The Holiest Week of the Year

I recently met with a mentor of mine who is a Catholic priest and bishop in Kyrgyzstan, a country that borders China. There are only around 500 Christians in the whole country, and so Father Anthony and a handful of other priests and religious sisters are there to care for their souls and to help more people in Kyrgyzstan know Christ as Lord and Savior. The people in the country are predominantly Muslim, they speak Russian as well as their native Kyrgyz dialect, they have Asian physical features, and they dress like Americans. Think about that for a moment, it is an interesting melting pot. While Father Anthony was recently visiting a town in Kyrgyzstan and walking through the streets, he encountered a young Muslim boy who had just left the mosque. The boy looked at Father Anthony in his priestly collar and said, “You are a follower of the Christ.” That simple phrase pierced Father Anthony’s soul and magnified his confidence that, truly, He was a proud follower of the Christ.

To be a follower of the Christ. To be a Christian. In the following week, we enter once again into the holiest week of the year for us as followers of the Christ. We enter into the events of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection that won our salvation. The Church has been entering into these sacred events for over 2,000 years. And my question for all Christians is, “Will this week look differently for you as a follower of the Christ or will it be just another ordinary week?” We have off from school and work, not to play sports, doom scroll social media, binge watch movies, and not even primarily, to hunt Easter eggs and eat candy. We are given this time off as a gift in order to enter into the events of our Lord that won our salvation. We are given this time as gift to pray and to journey close with our Lord in His final steps on this earth; as a follower of the Christ.

As it has been celebrated at least since the 4th century, Palm Sunday begins and we enter the drama of the Passion of our Lord. We, as believers, on Palm Sunday, find ourselves placed in both crowds in the two Gospels read in the Palm Sunday liturgy. First, we remember the miracles God has given to us, waving our palms and singing, “Hosanna!” A few minutes later, we are shouting, “Crucify him!” as the Passion Gospel is proclaimed. The hour of our Lord has begun, for Him and for us as followers of the Christ.

The week continues with Holy Thursday, as it draws us into the beauty of the Last Supper where we commemorate the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist and the priesthood of Jesus Christ in an intentional way. Many church halls and chapels across the world, including throughout Fayette County, will then be open on Holy Thursday night, many until midnight, to replicate Christ’s agony in the garden as the followers of the Christ are encouraged to keep watch with Jesus during His time of suffering. The words of Jesus reverberate in the human soul: “could you not keep watch with me for one hour?”

Then on Good Friday, a day of fasting without meat, small meals, and maybe even a technology fast, the followers of Christ will join their Lord in the darkest hour of His life as He is offered up as the sacrificial lamb, the one and final sacrifice. A sacrifice of the Son, to God the Father for the salvation of mankind. Many followers of the Christ will participate in stations of the cross to commemorate the final steps of our Lord in Jerusalem and many believers will also venerate crosses of different sizes. A powerful reminder that the crosses we carry can be united with Christ’s as a source of strength and consolation.

Then on Holy Saturday (we cannot overlook it) the critical significance of the day in between, when Jesus descended into hell, as the world stood still in silence, awaiting the victory of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Maybe on Holy Saturday you go for a walk in a park, eat a solemn meal together as a family, read some Scripture or watch an episode of The Chosen, something that keeps you in the Holy Saturday mystery. Then some followers of the Christ in cities and villages throughout the world will attend an Easter Vigil when the sun has completely set. The liturgy will include an Easter fire outside the church as a primordial way to light the Paschal candle (a symbol of Christ) which will then be brought into the dark church as a reminder that Christ is the light of the world. Then commences the seven Old Testament readings, plus the responsorial psalms for each, the New Testament epistle and a Gospel reading. These sacred readings lead the followers of the Christ, who are present in the pews, through salvation history up to the fulfillment of God’s covenant-the coming of His Son Jesus. In the biggest liturgy of the year, new followers of the Christ will be initiated through baptism and other sacraments and experience all the sights, sounds, music, and drama of welcoming our Lord at Easter.

Then on Easter Sunday, the world rejoices at the news of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has risen, He has truly risen! A time for the followers of the Christ to feast and celebrate that Jesus Christ the Lord has risen from the dead and now He invites all of His followers to join Him one day in the feast of Heaven. Until that day comes, though our 40-day Lenten pilgrimage is coming to an end, we continue to journey as pilgrims on this earth in the midst of a broken, dark, and fallen world, but with the hope and the light of the resurrected Christ always on the horizon. And so, next week is the holiest week of the year. Will it look differently for you and your loved ones or will it just be another ordinary week? Jesus invites us all into His journey; His passion, death, and resurrection. Come let us follow Him, as followers of the Christ.