Holy Week

Holy Week

 
Observance for life

Holy Week is a very special time during the last week of Lent in which the specific events of the Passion are singled out and emphasized. Personally and liturgically, we travel the spiritual road to sublime fulfilment through pain and loss to absolute victory and fulfilment.

The services of Holy Week coincide as closely as possible with the events of Jesus' last days. That is why the week is "holy" at all - because it is "set apart." Marking these days is of great spiritual importance as we anticipate that final washing away of the Lenten ash imposed some forty days ago.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered Jerusalem amidst a huge demonstration of support by the common people. Many thought he was going to declare himself a Messiah in the tradition of the conquering Maccabees, whose rebellion against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC temporarily restored the glory of the Jewish nation. Others believed him to be the Messiah of the Davidic tradition, coming to liberate the people by divine power and war. Still others thought him to be a messianic prophet or a messiah of retribution such as Moses. No matter the expectations, belief and hope propelled all to hail him along the road of his triumphant entry. It was an ironic celebration, as many of those who hailed Jesus as King this day would demand his death just five days later. 

Holy Week observances continue on Wednesday with the Stations of the Cross, followed by the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday night services. Holy Saturday is a day of reflection and preparation—a time to stop in the eye of the storm. Holy Week delivers us to Easter Sunday, when we gather for a Festal Eucharist proclaiming Jesus' resurrection and our salvation. Soon will our corporate Alleluias sound again!
 
The services of Holy Week are the heart of our corporate observance; however, each day is an opportunity for each of us to reflect personally on the Passion of our Lord. Here below are some of the key passages of Scripture for you to reread and keep close at heart as you prepare for the Day of Resurrection.
 

• Palm Sunday: Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt (Matthew 21:1-11). He is accompanied by crowds of people who create a path for him with their cloaks and branches cut from trees.
• Monday: Jesus drives the money changers from the temple and spends the night in Bethany (Matthew 21:12-17).
• Tuesday and Wednesday: Jesus continues to teach in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:18-26:16). The chief priests and Jewish religious elders form a plot “to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him” (26:1-5). Judas agrees to be a conspirator and to hand Jesus over to them (26:14-16).
• Thursday: Jesus has his last meal during his earthly ministry with the disciples. He washes the disciples’ feet and institutes the Lord’s Supper or Communion. After teaching and encouraging them, he goes to Gethsemane, where he prays in anguish. He is arrested by the Jewish temple police and is taken to the Sanhedrin, where he is condemned (Matthew 26:17-75).
• Good Friday: Jesus is shuttled between Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas. Pilate finally orders Jesus to be beaten and then crucified. Jesus dies in the late afternoon on Friday. Around sunset, Jesus is buried in the tomb (Matthew 27:1-61).
• Saturday: Jesus rests in the tomb (Matthew 27:62-66).
• Easter Sunday: Jesus is resurrected (Matthew 28:1-15).

 
Each year we gather during this special week of observance to immerse ourselves in the truth of sacrifice and the example of supreme love. The church has provided this time for us to receive this love and to accept this sacrifice anew, with open hearts and wanting spirits.
 
Come. Come to God in spirit. Use what the Church has provided and accept the Christ as He is. Together our love for each other, in the light of His love for us, can break the bonds that hold us and set us free to accept the saving grace of God.
 
Faithfully in Christ,
 
Fr. Bill+