Posted on March 29, 2015 View all news
Laudetur Jesus Christus!
Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!
Praised be Jesus Christ!
This upcoming week is Holy Week, the holiest week of the Church year. During this week we see Christ as being hailed as king, to Him being humiliated and executed, to Him rising from the dead. It is surely a week of contradiction and a week of redemption. The great antiphon that is recited throughout Holy Week, the Christus factus est, reminds us that “Christ was made obedient unto death, even death on the cross.” Holy Week recalls the great mystery of our redemption, the fact that Christ has saved us from our sins, given us the opportunity to be adopted sons and daughters of God, and left us the Sacraments as a continuation of His mission on earth to continue the salvation of the human race.
This is the most important week of the year, it is a week that transcends time and space. The Church has always held this week up as particularly special, with Masses and Liturgies unlike any other time of the year. I encourage everyone to attend the Sacred Triduum Liturgies, as an opportunity to carry the cross with the Lord and enter into the mystery of our redemption.
Unless we can see His suffering and experience His sorrow, we will never fully understand the meaning of sin and why it should be avoided. We will never be inspired to be more faithful followers of Christ if we can’t understand what it is that he underwent. His cross was not His cross, but it was rather a cross as a result of our sins. It was our burdens that He bore, and it was our punishment that He accepted. The very least that we can do in gratitude for the gift that has been offered to us, the gift of forgiveness and grace, is to attend these special Masses and Liturgies. Please see the schedule for Old St. Mary’s further on in the bulletin.
Even as we go through this week and we experience the immense sorrow that we ought, we are still filled with great hope. Hope because even though we see Christ suffer and die, we know that next Sunday we will celebrate the great Feast of Feasts and Solemnity of Solemnities, Easter Sunday. As we celebrate and go to our dinners and parties next Sunday, may we never forget what Christ suffered to get to Easter Sunday. May we be sure to say thank you to him, especially as we receive Holy Communion next Sunday. For without His cross and suffering this upcoming week, Easter Sunday would not be possible. May God Bless you this upcoming week!
