RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Holy Week is most definitely a very sacred time of the year. It is the period of time where we remember and walk in the feet of Jesus to commemorate the last week of His life on this earth. The Lenten season of sacrifice and self-denial is about to come to an end, but this Holy Week is extremely important for all Christians, because these are the days leading up to the great Easter Feast. It begins with Palm Sunday and culminates with the celebration of the Triduum (Latin for Three Days): Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. The main focus of the week is the Passion (suffering out of Love) and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the events that led up to it.
Holy Week starts with a feeling of profound sanctity. It begins with Palm Sunday, which marks Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem to shouts of Hosanna. Along with the Mass there are two extraordinary aspects- the first of which is the procession with palms. This is the central feature of the service, as it was in the earliest of times. The palms are blessed and are then carried in solemn procession into the church, after which the Mass is celebrated. The second and very ancient feature of the Palm Sunday service is the reading of the Gospel of the Passion by three readers during the Mass. This allows the faithful to begin reflecting on the Passion that our Lord is to suffer in the coming days.
In the week following Palm Sunday, is the Easter Triduum. This is the three days that immediately precede Easter and begins on Holy Thursday. This is the day where we reenact the Lord's Last Supper, which He shared with His apostles on the night He was betrayed and arrested. This is one of the most beautiful liturgies of the entire liturgical year. During the Mass, the priest washes the feet of twelve people, just as Jesus did. Also of great importance: it on this night where priests all over the world will renew their sacred vows. This is because, at the Last Supper, Jesus not only instituted the Mass (Eucharist) but also the ministerial priesthood.
On Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion and death of our Lord, we have the veneration of the Cross. Typically, a service is held at three o'clock in the afternoon (the hour He is believed to have died) and another later in the evening. During the service, the faithful go forward and kiss the Cross. It must be noted that this act of devotion should never be viewed as a form of "worship". It is solely, to show honor and respect for Christ's sacrifice for our sake, nothing more. There is no consecration of the Eucharist on this day, and the Communion we receive will be from the night before (which has been reserved in the tabernacle), because Christ dies on this day
Holy Saturday is a vigil. We keep watch for the expectant rising of Our Savior. This was the day He went down into the netherworld in order to bring back up with Him into heaven those who had died before His coming. Up to this time, the gates of heaven were closed and no one could enter, due to the original sin of Adam. Jesus changed all that. By dying for our sins on the Cross, He won for us our eternal salvation, and heaven was opened once more. It is also on this night, where persons who have spent months of preparation, will be received through Baptism and Confirmation into the Catholic Church for the first time. It is a joyous occasion.
Those who wholeheartedly enter and engage themselves in living the mystery of the entire paschal cycle (Lent, Triduum and Easter's Fifty Days) discover that it can change them forever. This is especially so of the Triduum which, stands at the heart of the Easter season and is an intense immersion in the fundamental mystery of what it is to be Christian.
During Holy Week, we suffer with Christ so that we might rise with Him at His Resurrection. It is a time to clear our schedules of unnecessary activities. Our minds and hearts should be fixed on Jesus and what He did for us, so that we may strengthen in our faith and made worthy to bear His Cross and wear the crown He wore.