“But the angel spoke and said to the woman,
do not be afraid; for I know that you seek
Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for
He has risen even as he said. Come see the
Place where the Lord was laid. Go quickly,
tell his disciples that He has risen;
and behold, he goes before you to Galilee;
there you shall see him.”
With that quote from scripture, I recall a sermon that was
given by a good Old Irish Priest by the name of Monsignor
William Costello. On Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, he
said “this week, Holy Week is our Super Bowl.” He was so
right. This week, the ceremonies that take place on Holy
Thursday, Good Friday, & Holy Saturday, are ancient,
spiritual, and beautiful.
On Holy Thursday we celebrate the Lord’s Supper where for
the first time He consecrated the bread and wine. We also see
Christ’s example of humility by washing the feet of his
disciples. Holy Thursday is also the anniversary of the
Priesthood. To all of our Priests, “Ad Multos Annos”.
On Good Friday, we hear the Passion of the Lord as we did on
Palm Sunday. A cross, covered with a red cloth is brought into
the church and elevated. As each arm of the cross is exposed as
the Priest chants, “this is the wood of the cross on which
hung the Savior of the world.” The faithful respond, “come
let us worship.” We then venerate the cross by kneeling before
it and touching it with either our hands of our lips. Today we
look to the cross as the visible sign of Christ’s suffering,
knowing he gave his life for us.
On Holy Saturday, the church is dark, except for the Easter
fire, which is blessed and then used to light the Easter candle
and all of the candles held by those assembled. The Exsultet is
proclaimed, “this is the night that Jesus broke the chain of
death. Rejoice and sing, for Jesus the Christ is risen.” I
remember a Priest once preaching at the Easter Vigil and
exclaim, “Tonight in every church in the world, because of
Jesus’ Resurrection, death has been conquered. Life has
conquered death.”
My fellow Holy Name member, Easter is more than new clothes,
baskets of candy, and a nice dinner. It is the foundation of our
faith. It is our hope for eternal life with God and our loved
ones. This “Holy Week”, we enter into Christ’s passion,
suffering, and death, to end up in celebrating his rising from
the dead. Just the thought of it should send chills up your
back.
May you and your family experience the hope and love that our
Lord’s Resurrection offers to us all. May you all have a Holy
and Blessed Easter!
