April 9, 2025

By Father William Muench
NCC columnist

We call it “Holy Week.” For us, it is the holiest week of the Catholic liturgical year. During Holy Week, we celebrate the most sacred events in Jesus’ life – his entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, his Last Supper with his apostles on Holy Thursday, his sufferings and crucifixion on Good Friday, his resurrection on Easter Sunday. These are the holiest celebrations of our Catholic faith. Our celebrations during Holy Week reveal to us God’s ultimate acts of love and redemption. Pope Benedict has written that the days of Holy Week manifest God’s self-giving love in Christ.

The events of Holy Week are not just about the Lord’s suffering and death, but rather they’re an expression of his divine glory. As we participate in the Masses and services of Holy Week, especially the Sacred Triduum, we participate in Christ’s saving work. We make Christ’s sacrifice present now.

Today, please join me as we prepare for Holy Week. On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem. The Gospel writers tell us of a spontaneous and joyful celebration that broke out among the people. As you and I celebrate Palm Sunday, we begin with the same joyful celebration. We walk in procession joining those people who walked with Jesus when he entered the city. This is a time for us to fill our hearts with love for our Savior. May we be filled with the same excitement. This Palm Sunday should bring a unique challenge for us, for all in our parish. We are being called to support and stand with our Lord and Savior, Jesus; this is a time to let our world know that Jesus’ spirit is new and alive. We are ready to walk with Jesus even now.

On Holy Thursday, we again celebrate the Lord’s Last Supper. We now celebrate the unique sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, instituted at that Last Supper. So much happened during that Last Supper. Jesus had so much more to teach those apostles and us. He washed their feet. I am certain that at first those apostles were confused. Jesus presented to them a powerful lesson humility and service, and this lesson is for all of us, even so far in the future. St. John’s Gospel also tells us of Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper. In this, Jesus teaches us all of God’s great love for all of us. He teaches us God loved us first.

Then that Eucharistic moment: Jesus consecrates bread and wine so that he could stay with us, forever present in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus gently and powerfully brings this Eucharist to those apostles and now to us through our Holy Mass in a very humble, yet magnificent, moment. In faith, you and I believe that the Holy Eucharist was instituted at that Last Supper as a wonderful gift for Jesus disciples of all times. What a profound and wonderful time that was! We must continue to celebrate it. Again, we walk in procession with the Lord.

Good Friday, the mood of our liturgy changes. We remember and participate in the sufferings and death of Jesus, his Passion and crucifixion. In our liturgy, we walk with Jesus as he walked to Golgotha; we walk with Jesus through his Passion and death so that we will realize how powerful was his resurrection. We listen to the Gospel Passion as the evangelist tells us of all the details. We are asked during the Good Friday liturgy to bring our intentions – the needs of our Church – so that we can all pray for them. I believe it is important that we all find an intention, someone in need of our prayer, as we remember the sufferings of Our Lord. Then in our Good Friday liturgy, we venerate the cross of Christ. We reverence a cross in our church. This is an important moment for us.

We join the Blessed Mother, St. John and Mary Magdalene at Golgotha at the foot of Jesus’ cross. This prepares us for the Lord’s Resurrection.