)/

8 responses to “Glasgow Rain”

Stewart

18/09/2006

This is only a passing shower – the real rain is still to come 🙂

Great for filling my water butts though!!

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Ruth

19/09/2006

No, according to the papers today it is to be scorchio on Thursday – 82 degrees or something similar. Oh no, sorry, that would be everywhere else in Britain apart from the West Coast. sorry!

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Elizabeth

19/09/2006

Yup.

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Pamela Murphy

19/09/2006

It was even worse down in Greenock last night. The nights really are fair drawing in now!!

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mysterious stranger

19/09/2006

I really like the new look ,especially the pictures on the page headers very arty.Unfortunately I am one of the rare breed that use Macs.OOOPS!I can see the title of your daily blogs but no text appears.I can even post a comment.

I am able to access the site by PC as well so I can catch up but I thought I’d better let you know.

Rain has reached us fueled by a vicious South Easterly gale.

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Stewart

20/09/2006

Left Glasgow Airport at 9am this morning in torrential rain. The sun is currently shining in Gloucester (@4:45pm) – now was there not a nursery rhyme about a Doctor going to Gloucester in a shower of rain?

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Brian

21/09/2006

(Very) Reverend rainmaker.
The rain seems to have coincided with an upsurge in the number of native American musicians in the city centre, although I think last year some of them were playing ‘The Flight of the Condor’ and claiming to be from Peru.

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Howard

21/09/2006

You’ve seen nothing like the weather in the Isle of Man in the last 48 hours. Storm force and severe storm force gales and torrential rain have forced ferries to be cancelled, and there is more severe weather forecast for tonight. It prevented us from visiting the adjacent island (England) today.

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