Luciana,
Actually, your observation is quite helpful. FWIW, it comports with what
I've found in the online version of the Catholic Encyclopedia (1912),
<http://www.newadvent.org/caten/15041c.htm>, viz.,
A time frequently chosen for prayer or for other devout practices, whether
by individuals in private, or in public by congregations or special
organizations in parishes, in religious communities, seminaries, or
schools. The form of prayer or devotion depends upon the occasion or
purpose of the triduum. The three days usually precede some feast, and the
feast then determines the choice of the pious execises. In liturgical usage
there is a triduum of ceremonies and prayers in Holy Week; the Rogation
Days (q.v.); the three days of litanies prior to the feast of the
Ascension, and the feasts of Easter and Pentecost, with the first two days
of their octaves. There is ecclesiastical authorization for a triduum in
honour of the Holy Trinity, of the Holy Eucharist, and of St. Joseph. The
first of these, instituted Pius IX, 8 August, 1847, may be made at any time
of the year in public or private, and partial or plenary indulgences are
attached to it on the usual conditions. The second, also indulgenced, was
instituted by Pius X, 10 April, 1907, for the purpose of promoting frequent
Communion. The time for it is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after the feast
of Corpus Christi, though the bishops may designate any other more
convenient time of the year. Each day there should be a sermon on the Holy
Eucharist and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and on Sunday, there
should be besides a sermon on the Gospel and on the Holy Eucharist, at the
parochial Mass. This triduum is specially for cathedral churches, though
the bishops may also require other churches to have it. The prayer, "O Most
Sweet Jesus" (Dulcissime Jesu), as given in the "Raccolta", is appointed
for reading during Benediction. The triduum in honor of St. Joseph, prior
to his feast on 19 March, was recommended by Leo XIII in the Encyclical
"Quamprimum pluries" (15 August, 1889), with the prayer, "To thee, O
blessed Joseph." The most frequent occasions for a triduum are: when
children are in preparation for their first Communion; among pupils in
school at the beginning of the scholastic year; among seminarians at the
same time; and in religious communities for those who are to renew their
vows yearly or every six months. The exercises of these triduums are mainly
meditations or instructions disposing the hearers to a devout reception of
the sacraments of penance and of Holy Communion and to betterment of life.
--Christopher
== Responding to message from Luciana Cuppo Csaki <[log in to unmask]>
==
>> Christopher, this may be no help at all, only additional confusion - but
if
>> truth be told, in pre-Vatican II times 'triduum' was used for any
observance
>> kept for three days in a row, and it could simply be a triduum of
prayers,
>> not necessarily liturgical. This made sense inasmuch as 'triduum' in
Latin
>> means just that - a period of time lasting for three days.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Christopher M. Mislow" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 9:41 PM
>> Subject: "Triduum" [was "Tridentine" & "Triduum"]
>>
>>
>> Thank-you all who came to my rescue. Alas, however, at the risk of
seeming
>> ungrateful, I now have three (an appropriate number) conflicting
>> definitions, viz., [1] Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday (which
>> encompasses 4 rather than 3 days), [2] Good Friday through Easter
Sunday,
>> and [3] Maundy Thursday through Holy Saturday. Since the last of these
>> definitions has the imprimatur of the _Oxford Dictionary of the
Christian
>> Church_, I suppose that credential would give it the upper hand.
>> Nevertheless, I am confused. Help!
>>
>>
>>
>> == original message from <[log in to unmask]> ==
>> I have seen references in a number of messages in this list ...
>> to the "Triduum" (the latter in the context of the liturgical calendar,
>> esp. Passover, Easter and the Annunciation). These are both terms
beyond
>> my ken, and none of my sources, alas, explain their meaning. Would some
>> kind soul(s) enlighten me?
>>
>> == Reply from Dennis Martin <[log in to unmask]> ==
>> Triduum means "three days" and refers to the holiest time of the
>> Christian year, from Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday.
>>
>> == Reply from M. Paul Bryant-Quinn <[log in to unmask]> ==
>> `Triduum' refers to the three days of a particular feast celebrated,
usually
>> with reference to the period from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.
>>
>> == Reply from John Hall <[log in to unmask]> ==
>> The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (usually a good starting
>> point) entry reads:
>> Triduum Sacrum (Lat., 'the sacred three days'). The three concluding
days
>> of Holy Week commemorating the Last Supper, Passion, and Death of
Christ,
>> i.e. Maundy Thursday (evening only, acc. to modern RC reckoning), Good
>> Friday, and Holy Saturday
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