Living the Holy Week Guided by the Gospel

Palm Sunday: “They proclaimed: ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord’” (Luke 19:38). On Palm Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of the Mass. The crowd cheers and welcomes him like a king. However, just a few minutes later, we hear Psalm 22:8: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” and the Passion of our Lord according to the Gospel of Luke. Its narration includes the condemnation and death on the cross, Peter denying Jesus three times, and Jesus promising paradise to the “good thief.” This opening of the week leads us deeper into the mystery of Jesus’ redemption.
 
Monday of Holy Week: “Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair.” (John 12:3). This gesture, happening at the house of Jesus’ friend Lazarus, foreshadows His death on the cross. It exemplifies Mary’s genuine love for Jesus, an attitude we are all invited to embrace.
 
Tuesday of Holy Week: “Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me' " (John 13:21). When Judas leaves to carry out his plan, Jesus knows that the hour of his suffering and glorification has come.
 
On this Tuesday, Bishop Mulvey and the priests of the Diocese celebrate the Chrism Mass, during which the holy oils (Sacred Chrism, Oil of Catechumens, and Oil of the Sick) are blessed and distributed to the parishes.
 
Wednesday of Holy Week: “Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely it is not I, Lord?’ He said in reply, ‘He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me’” (Matthew 26:23). Once more, we hear the account of the Last Supper, this time from the shorter version of Matthew.
 
Holy Thursday: The reading from the Old Testament takes us back to the Passover, when God struck down every firstborn of the Egyptians but spared the Israelites, who marked their doors with the blood of the sheep or goat they had slaughtered. This event signifies the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery, which Jesus and his apostles celebrated as a significant Jewish holiday – the Last Supper.
 
The second reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians states, “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (1 Cor 11:23-24).
 
The Gospel tells of the washing of the feet: “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet” (Jn 13:14). He shows us that true leadership means service.
 
Good Friday:  On the day of Jesus’ death, we hear about the Suffering Servant in the writings of the prophet Isaiah (52-53), a prophecy of Jesus’ painful death. We hear the Passion of Christ according to the Gospel of John: “When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit” (Jn 19:30). By kissing the cross, everyone is invited to express their love for Jesus and unite their sufferings with His. The Eucharist is not celebrated; however, we can receive it as “food for the journey.”
 
Holy Saturday: It is a day of waiting and reflection, marking the time between Christ's death and burial and his resurrection. Typically, after 8 pm, the Easter Vigil starts – the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection!