Holy Week

Here we are at the start of Holy Week with today’s celebration of Palm Sunday – the holiest week of the entire Church year.  I hope and pray that everyone will give to themselves and to their families the gift of observing this week to the fullest extent possible.  I know there is work to do and we aren’t going to entirely shut down the sports schedule; but there are many things we could set aside in favor of the observance of our Lord’s Paschal Mystery, that is, His passion, death, and resurrection.

Setting aside this time, giving ourselves the quiet and peace necessary to enter fully into this time is critical, because we aren’t simply invited to observe or even celebrate the events of this week, we are called by our Baptism to enter into these mysteries; indeed, that is what our baptism is all about, after all.

What to do with this time?  Re-reading the Gospel narratives of our Lord’s Passion is a terrific start.  In the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite the entire passion is read from each of the three Synoptic Gospels during the first part of the week: Matthew on Palm Sunday, Mark on Tuesday, and Luke on Wednesday: and we all hear the Passion according to St. John on Good Friday.  On Holy Thursday it would be good to read the narrative of the Last Supper, all four Gospels have one with differences which are particular to the memory (or information available in the case of St. Luke) and narrative goals of each writer.

Another option on these days would be a greater attention to our devotional life.  The Stations of the Cross and the Rosary are wonderful devotions in themselves which take on more meaning and power in the context of these Holy Week celebrations.  Interestingly, the Vatican website still contains the texts of the Stations of the Cross celebrated by Popes going back to the reign of Pope St. John Paul the Great.  Of course, we can’t forget too the Divine Mercy Chaplet which our Lord Himself asked to be recited especially at the Hour of Mercy – 3:00 pm, Friday.

Finally, there are a sufficient number of movies to be watched, oratorios to be listened to, and books to be read on the topic of our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection.  They need only be chosen in favor of the latest installment of our favorite television series or movie, commercial radio, or whatever novels and other reading materials that are on our table waiting to be read.

     The invitation is once again extended by our Lord.  Who will accept it?

     Remember who (and Whose!) you are,