by Richard Alvia, Resident Minister and Doctoral Student in the School of Education
Is Holy Week a strange name for the week of Jesus’ passion? It seems a week of torture, pain, imprisonment, denial, and betrayal, ending in the death of Jesus. It was a week of enormous crisis for the followers of Jesus, and a week of intense pain for Mary, his mother. Why call it holy? Why call Good Friday “good” when it seems to be one of the worst days of human history? In his letter on Holiness, Gaudete et Exsultate (2017), Pope Francis’ views of holiness is of a life marked by, among other things, perseverance, patience, and gentleness (112-21), boldness and passion (129-39), and constant prayer (147-57).
In Holy Week Jesus did not give up, and he prayed often. This is why the week is holy: Jesus is totally committed to God in this week in ordinary and extraordinary ways. For me, Holy Week is not just a memory. It is a week to remember all that Jesus did to save us, a week to grow in holiness ourselves, and a week that leads into the joy of the resurrection, which is the beginning of the new life of Jesus.
What’s your Holy Week like?
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