This coming week is the holiest of days for us as Christians and Catholics. We are about to enter into Holy Week. We celebrate a whirlwind of stories, memories, prayers, sorrows and elation as we walk with Jesus and Mary through these coming days. This recounting of the climax of Jesus’ time among us in the body, is humanly moving even if taken only as history. But how much more it should move our souls to recall that Christ went through all of this for each of us. We should seek that very personal spiritual connection to Christ during this week.
Consider, for example, Palm Sunday. We will begin Mass on Sunday with a special reading of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, just days before the crucifixion. As we read, don’t we feel that hint of shame shared with the crowd that cheered our Lord, only to abandon Him later? Can’t we imagine that Jesus knew the fickleness of the masses He was riding among, just as he knows the weakness of our own hearts? “Father, forgive them.”
On Holy Thursday, we will begin the morning with the Chrism Mass. The oils to be used for sacraments in parishes throughout the year will be blessed and distributed. As well, our priests will renew the promises of their ordination.
Then in the evening we will join Christ for the Last Supper. Again, we cannot allow ourselves only to remember the story of that night. We need to accompany Jesus personally. Jesus did not simply have a farewell meal with His closest friends. He celebrated the first Mass, the very same reality of the Mass that we celebrate each day and each Sunday.
In doing so, Jesus instituted the priesthood and the Eucharist, His body and blood being offered to the Father for our sins. We might get the impression from the Gospels that at that moment the Apostles didn’t fully appreciate what was happening. So many today don’t value the priesthood, don’t come to Mass, or come only once in a while, or casually receive the Eucharist which is still Christ’s body and blood. Can we do more to love the gift of the priest and the Mass? Can we love the Eucharist more deeply? “Father forgive them.”
The Blessed Sacrament is typically available for prayers and visits after the Holy Thursday Mass. It is a chance to join Peter, James and John in their vigil with the Lord in the garden, praying in His human agony and fear. But they fall asleep. Can we better stand with Jesus, especially in our families and in our modern societal pressures? “Father, forgive them.”
On Good Friday, we gather to celebrate the somber and even stark remembrance of that great but terrible day, when Jesus went to the cross. So that we don’t forget, each church has a crucifix visibly displayed.
Jesus, after a night of suffering is unjustly condemned. In His weakness, He is made to carry His cross and our sins. Like a distorted sporting event, the crowd seems to go along, even to call for the terrible spectacle. Are we willing to step forward, to speak up, and to do what is right when no one else will?
Jesus hangs on the cross for three long hours, culminating hours of suffering. And yet, He does not complain. Even more, He does not lash out. He is mocked by some, ignored by others. Jesus, even in His dying hours, is taunted by those who ask Him for a sign that gives Him the right to tell us how to live, how to act, how to pray. That is when we hear those words that should shame our hearts, but at the same time give us our greatest hope. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
The beauty of Holy Week is that it does not lead us to unresolvable feelings of sinfulness and guilt. Instead, it reminds us of the depth of goodness that we are called to in God’s love and friendship. We are reminded as well of the ugliness and distortion of our sins.
But above all, we are reminded that the story of the world, of Jesus, of our Catholic faith, is one of mercy. This is what Pope Francis continually reminds us isn’t it? If we turn to Jesus, repenting and seeking forgiveness, those words from the cross are what awaits us and every sinner.
“Father, forgive them.”