"Were you there when they crucified my lord?"

I find the words from that venerable old spiritual very moving. As we prepare to enter Holy Week and to celebrate the Paschal Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the question in that hymn begs for an answer.

On a very profound level we Catholics can, if we so desire, answer this question with a resounding "Yes!" That is because the seven sacraments and the Sacred Liturgy of the Church give us the privilege to actually take an active part in the here and now manifestation of the one true sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

This privilege is ours, of course, every time we take part in the celebration of the Mass, the Holy Eucharist. But through the celebrations of Holy Week we also make ourselves present to the mysteries of the climax of Jesus' work of redemption.

As we make our preparations for Holy Week and Easter, let us make sure we learn the schedule of the liturgical celebrations in our parish and make it a high priority to take part in these celebrations. And they are for young and old alike. In fact, I believe that my experience of Holy Week in the year 1954 did a lot to open up to me the way that led to my ordination as a priest.

In the spring of 1954, I was in the fifth grade at St. Agnes School in South St. Louis. Pope Pius XII, who was the Pope at that time, declared 1954 to be a "Marian Year," in observance of the 100th anniversary of the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. There were two innovations that year that would have a large impact later in the life of the Church.

In those days, the time for celebrating Mass was strictly controlled. All Masses had to be completed by noon, and since anyone wanting to go to communion had to fast from all food and drink - even water - that was understandable. But for the Marian Year, the Pope allowed parishes to have special late afternoon Masses on Saturday, the day we typically dedicate to the Blessed Mother. It wasn't a Sunday Mass, but it was in the afternoon and I believe anyone wanting to receive Communion only had to fast for one hour before Mass started. We had this Saturday Mass at St. Agnes at 4 in the afternoon on Saturdays.

The other "innovation" was returning the Easter Vigil to its ancient spot, beginning late on Holy Saturday and concluding in the opening moments of Easter Sunday. For many years when I was young, the ceremonies of Holy Saturday would typically be celebrated on Holy Saturday morning at about 6 o'clock, and only a handful of people would take part. It was our understanding that Lent "officially" ended then at noon on Holy Saturday. After noon, it was time to break out the candy and the ham sandwiches.

With the Marian Year "experiment," we experienced, in effect, a second Midnight Mass during the year. It began around 11 p.m. and ended sometime after midnight. For this young 10-year-old, the progress from darkness to the light of the Easter fire and from the solemnity of Holy Week to the joy of that Easter night was very moving. You could say that for the first time, I began to experience the power of the victory Jesus won for us on Calvary.

If you and your family have never taken the time to experience this "mother of all vigils" in the Church, I urge you to make this your year to do so. There is no greater grace than to be there when they crucified our Lord and when He rose from that tomb.

Before we conclude this week's Visit, I would like to share with you some interesting facts about the occurrence of the date for Easter. I found this material in my mother's parish bulletin. Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20 this year). This reckoning of Easter is in harmony with the calendar of the Hebrew people who designed their calendar by the phases of the moon instead of the path of the Sun, and Easter is thus synchronized with the Jewish feast of Passover.

Here is the interesting information. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see for the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or older!). And none of us have ever, or will ever see it a day earlier.

The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be in the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913.

The next time Easter will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So no one alive today has ever or will ever see it any earlier than this year!