“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. Hosanna in the highest.”
We sing or say these words at every mass. This is the Sanctus, the joining of our prayer of Adoration with the hosts of angels in heaven. We kneel at the end of it. It comes just before the priest says the words that bring God down onto the altar, into the bread and wine to change them into God’s physical presence, the Body and Blood of Christ. We say “Holy, Holy, Holy” because God is coming.
Today begins Holy Week. Why call it Holy? Holy means set apart, different. God is set apart, different. This is the week we remember the greatness of God’s Love and Mercy for all. It is a week set apart.
How will you enter and walk through Holy Week? What will make this week different, set apart for you?
We are all made different each time we truly encounter Christ. We have many opportunities this week to encounter Christ: In the high Liturgies in church Sunday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and next Sunday; In other services—daily masses early in the week, a Tenebrae Service on Wednesday, Stations of the Cross; In celebration of new converts who enter the Church on Holy Saturday; In family activities of Easter eggs, Easter bread, special dinners, family get togethers.
Forgive the play on words, but this whole week is holy.
Jesus invites us to enter this week set apart as Holy Week with a heart set on, “Lord, let me walk with you.” Our Scriptures today are a portal that encourage us to walk the walk through Holy Week with Jesus himself.
Matthew 21:1-11 Enter In
There are three forms for the entrance on Palm Sunday. Whatever form you use, put yourself in Jerusalem. Put on the persona of a bystander or disciple and envision Jesus entering as the King he is. Sense excitement in the air. This is Jesus whom you have heard teach. You have talked to people who have been cured by him. You have seen him during the festivals before. You want to hear him teach again! Hosanna to the Son of David! All Glory, Laud, and Honor! Follow him into the city. Feel the joy! Here is your God who has come to save you and share his life with you forever. Enter in.
Isaiah 50:4-7 and Philippians 2:6-11 The Strong Christ
Both the first and second readings picture Jesus as our Savior. He has “a well-trained tongue.” He has not rebelled or nor will he turn back from this week. Even though the week includes great suffering and seeming destruction, his face is set like flint. “Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which above every other name.”
These Scriptures remind us of God’s love and goodness that form the foundation for everything that happens. Read the words of Isaiah or Philippians slowly. Let them be like the words of a loved parent or friend said just before you must do something difficult. They are words of reassurance to help us literally see the light at the end of the tunnel of darkness which is the Passion. Then talk to Jesus who faced this week with courage about anything and everything that troubles you. Let Jesus walk with you as you walk with him. Enter in.
Psalm 22 The Human Suffering Christ
The only words that Jesus says from the cross in Matthew’s Gospel come from Psalm 22. This is a psalm of great lament. The psalmist relies on God, but for a great while, it is as if God does not hear him. The psalm includes descriptions of what happened to Jesus that are prophesies: “they have pierced my hands and my feet,” “they mock me,” “for my vesture they cast lots.” It includes the cry of Jesus as he gave up his spirit, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Though a psalm of deep lament, like most of the lament psalms, Psalm 22 ends with great hope and trust in God. I encourage you to read the whole of Psalm 22 today. Read it and look at a crucifix. What prayer comes to you? Enter in.
Matthew 26:14-27:66 The Passion According to Matthew
The Passion accounts in Matthew and Mark are very similar. They are substantially different from the Passion in the Gospel of John which we will read and hear on Friday. In John’s Gospel, Jesus suffers, but he suffers with a clear sense of his victory over his opponents, over sin, and over death.
Matthew’s presentation of the Passion is more raw, blunt, and focused on the mainline story. Matthew wrote for a Jewish Christian audience, probably about 70 AD. At that time there was great conflict between Jews who had become Christian and those who remained in Judaism. Consequently, Matthew focuses on Jesus’ accusers and his trials. It also, perhaps more than any of the other Gospels, makes clear how Jesus fulfilled Hebrew prophet descriptions of the Messiah, how he fit into Jewish Law, and how the religious leaders of the day misjudged both Jesus and the Law.
What effect does the Gospel of Matthew today have on you? As it is read at mass, can you put yourself somewhere in the crowd? Enter in.
Hear or read the Passion Narrative of John on Friday. What effect does it have? Enter in to its story, too.
And Blessings for a Week Set Apart
May your week be a Holy Week, a time set apart to enter into the stories, the Mysteries, and the Love of God for you. Encounter Jesus, your Christ. Walk with him.
Prayer before a Crucifix (A Traditional Catholic Prayer)
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, while before Your face I humbly kneel and, with burning soul, pray and beseech You to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity; true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment. While I contemplate, with great love and tender pity, Your five most precious wounds, ponder over them within me and calling to mind the words which David, Your prophet, said to You, my Jesus: “They have pierced My hands and My feet, they have numbered all My bones.”
