An Introspective Journey Through Holy Week

Holy week is my favorite week of the year. Far more exciting than giving and receiving Christmas gifts, definitely more than celebrating another year of my earthly life, and even more than my priestly anniversary, is the annual return to the mysteries and events of our salvation. From the earliest memorable days of my childhood, I am aware of the unparalleled and intense joy I experienced in the liturgies of Holy Week. The gift of tears has even occasionally descended upon me as I soak in the sweet notes of the Church’s musical treasury and the rich prayers of her liturgical tradition, which is filled with particularly beautiful offerings during that sacred week. The priest who had the greatest single impact on my vocation story is the same priest who stirred in me a love for the Sacred Liturgy. His soaring chants and dramatic homilies during Holy Week were signs from God that I must be a priest, that I must enter into the sacred drama of worship and bring souls to the mysteries we celebrate! There is nothing so amazing as Holy Week – the love of God displayed in those historical events and the outpouring of grace experienced as we enter into the mysteries through the timeless and cosmic Liturgy of the Church.

Lest Holy Week become an annual history lesson or a mere celebration of sweet memories and moving stories, I invite you to consider a daily question that will unite the life of Christ in His final earthly days to the details of life faced by us His servants.

1. Palm Sunday – Do I praise Jesus in public, as the crowds did who welcomed Him to Jerusalem, and confidently allow everyone to see that I follow Him, or do I keep my spiritual life compartmentalized?

2. Monday – Do I seek to know Jesus, who came into the world to save me, more fully each day?

3. Tuesday – Do I seek to serve Jesus in the men and women around me who are in need, as the women washed the feet of Jesus days before His bitter passion?

4. Spy Wednesday (the day of the Gospel of Judas’ plot with the Pharisees) – Do I betray Christ by hiding my faith when it is not popular, by setting a bad example to others, or by failing to remain committed to my duties to the Church?

5. Holy Thursday - Do I have a deep and lively faith in the Eucharist, which manifests itself in reverence and time spent in prayer with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament?

6. Good Friday – Am I willing to give my whole life for Jesus, who died for me, and sacrifice everything that stands between me and His love?

7. Holy Saturday – Do I prepare each morning in prayer to welcome the Risen Christ into my life anew and to serve Him faithfully that day?

This list in no way intends to exhaust the possibilities for reflection during the days of Holy Week. It is simply a guidepost to entering deeply into those seven saving days. Each day, spend an hour in reflection on the day’s question and reading the prayers and Scriptures for that day’s Liturgy. Look deep inside and ask Jesus to draw you into Himself. The love of Jesus in Holy Week redeemed the world. He did it for you! Make this Holy Week one to remember, a week that will change your life!