The Holy Week in Catholic Tradition

The inculturation of the Catholic faith in local cultures

The days of the Holy Week

• Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday - The modern name for Palm
  Sunday is Passion Sunday. It is traditionally called Palm Sunday
  because the readings of this Sunday present Jesus' entry into
  Jerusalem and being hailed and greeted by the people waving
  palms as He enters Jerusalem riding a donkey. In the Eucharistic
  liturgy or the Holy Mass, this same gesture is done traditionally
  within the celebration. Now however, it is done either before or
  after the Mass. People bring palms to the Church and then before
  or after the celebration of the Mass, the palms are blessed by
  the priest. These palms are then brought by the people back to
  their homes.



• Holy Monday - The theme of Holy Monday's readings is
  servanthood. The gospel presents two contrasting images of
  servanthood: a woman who washed Jesus' feet contritely with her
  hair and Judas, one of the apostles, who betrayed Jesus.
  We are called to reflect not so much as to why one was moved
  to contrition and a complete return to God and His service,
  and the other to betrayal, but we are called to reflect more
  deeply in our own selves - what is really in our hearts.
  How is my heart set out to be? Is is close to the servant
  heart of Jesus?



• Holy Tuesday - The story continues and we see in the
  gospel the treachery of Judas. First, Jesus prepares His
  disciples of the things to come. Then the disciples are
  perturbed because Jesus tells them of one who is to betray
  Him. It is the one [Judas] whom Jesus will give the morsel
  after He dipped it who will be the one to betray Him. After
  Judas received the morsel, he left. Then Jesus told His
  disciples that they cannot go where He is going. Peter
  exclaimed, "I will lay down my life for You!" Jesus replied
  that the cock will not crow after Peter denied Him three times.



• Spy Wednesday or Holy Wednesday - It is here that we
  see Judas going to the chief priests of Israel to sell
  Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. As Judas arranges
  for with the Pharisees, Jesus and his other disciples
  now go to a place where to prepare and to celebrate the
  feast of the Passover. As evening draws on and they
  are eating the Passover, Jesus tells them that one of
  the apostles will betray Him. They start to ask Him,
  "surely, it is not I, Lord?" This time, Judas also asks
  the question to Jesus.



• Holy Thursday - This is composed of the Chrism Mass
  in the morning. This is a Mass celebrated for all the
  priests of the diocese. It is where the priests renew
  their vows to the priesthood. Then follows the start
  of the Easter Triduum. In the evening is the Mass of
  the Lord's Supper. The Mass commemorates the Last Supper
  which the Lord celebrated with His apostles. It also
  commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist. At
  the end of the Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is processed
  around the church and placed in an altar of repose. [The
  tabernacle is left empty before the beginning of the
  Mass.] After the Blessed Sacrament is left for adoration,
  the people take turns in prayer before the Blessed
  Sacrament. The vigil may take as long as midnight
  depending on the practices of the local church.



• Good Friday - The celebration of the Lord's Passion
  is a very solemn celebration. Music is downplayed,
  very low key and provides an ambience of deep solemnity.
  The entrance procession is silent and the priest prostrates
  himself at the altar while all the congregation kneel down
  in silence, deep prayer and respect. The special moments
  of the celebration of the Lord's Passion is the veneration
  of the Cross. A big crucifix is slowly unveiled three times,
  with the priest intoning the words of blessing and prayer.
  After the crucifix is brought to the altar, the people are
  then invited to venerate the cross by kissing it. After
  this, the celebration proceeds as usual but without the
  consecration part of the Mass. The hosts that were blessed
  and consecrated during the Mass of the Lord's Supper are
  taken and distributed to the ministers to give to the
  congregation.



• Black Saturday or Holy Saturday - People usually spend
  this day in prayer and adoration. Catholics visit churches
  where the Blessed Sacrament is placed in various altars of
  repose. Many families usually pray together and make the
  stations of the Cross as a spiritual practice and exercise
  for the Holy Week. It is only towards the evening of this
  day when people and the whole congregation gather again
  for the Easter vigil. The Easter vigil is a very elaborate and
  very rich celebration filled with many bright liturgical
  symbols. This is when people bring their candles and renew
  their baptismal promises together as one Church. All over
  the world, depending on the time zones, people are professing
  their faith in God as Father, Son and Spirit and denouncing
  Satan and His works.



• Easter Sunday - Though Easter vigil is the most elaborate
  of the Easter celebrations, the Easter Sunday Mass is still
  important and is also attended by the people. As is also
  done in the Easter vigil, there is a renewal of baptismal
  promises and the sprinkling of the baptismal water on the
  congregation by the priest-presider. Easter is the most
  important feast of the Christian tradition. Although
  Christmas is more popular because of the social and
  commercial contexts in which it is celebrated, it is really
  the Easter season that contains the essence of the Christian
  message.

The Easter season follows the Holy Week

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