This Sunday, we begin the most solemn week of the Church’s year as we prepare to celebrate the central mysteries of our Faith. Holy Week , The Catechism of The Catholic Church tells us “marks the Church’s annual celebration of the events of Christ’s Passion, death and Resurrection.”
Why are these holy days so important? The answer to this question will help us to understand why our participation in the Church’s Holy Week liturgies is central to our following of Christ.
The Catechism explains that The Paschal Mystery is “Christ’s work of redemption accomplished principally by His Passion, death, Resurrection and glorious Ascension, whereby dying He destroyed our death, rising He restored our life.” The Catechism goes on to say that “The Paschal Mystery is celebrated and made present in the liturgy of the Church, and its saving effects are communicated through the sacraments.”
To simplify what The Catechism teaches us, the Church’s celebration of Holy Week is it’s celebration of Jesus redeeming us from sin. The events of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, made present to us through the liturgies of Holy Week, are the means by which the Paschal Mystery was accomplished. Our participation in the Church’s Holy Week liturgies brings us closer to Christ and gives us a deeper appreciation of His sacrifice for us. Through these liturgies, we also receive sacramental grace which deepens our faith and strengthens our friendship with the Lord.
As we celebrate Palm Sunday, let us pause to reflect upon the love of Christ shown to us through His Passion, death and Resurrection. It is this love which led Jesus to freely embrace His sufferings, in accordance with the Father’s will, to save us. May we open ourselves more fully to this great love, with increased prayer, as we eagerly participate in Holy Week this year.