Holy week has always been my favorite time of the church
liturgical year. My own personal memories, growing up a cradle Catholic, of
attending the chrism Mass (blessing of the Holy oils to be used throughout the church
year), Holy Thursday (the Mass of the Last Supper), Good Friday’s Liturgy of
the Word and as a family we always attended Easter Vigil. Holy week and the Easter
Triddum hold in my mind and heart, the very basis and truths of the foundations
of my Catholic faith. I mainly attended these days with my grandfather through my
growing up years. He passed away last summer. So this Holy week, took on a more
meaningful time for myself and brought to me a new sense of peace.
The beginning of Holy week starts on the sixth Sunday of
Lent with Palm Sunday. This is when we commemorate Jesus' triumphal entry into
Jerusalem. We find in the bible the account of Jesus leaving Jerusalem and
returns Monday. He spent time with Gentiles in the Temple, and on Wednesday
left for the Mount of Olives. Spy Wednesday is an old and uncommon name for the
Wednesday of Holy Week, which commemorates Judas' agreement to betray Jesus.
The beginning of the Easter Triddum starts with Holy
Thursday. Here Jesus foretold the apostles the events of the next several days,
including His impending death. Jesus returned to Jerusalem on Thursday, to
share the Last Supper with His apostles. Also known as the name "Maundy
Thursday" and is derived from Jesus "mandate" to love one
another as he loves us. This day celebrates the institution of the sacraments
of Holy Eucharist and Ordination. Good Friday a day of fast and the Church commemorate
Jesus' crucifixion and death. Customs include Veneration of the Cross,
communion from the reserved Maundy Thursday Mass, and the reading of the
Passion. Jesus was crucified at Calvary on Friday, outside the gates of
Jerusalem. Holy Saturday is a day for prayer and meditation on the tomb
of Christ. The Easter Vigil (Saturday
evening) and Easter Sunday celebrations are the Celebration of Christ’s
Resurrection! The Easter Triddum is ended with evening prayer on Easter Sunday
evening.
I started my holy week on Palm Sunday in a very small parish
in Napa Valley, California, St. Thomas Aquinas, as I was away visiting with
friends. (A Mass of about 75 people.) A Dominican priest played the organ and
the parish diocesan priest gave a very spirit filled homily. His main message
was about the passion of Christ and how we are all called to love
unconditionally as Christ did. He also asked his congregation, that even if you
could not make Holy Thursday Mass or Good Friday Liturgy of the word, to stop
at that time of the day to pray in union with everyone who was at church, to
pray with the universal church. I thought that was a very real way to reach out
to the community who may have had work or family obligations, to find a way to
bring everyone together these days. It
was privileged to spend Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday at Good
Shepherd last week. (Thank you to my mom and her husband who were in town to
help my husband and me with our 5 children!) Holy Thursday was a beautiful
celebration of the washing of the feet and Christ’s Last supper. I took in the
many faces of our community as families, children and strangers washed each other’s
feet. No one could deny the face of Christ, so very present in the faces of all
God’s people who were there. The procession after communion of the Holy
Eucharist to the chapel was also a very moving time. The true presence, of our Lord in the Holy
Eucharist, was with us as we prayed through the night into Good Friday. The
power and the presence of Christ for us on Good Friday, the pivotal moment in
our faith, of the ultimate sacrifice of unconditional love, for us through
Christ’s crucifixion. The beautiful
meaning of Christ’s love was so eloquently spoken to us by Fr. Jonathan. I
embraced the Good Friday’s tradition of Veneration of the cross, in the
presence again of all God’s people in our loving community. Seeing the cross
being carried by those of our community, just as when Simon helped Christ carry
the cross. We all carry our own crosses and the church is here to love us and help
us carry our crosses. A very powerful representation of who we are as church! Easter
Sunday brought for me the great joy of Christ’s Resurrection! Again the resounding
theme of Christ’s unconditional love and His promise to us He would return!
Each year, I am amazed again and again, of how Christ shows
Himself to me through this beautiful week long celebration. Holy week brought
for me yet again a deeper love for Christ in our holy Catholic church through
the witness of Christ’s love through all the people in our church. I am so
grateful to have a great sense of peace in knowing that we are all given to
choose freely His unconditional love, that only Jesus can show us through His
ultimate sacrifice of death and Resurrection. That is what I strive to live for
every day of my life…to know unconditional the love through Jesus’ death and
resurrection on the cross and live that out through my Catholic faith.
Alleluia, Jesus is risen, risen indeed! Happy Easter!
