An invitation to Holy Week

[cappie]

Holy Week, the greatest and most important week in the Christian year. I invite you to enter into this week as fully as you can, by making time to worship, and to make this a sacred time in which we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again.

Over the next few days, we do not just recall the death of Christ as an important or note-worthy event external to us. Rather, we encounter the Risen Lord in our midst through the liturgy of the church and enter into the mystery of his Cross through our keeping together of this sacred time.

That cross becomes a life-giving reality that transforms our experience of the world and gives foundation to our hope for eternal life. And that Resurrection bursts open not just the impotent grave, but also the poetic horizons of our spiritual imagination as we embrace a world in the process of being re-made in Christ.

Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of the Sacred Triduum, with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. From this moment onwards, the sacrament of the Eucharist is not celebrated until Easter night.  One of the richest liturgical signs seen in this liturgy is the washing of feet. This signifies our love for one another and Christ’s call to copy his humility and self-emptying.  The Blessed Sacrament is taken at the end of the liturgy to the altar of repose.

On Good Friday, the Liturgy of the Passion usually takes place at 3.00 pm. This involves hearing readings from the Scriptures; praying for the world in solemn intercession; reverencing the Cross as a sign of our gratitude and faith  and finally receiving Holy Communion brought from the altar of repose which had been reserved since the previous night.

Our Easter Vigil takes place on Holy Saturday evening. This liturgy is the hinge on which the whole of the liturgical year turns.  The Easter fire will be lit and blessed, the Paschal Candle honoured, and a vigil of readings held as we hear the salvation history of humankind recounted in our midst. bells are rung again, the Resurrection proclaimed, and the sacrament of Eucharist are celebrated. 

We look forward to celebrating the central truth of our faith over the next week: that Christ died and rose again for us, and that through this Paschal Mystery we share in God’s divine life for ever. We pray that all who participate in the liturgies, will experience the reality of Christ’s presence and a renewal in their trust and hope in the Risen Lord!