Well, guess what week is sneaking up on us? Holy Week of course! Holy Week is the week before Easter, and very well the most important week of our Catholic faith. It starts on Palm Sunday and ends on Holy Saturday. There are many different days and traditions in between such has Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
I know as personal experience, this week is one of the most impacting-faith wise. It starts off so joyous since Christ the King is coming in on a donkey, and everyone is shouting "Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!" but then it slows down a bit until we come to Holy Thursday, and then it really stops on Good Friday. If you aren't for certain what we do on these days, be not afraid! I will show you the stepping stones. :)
Palm Sunday: Like I mentioned before, Palm Sunday starts out very joyous. There is very happy, exciting music as the priest processes in. I know sometimes our children's choir process in as well, singing the opening song. We all have palm branches in our hands... why? Well first off, that's what the people did thousands of years ago when Jesus was the one who processed on a donkey. They wanted something to lay down to "revere" him, so they grabbed palms off nearby trees and laid down coats, blankets, etc.
I have heard (and wondered) about this question many times. Why would the Jews turn on Jesus so quickly at his Passion when they just were worshipping Him? The answer I have received was the Jews expected Jesus to be a war general. They wanted a leader to lead them into battle against the harsh Romans! But, as we all know, Jesus did not come to the earth for that reason. He is a war general though... a war general against sin. So as you can imagine, the people were greatly let down and decided to turn against Him.
So that's why Palm Sunday gets a little sadder as the Mass wears on because the joy wears off. We come to realize that Jesus' death is actually coming closer and closer, and we need to prepare ourselves for it.
For the actual scripture passage, click here.
Holy Thursday: I love this Mass. It is so cool to see the priests humble themselves and wash the feet of the parishioners! Although it is not a Holy Day of Obligation, it really is a "must see" I guess I could say. This tradition started out from the Bible story that we all know. On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus cleaned the disciples feet. The disciples were surprised because they thought they should wash Jesus' feet! But no, Jesus did it as an example for the disciples. This was the last time he would enjoy a meal his disciples before his brutal death. What do you think Jesus was thinking? How would you feel if you knew this was the last meal you would ever have with your friends and family?
For the actual scripture passage, click here.
Good Friday- For my last installment in my Lenten Series, I will be going over Good Friday as well as Tre Ore. So for this post, I will just give you a quick summary. :)
Good Friday is one of the most reflective times of the year in the Catholic church. It is the only day where the candle that shows Jesus' presence is not lit (excluding part of Holy Saturday) and also communion is not consecrated on that day. Good Friday is a day of fasting, repentance and reflection.
Holy Saturday: Techinically, on Holy Saturday there also is no Mass since the Easter Vigil is apart of Easter Sunday. That it the "technical"reasoning. Right at dark, the Easter Vigil Mass starts. And let's just say, if you have never been to an Easter Vigil Mass, you better put it on your bucket list. :) Many people are a little wary of attending this Mass because of it's length. Yes, it may be about twice as long as a normal Sunday Mass, but it still is a beautiful service. There are numerous readings and pslams filled with symbolic thinking. At the beginning of the Mass, everyone is handed a candle (or this is how they do it at my church). There is this big candle that the priest lights at the beginning, and a few people light their individual candles from it. Then it becomes a train of passing on light from one candle to the next until the whole church is flooded with candle light. It is so cool! The only light source is from our candles, and you can see people's faces glowing.
That isn't the only cool part about Easter Vigil. New believers are baptized, confirmed and some even receive their First Communion! It is so cool to see humans older than newborns baptized into the faith.
This is a very very cool experience that you do not want to miss out on!
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So how can you make this Holy Week a good one? First off, focus more on prayer. Prayer is the power source this week. Also, try going to Stations of the Cross! It is a beautiful, inspiring way to really feel what Jesus felt during the Passion. For a link to a wonderful post on the Stations of the Cross, click here.
I wish you all a blessed and wonderful Holy Week!
All through Christ,
Maddie
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Works Cited:
Hostetter, Aaron. "2013 Life Teen Annual Appeal: Expect Miracles." LifeTeencom for Catholic Youth. LifeTeen.com, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.
Richert, Scott P. "Holy Saturday." About.com Catholicism. About.com, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.
Richert, Scott P. "Palm Sunday- Solemnity of Palm Sunday." About.com Catholicism. About.com, n.d. Web.
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