At the end of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, April 14, parishes around the Arlington diocese removed the Eucharist from the tabernacle and placed it on an altar of repose. Many worshipped there until midnight, symbolically spending the evening waiting with Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Others traveled to the altars of repose at seven churches, imitating the traditional Roman seven-church walk. The diocesan Young Adult Ministry created routes and prayer guides for the pilgrimage.
At St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax, Knights of Columbus, altar servers and clergy processed from the sanctuary, through the nave and to the altar of repose, which had been set up in one of the transepts of the church. Then the linen was stripped from the altar. During Lent, St. Mary used an altar linen the size of the Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Christ.
At St. Ambrose Church in Annandale, palms, Easter lilies, green pothos vines and white roses adorned the altar, and a floral aroma filled the air. Behind the tabernacle was a stained-glass window depicting Christ’s crucifixion. At St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax, torches and lanterns led pilgrims from the parking lot to the room that held the altar of repose. At St. John Neumann Church in Reston, the altar of repose was seen through the darkened chapel by the flickering light of candles.
Having kept watch with Christ, the worshippers left the altars to face the trials of Good Friday.
Maraist can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @zoeymaraistACH.
