What if I told you that this is the most amazing week of the year? Could that be? Spring Break hasn’t started, the pollen is driving all of us crazy and that pesky flu is making one more round just in case we doubt that we need a flu shot next year. Oh, but wait, Sunday is Easter, did I get my calendar wrong?
The Catholic Church celebrates the full week up until Easter and it is called Holy Week. This special week starts with the Palm Sunday mass. This mass includes a few key elements that make it unique. First, at other masses, after the introductory rites, there are readings from the Bible. They include an Old Testament reading, the singing of a Psalm, a New Testament reading and then the reading of the Gospel by the priest. Each week we know to expect this arrangement, but on this Sunday, before Mass even starts, the priest starts mass with a Gospel reading of the Triumphant Entry. In some cases, he reads this Gospel outside of the church with the entire congregation and then everyone processes into the church waving palms. Just as Jesus entered Jerusalem with people throwing their coats in the road for the King of Kings to ride over on his donkey, and waving palms, we enter into this moment with our own palms.
As we settle into our seats, it appears that mass is back to normal. But when it comes time for the Gospel reading, which the priest normally reads, several other people walk to the front to read. We soon realize this is no ordinary reading as we begin to hear the reading of the Passion (or suffering) of our Lord. Less than 30 minutes after we waved our palms for the King of the Jews, we participate in the Passion of Jesus by repeating the words, “Crucify Him” with the crowd. Oh what fickle beings we are. As we move into the Eucharist, when the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus, we have a fresh remembrance that our sins were the ones that caused Him to die.
Mass is offered daily for the first three days of the week, but it must be mentioned that Wednesday of this week is called Spy Wednesday because this is the day that Judas chose to betray Jesus. On Thursday we then move into the most sacred mass of the year– the Triduum Mass. This Mass is celebrated over three days and consists of three services- Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil.
Holy Thursday is the service where we remember and participate in the Last Supper. At this mass, there is an additional element, only included at this special service- the washing of feet. Just as Jesus washed the disciples’ feet in humility, the priest will wash the feet of several individuals. What a powerful visual of the great humility Jesus had in coming to live among us and to take on our humanity. On this night, the Church looks as it did the week before, and we leave the service knowing that when we come back, we will remember the day when Jesus died for all of our sins.
As we enter the church on Friday, the church no longer looks the same. There are no flowers on the altar, the statues of Mary are either removed or covered, and the most striking difference of all is that the tabernacle–where Jesus resides in the form of Bread continually–is open and empty. During the service, the Passion of Christ is read again with the many visual signs around us of the sadness of this day. When the time comes for the celebration of the Eucharist, something is different. This is the one day of the entire year where the Consecrations- the changing of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ- does not happen. We leave the service in silence, with the heaviness of the ultimate sacrifice.
The Easter Vigil is celebrated the following evening after the sun has gone down. The church is darkened and it appears to have the same sadness of the prior evening. But as the service begins, the Baptisimal candle is lit and we go through the many readings from the Bible that show why Jesus had to come to earth and die for our sins. As we come to the reading that announces Jesus’ arrival, all the lights of the church are turned on and the bells ring and we sing in celebration for the ultimate sacrifice and then defeat over sin and death that Jesus accomplished with his resurrection! On this night, adults who have prepared to enter the Church receive the Sacraments of Initiation and we welcome these new members into the Body. This night is the pinnacle of the Church’s celebrations, and the next morning, Easter Sunday, the church is filled with people celebrating Jesus’ resurrection!
If you have never experienced the beauty of this week, I invite you to join us to celebrate the joy and victory of this Holy Week as we walk alongside Jesus through the events that changed history! And even more importantly, the events and the Person who has changed my heart and the hearts of so many others in this world and this community. We would love for you to join us!
Kasey Jordan is a religion columnist for The Covington News. She is a former missionary and lives in Monticello.
