Holy Week is the holiest week in the entire liturgical year. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and continues until Easter Sunday. It celebrates the Paschal Mystery, the passion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and his victorious resurrection, his triumph over sin and death and his glorification by his Father. Each day has its own peculiarities and symbolisms. While we enter the Holy Week, it is necessary to know the specialties of each day.
Palm-Passion Sunday
Palm Sunday is a commemoration of the dual feast, Palm Sunday Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem. It is the only Sunday when two separate gospels are read. The Passion is the longest Sunday gospel of the year. The Mass has two jarringly different moods, jubilation at the outset, then lamentation. Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem was exuberant as the people joyfully cheered Hosanna to greet him, but moments later all is somber, first with the Suffering Servant who gave his back to those who beat him (Is 50:6), then with Jesus who obediently accepted death on a cross (Phil 2:8), and then with the Passion and his agony, scourging, and crucifixion (Mt 26:14-27:66).
The primary symbol for Palm Sunday is palms. It is a sign that the people regarded Jesus as their victorious king.
There are many symbols for the Passion: a single cross, three crosses, the cup of suffering, thirty pieces of silver, a lantern, swords and clubs, a blade and a severed ear, handcuffs or shackles, a rooster crowing, a scourging pillar, whips, a crown of thorns, a reed, three nails, hammer and pincers, a rope, the INRI inscription, a sprig of hyssop, three dice, a tunic, a lance, a ladder, an urn for spices, a shroud or burial linens, and a skull.
The Easter Triduum is the most solemn moment of the church year. It lasts three days. It begins on Holy Thursday evening with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, continues with the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, and reaches its culmination with the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, and it ends with Evening Prayer late Easter Sunday afternoon.
These days are the “highest holy days” of our Christian faith. Ideally, Catholics would stream to their local churches to celebrate these sacred mysteries with their parish communities. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil are not holy days of obligation, but if there ever was a time that we should want to go to church, it would be for these three holy days. Triduum is the moment to place other things on hold while our faith gets top priority.
With the arrival of Holy Thursday, the forty days of Lent and its discipline are over. Those days are something to give up, add extra prayers, do good deeds, or share alms, the program is done, but one must not relax too quickly. As soon as the forty-day Lenten fast ends, a new three-day fast begins, The Triduum Fast is a period of even more intense self-denial in immediate preparation for the greatest feast of all, Easter. It is customary to extend the Lenten discipline by three additional days.
Many faithful involves a spiritual fast, Good Friday from the Mass, but with the reception of the Eucharist, and Holy Saturday, the deepest fast of all, when not only is there no Mass, it is the only day that the Church foregoes reception of the Eucharist.
Holy Thursday
The Easter Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The Mass recounts the establishment of the Jewish feast of Passover; and it commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priesthood, and the foot washing. John’s placement of the foot washing where the other evangelists place the Last Supper conveys his belief that the real presence of Christ is found not only in the Eucharist but in service. Jesus gave us his mandate: “You ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example. As I have done, so you should also do” (Jn 13:14,15). Jesus is made present when disciples put aside their prideful aspirations, humble themselves, and serve one another, even to the point of doing a menial task joyfully.
Good Friday
The celebration of the Lord’s Passion is a somber liturgy with three major parts: the proclamation of the Passion, the veneration of the Cross, and the reception of Holy Communion. In addition, there is an extended set of General Intercessions with ten petitions for some of the most important concerns for the Church and the world.
The symbol of Good Friday is the crucifix, a cross with a corpus or body of the crucified Jesus. Other artistic forms of the cross are also commonly used. For the symbols of the Passion, see Passion Sunday above.
The Easter Vigil
Weeks of fasting and self-denial are directed toward the highest point of the church year, the Easter Vigil, the feast of the resurrection. It ranks first because our entire faith hinges on it. As Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain” (1 Cor 15:17). But the pillar of our faith is that “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:20), and in this firm conviction the Church rejoices with all of the energy it can muster: Alleluia! The Easter Vigil begins with the Service of Light, the lighting of the Easter Candle and the singing of the Easter Proclamation, the Exsultet. Then after an extended Liturgy of the Word, the Vigil continues with the Liturgy of Baptism during which the Litany of Saints is sung, the water of the font is blessed, baptismal promises are made, the candidates are baptized, and for the adults, confirmation is received. The Vigil concludes with the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the first Holy Communion for the newly initiated members.
The primary symbol of the Vigil is the Easter Candle, also known as the Paschal or Christ Candle, as well as the symbols for baptism: water, a seashell, the font, oil, the white baptismal garment, the baptismal candle, a dove, and three interlocking fish which represent the Trinitarian formula.
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday is the daytime celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord. The congregation is jubilant over the risen Christ and the triumph of his most holy Cross. The church is festively decorated. The vestments are white and gold. The Glory to God and the Alleluia are restored. The Creed is replaced with the renewal of baptismal promises, followed by a sprinkling rite.
Easter symbols include the Easter Cross, a plain cross without a corpus draped in flowing white or gold fabrics; three empty crosses; lilies; the palm of victory; an empty tomb; an empty sarcophagus; an empty casket; a pile of burial wrapping; the hand of God; the morning sun; a butterfly; a cracked Easter egg; a trumpet; a Phoenix; pomegranates; a peacock; and the Easter Candle.
(This article is an adaptation and editing of Rev. Michael Van Sloun’s “What is ‘Holy Week’ and What should Christians do to properly recognize and participate in it?”)