INTRODUCTION
Holy Week is most definitely a very sacred time of the year, for it is now that we will commemorate and remember the last week of Jesus’ life on this earth. These are the days leading up to the great Easter Feast.
WHAT IS HOLY WEEK?
Holy Week is the week which precedes the great festival of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, and which consequently is used to commemorate the Passion of Christ and the events which immediately led up to it.
BRIEF ORIGIN OF HOLY WEEK CEREMONIES
From an attentive study of the Gospels, and particularly that of St. John, it might easily be inferred that already in Apostolic times a certain emphasis was laid upon the memory of the last week of Jesus Christ‘s mortal life.
Historical documents also show that as early as the fourth century the Church celebrated this “Great Week” with a feeling of profound sanctity.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE HOLY WEEK?.
Four special ceremonies commemorate the events of Christ’s Passion from His entrance into Jerusalem, when palm branches were placed in His path, through His arrest on Holy Thursday and Crucifixion on Good Friday, to Holy Saturday, the day that Christ’s body lay in the tomb.
The Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which marks Jesus’ triumhant entry into Jerusalem. The central feature of the service proper to this day, as it was in the earliest times, is the procession of palms. The palms are blessed and are then borne in procession to the church, where an entry is made with a certain amount of ceremony, after which the Mass is celebrated. The other notable and very ancient feature of the present Palm Sunday service is the reading of the Gospel of the Passion by three readers.
EASTER TRIDUUM: The word “Triduum” comes from the Latin word meaning “three days,” and encompasses the three most sacred days in the Church year.
HOLY THURSDAY: On Holy Thursday, 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. At the Mass, the priest will wash the feet of twelve men, just as Jesus did. Also on this night, 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.
GOOD FRIDAY: On Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion and death of our Lord, we have the veneration of the Cross. 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. We go forward and kiss the Cross in order to show honor and respect for Christ’s sacrifice for our sake. 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.
HOLY SATURDAY: 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 to heaven were closed and no one could go there because of the original sin of Adam. Jesus changed all that. By paying the price for our sins on the Cross, He gained for us our eternal salvation, and heaven was openedonce more. Also on this night, 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.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOLY WEEK CEREMONIES
Firstly, those who engage themselves wholeheartedly in living 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, standing at the heart of the Easter season, is an intense immersion in the fundamental mystery of what it is to be Christian.
More so, during these days, we suffer with Christ so that we might rise with Him at His glorious Resurrection.
In conclusion, Holy Week 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. Let us bear the Cross so that may be worthy of wearing the crown He wore.
CONCLUSION
The Holy Week and Easter season focuses attention on the powerful Gospel accounts of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. The liturgies of the week, particularly Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, are among the most well attended liturgies of the year.
THANK YOU FOR READING, GOD BLESS US ALL AND HAVE A BLESSED HOLY WEEK CEREMONIES.
