{"id":1304,"date":"2013-03-20T09:31:06","date_gmt":"2013-03-20T05:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/?p=1304"},"modified":"2013-11-28T20:22:20","modified_gmt":"2013-11-28T16:22:20","slug":"the-days-of-holy-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/archives\/1304","title":{"rendered":"The Days of Holy Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"easter2013-a\"<\/a>Holy Week is the <\/span><\/span>special<\/span><\/span> week immediately preceding Easter or Resurrection Sunday.\u00a0 It is a time to commemorate the suffering (Passion) and death of Jesus through various observances and services of worship. In Catholic tradition, the conclusion to the week is called the Easter Triduum<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> The Easter Triduum begins Thursday evening of Holy Week with Eucharist and concludes with evening prayers Easter Sunday.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Palm Sunday\u00a0(or Passion Sunday)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Holy Week begins with the sixth Sunday in Lent.\u00a0 This Sunday observes the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem that was marked by the crowds who w<\/span><\/span>ere in Jerusalem for Passover waving palm branches and proclaiming him as the messianic king. The Gospels tell us that Jesus rode into the city on a donkey, enacting the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, and in so doing emphasized the humility that was to characterize the Kingdom he proclaimed. The irony of his acceptance as the new Davidic King (Mark 11:10). Sometimes this is accompanied by a processional into the church.\u00a0 In many churches, children are an integral part of this service since they enjoy processions and activity as a part of worship. This provides a good opportunity to involve them in the worship life of the community of Faith.<\/span><\/span>This Sunday is also known as\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Passion Sunday<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0to commemorate the beginning of Holy Week and Jesus\u2019 final agonizing journey to the cross.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"easter2013-b\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/strong>The Chrism Mass or <\/span><\/span>The consecration of <\/span><\/span>H<\/span><\/span>oly <\/span><\/span>O<\/span><\/span>il<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Maundy Thursday is usually the day on which the anoin<\/span><\/span>ting oil that are used in the Sacraments are consecrated. This is done at a special Chrism Mass. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"easter2013-c\"<\/a>Maundy\u00a0Thursday <\/span><\/span>or Holy Thursday<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

There are a variety of events that are clustered on this last day before Jesus was arrested that are commemorated in various ways in services of worship. These include the <\/span><\/span>l<\/span><\/span>ast meal together<\/span><\/span> called The Last Supper or <\/span><\/span>Passover meal, the institution of <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>Eucharist or Communion, Jesus washing the disciples\u2019 feet as a sign of servanthood<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> Jesus praying in Gethsemane and the betrayal by Judas. Most liturgies, however, focus on the meal and communion as a way to commemorate this day.<\/span><\/span>However, the Eucharist of Maundy Thursday is especially <\/span><\/span>connected<\/span><\/span> to the theme of <\/span><\/span>\u2018Remembrance\u2019<\/span><\/span>. As Jesus and his disciples followed the instructions in the Torah to remember God\u2019s acts of deliverance in their history as they shared the Passover meal together, so Jesus calls us to remember<\/span><\/span> or to enact or to commemorate<\/span><\/span> the new act of deliverance in our history that unfolds on these last days of Holy week<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Good\u00a0Friday or Holy Friday<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"easter2013-d\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/strong>Friday of Holy Week has been traditionally been called Good Friday or Holy Friday. On this day, the church commemorates Jesus\u2019 arrest, his trial, crucifixion and suffering, death, and burial. <\/span><\/span>The Church<\/span><\/span> use<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Stations of the Cross<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/a>as part of the Good Friday Service. The traditional Catholic service for Good Friday was held in mid-afternoon to correspond to the final words of Jesus from the cross (around 3 PM, Matt 27:46-50). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span><\/span>he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Seven Last Words of Jesus<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0as recorded in the Gospel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Father, forgive them . . . (Luke 23:34)
\nThis day you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)
\nWoman, behold your son . . .(John 19:26-27)
\nMy God, my God . . . (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)
\nI thirst.\u00a0 (John 19:28)
\nIt is finished! (John 19:30)
\nFather into your hands . . . (Luke 23:46)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Good Friday is not a day of celebration but of mourning, both for the death of Jesus and for the sins of the world that his death represents. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Holy\u00a0Saturday<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"easter2013-d2\"<\/a>This day Jesus rested in the tomb. In the first three Gospel accounts this was the Jewish Sabbath<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> It is traditionally a day of quiet meditation as Christians contemplate the darkness of a world without a future and without hope apart from God and his grace<\/span><\/span>. It<\/span><\/span> is also a time to remember family and the faithful who have died as we await the resurrection, or to honour the martyrs who have given their lives for the cause of Christ in the world.\u00a0However it is observed, Holy Saturday has been a time of reflection and waiting, the time of weeping that lasts for the night while awaiting the joy that comes in the morning (Ps 30:5).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

T<\/span><\/span>he <\/span><\/span>Easter Vigil<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"easter2013-e\"<\/a>The Easter vigil service is the first Easter<\/span><\/a>\u00a0service, and takes place on the night of Holy Saturday. The idea behind the service is for faithful Christians to wait and watch, hopeful and confident that Christ will return at midnight. The Easter or Paschal candle is lit during this service. The service traditionally begins outside the church, where minister and faithful gather around a new fire. The service begins with words: May the light of Christ, rising in glory, banish all darkness from our hearts and minds. After being lit outside, the candle is carried into the church, where most of the faithful are waiting in darkness, which symbolises the darkness of Christ’s tomb. \"easter2013-f\"<\/a>The readings at the service tell of the creation of humanity, how humanity fell from grace, and was repeatedly rescued by God. The readings remind people of God’s promise to be with them always. After more prayers and readings, the candles held by the congregation are lit from the Paschal candle.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Easter Sunday<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"easter2013-g\"<\/a>On this greatest day of the year, all fasting and somber thoughts\u00a0are banished. As St. John Chrysostom announces in this famous\u00a0Easter sermon, all are invited to the feast: “Let all then enter\u00a0the joy of Our Lord!<\/span>…<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 <\/span><\/em>O Death, where is your sting?<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span>O Death, where is your victory?<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span>Christ is risen, and the demons are cast down.<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span>Christ is risen, and life is set free.<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span>Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of the dead.<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span>For Christ, having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits for those who sleep.<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span>to Him be glory and power forever and ever!<\/span><\/em>
\n<\/span>Amen. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!”<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holy Week is the special week immediately preceding Easter or Resurrection Sunday.\u00a0 It is a time to commemorate the suffering (Passion) and death of Jesus through various observances and services […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parish-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1304"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1470,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions\/1470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}