Holy Week is a very important time in the Catholic Church, as it is a time to commemorate the principal events of our redemption. During Holy Week, the Church celebrates the mysteries of salvation accomplished by Christ in the last days of His life on earth, starting with His messianic entrance into Jerusalem. Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI have both emphasized the importance of this week for Christians around the world.
Palm Sunday: A Dual Celebration
Holy Week starts on Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, which combines the prediction of Christ’s royal triumph with the announcement of His Passion. The celebration and teaching of this day should highlight the connection between the two parts of the Paschal mystery. The Church encourages everyone to share Jesus’ state of mind, preparing to relive the mystery of His Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection, not as mere observers, but as active participants in His Cross and Resurrection.
Holy Thursday: The Gift of the Eucharist and Priesthood
Holy Thursday is the day the Church remembers the Institution of the Eucharist and the Ministerial Priesthood. During the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, we remember Christ washing the disciples’ feet, His new commandment of love, and His establishment of the Eucharist as a lasting reminder of the sacrifice of His body and blood for everyone’s salvation. The Church recalls the Last Supper on Holy Thursday and the Mass of the Lord’s Supper commemorates Jesus’ institution of the sacrament of his Body and Blood and his commandment that we should love one another.
Good Friday: Remembering the Passion
Good Friday is a day when we remember Jesus’ redemptive suffering and death by solemnly reading the Passion, offering Universal Prayer for the Church and the world’s needs, and venerating the wood of the cross. On Good Friday, we contemplate the mystery of sin as we listen to the account of the Lord’s passion and venerate the wood of his Cross. Christ’s death reminds us of the accumulated sorrow and evils that weigh upon humanity of every age: the crushing weight of our death, the hatred and violence that still today stain the earth with blood.
Holy Saturday: Awaiting the Resurrection
Holy Saturday is a day of deep silence, as we join Mary in her sorrow at her Son’s death, and her hopeful expectation of God’s promises being fulfilled. Holy Saturday, a day of silence and prayer, prepares for the joy of the Easter Vigil, when the light of Christ dispels all darkness, and the saving power of his Paschal Mystery is communicated in the sacrament of Baptism. The Church keeps vigil in prayer like Mary and with Mary, sharing her same sentiments of sorrow and of trust in God.
Easter Vigil and Sunday: The Triumph of Life
During the Easter Vigil, the light of the Paschal candle and the solemn singing of the Alleluia joyfully announce Christ’s victory over sin and death. In this time of pandemic, our celebration of the Paschal mystery proclaims the cross of Christ as a light shining in the darkness and an enduring sign of hope in God’s promise of new life. The mystery of the Resurrection, in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy our old time until all is subjected to him.
A Call to Conversion and Renewal
Holy Week is a special time of grace for every Christian, and we should participate intensely in the Easter Triduum. Our participation in these solemn celebrations should deepen our conversion to Christ, especially through the sacrament of Reconciliation, and our communion, in the hope of the resurrection, with all our suffering brothers and sisters throughout the world. The Easter Triduum helps us relive the mystery of the passion, death, and Resurrection of the Lord, reawakening a deeper desire to adhere to Christ and to follow Him generously, aware that He loved us to the point of giving His life for us.