On Sunday, most of the world’s Christians will begin the
observance of Holy Week, the days leading up to the most important
of Christian holidays: Easter.
On Sunday, most of the world’s Christians will begin the observance of Holy Week, the days leading up to the most important of Christian holidays: Easter. (Eastern Orthodox believers, however, will mark this week next month because Easter falls on April 27 according to their ancient Julian calendar.) Each day of Holy Week has a special character because it represents events in the final week of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
The week starts out dramatically with “Palm” or “Passion” Sunday. This day commemorates Jesus’ “triumphal entry into Jerusalem.” The city was full of pilgrims who had come to celebrate the Jewish feast of Passover, and John’s Gospel tells of his being welcomed as a potential King of Israel.
Gilroy’s St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, 11 First St., will mark this day by presenting a traditional Passion Play at several Masses: Saturday at 5 p.m., Sunday at 8:15 and 11:30 a.m., and 5 p.m.
A group of 15 parish teens have been rehearsing through the weeks of Lent to present the Gospel account which previews the important events of the ensuing week. Accompanied by crosses and palm branches and in period costume, they will lead the congregation into the church. Instead of hearing a homily, the parishioners will watch these performers act out the entrance into Jerusalem, and the betrayal, arrest and crucifixion of Christ.
The story of Holy Week continues on Monday, which remembers Jesus’ famous run-in with the moneychangers in the Temple as recounted in Matthew’s Gospel.
Tuesday focuses on Jesus’ teaching in the Temple; later he stands on a hill above the city, lamenting its destruction.
The next day is sometimes called “Spy Wednesday” because it relates to the time when Judas Iscariot, the unfaithful disciple, agreed to betray Jesus to the Jewish authorities for 30 pieces of silver.
Holy Thursday marks the occasion when Jesus shared the ritual Jewish meal called the “Seder” with his followers, washing their feet to show his humble servant hood. This meal, the so-called “Last Supper,” is the precursor of the Holy Communion Service, a central sacrament in Christianity. Some congregations, like Gilroy’s St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, hold a Seder meal on this day in remembrance of that event.
The day is also sometimes called “Maundy Thursday,” from the Latin “mandatum novum” (new commandment). John’s Gospel quotes Jesus telling his disciples, “A new commandment I give you: Love one another.”
Friday is called, somewhat paradoxically, “Good Friday.” It commemorates his trial at the hands of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, crucifixion and burial in a borrowed tomb.
At 4:30 p.m. Friday, a group of young adults (Soldados de Cristo) of St. Mary Church will gather on the school’s athletic field to present “Via Crucis,” (the Way of the Cross), a reenactment of the Good Friday events. They will dramatize the narrative of this last day of Jesus’ human life, acting out the 14 incidents on his last journey from Pilate’s home to the execution (traditionally called the “Stations of the Cross”).
Holy Saturday (or Easter Even) focuses on the day Christ’s body lay in the tomb. According to the ancient statement of faith known as the Apostles’ Creed, “He descended into hell” during this time.
Many churches hold a special service on the evening of Holy Saturday, a uniquely reverent liturgy that can be considered the most important spiritual experience of the entire year, but that is the topic of next week’s column.
