The Dispatch: More from CWR...

Along the route of Holy Week

This coming week the Church invites us to relive the events of our salvation, not as bystanders, but as active participants.

Detail from "Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem" (mid-19th century) by Félix Louis Leullier (WikiArt.org)

Bystanders, some named and others in groups, feature prominently in the drama of Holy Week. The enthusiasm of an unnamed crowd made Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem a triumphant one. To the ensuing commotion, Jerusalem’s inhabitants—the first group of bystanders—“stirred, saying, ‘Who is this?’” (Matt 21:10).

After the Last Supper, another group of bystanders, servants and soldiers in the high priest’s courtyard, “made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves” (John 18:18). Two of them accused Peter of being Jesus’ disciple, which he flatly denied.

The following day, as the Sanhedrin induced Pilate to execute Jesus, a “crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he was wont to do for them” (Mark 15:8). Then, as Jesus took up His cross to stagger to Calvary, “there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him” (Luke 23:27). Along the way one bystander, Veronica, stepped forward to dry His holy face. Another was conscripted into what, at that moment, had to seem like the most odious and shameful of tasks: to aid a condemned criminal by carrying His instrument of torture. So did Simon of Cyrene become history’s most famous bystander.

With another Holy Week upon us, it is not difficult to imagine ourselves among the bystanders, for better or worse. We can be stirred by the drama of events, or perhaps even sparked into acts of devotion or charity. Or, equally possible, we can wonder complacently about the whole event, and perhaps even about Jesus Himself. We can look the other way as Christ passes by, deny Him by our sins, and refuse to carry our own crosses.

This coming week the Church invites us to relive the events of our salvation, not as bystanders, but as active participants. Doing so requires effort and sacrifice on our parts. It would be easier to stay home all of Holy Week—our presence at the Triduum liturgies is not required—and resurface on Easter Sunday, as if we were climbing out of a spiritual tomb, one that we created for ourselves through indifference. From here it may only be a few dangerous steps from being a bystander to passing on from Christ entirely.

Whether we be willing volunteers like Veronica, or forced marchers like Simon, the challenge for us is to enter the Holy Week drama ourselves. Veronica and Simon’s lives were changed forever by the tiny roles they played in Christ’s passion. The same can happen for us if we make the effort to meet Christ on the Via Dolorosa.

Palm Sunday’s Mass is designed to make us participants in the holy action. We take up palm branches as fellow members of the jubilant crowd hailing the King’s entrance into Jerusalem. There is even a rite of procession of the faithful, palm branches in hand, at the Mass’s beginning, though it is seldom done. Later, as the Gospel narrative of our Lord’s passion is read, we, as the voice of the crowd before Pilate, admit that we are the cause of His death: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Attending the three liturgies of the Triduum—Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday—then brings us to the heart of the mystery of salvation. At the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, we are transported to the Upper Room to sit among the apostles as Christ institutes the priesthood and the Eucharist: “This is my body given for you. Do this in memory of me.”

At the end of this Mass, there is a procession of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament around the church as the Pange Lingua is solemnly chanted. Here we imitate the apostles, who, at the Last Supper’s end, “when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” together with Jesus (Matt 26:30). Once the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament is placed on a side altar decorated with flowers, we are in Gethsemane with Him: “Sit here, while I go over there and pray” (Matt 26:36). We are invited to remain there in prayer with Him as the night continues. “So, you could not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt 26:41).

When we rise Good Friday morning, we know that our Lord is on trial, subjected to mocking, jeering, spitting, and scourging. Our churches are stripped of all flowers and decorations in mourning. Powerfully, the tabernacle door is left open, with nothing within it, a stunning declaration that “they have taken away my Lord” (John 20:13).

At 3:00 p.m., in sorrow for the death of Christ, the Good Friday liturgy begins in every church throughout the world. This is the only day of the year that the sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated at the altar—we have lived this same sacrifice on Calvary historically instead.

If there is any day of the year to take a half-day from work, it is Good Friday. In the evening, it is fitting to keep the televisions, radios, and computers off and allow silence to fill our homes. This day is not business as usual. It is a day of sorrow, for each of us are responsible for our Lord’s fate by our sins.

Holy Saturday is a day of transition. Our Lord’s body rests in the tomb. It is important for us to take some time to sit by the large stone rolled in front of it. The tabernacle remains empty, door open. In the stillness of the day, before beginning our Easter preparations, we should offer our thanks to our Lord for what He endured for us the day before.

Holy Saturday night brings, as St. Augustine called it, “the mother of all vigils,” as we prayerfully await our Lord’s triumph over the grave. Our sadness has turned to joy. And the more we participate in the Holy Week celebrations, the greater will be this joy.


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


About David G. Bonagura, Jr. 40 Articles
David G. Bonagura, Jr. is an adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s Seminary and Catholic Distance University. He is the 2023-2024 Cardinal Newman Society Fellow for Eucharistic Education. He is the author of Steadfast in Faith: Catholicism and the Challenges of Secularism. and Staying with the Catholic Church: Trusting God's Plan of Salvation, and the translator of Jerome’s Tears: Letters to Friends in Mourning.

5 Comments

  1. Professor Bonagura is INFALLIBLY correct, except for today: The Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday is borne in the ciborium, not a monstrance. Even Homer nods!

  2. Perfect timing for an annual refresher on the proper and right way to spend this Holy Week. Like the author said, we are not required to attend any of these Triduum liturgies, but for anyone who has attended in years past, it is most valuable, edifying and holy for us to be present. So, we should take the time and experience it all. Thanks for such a reasoned approach to being faithful to Jesus in our walk with him this Holy Week into Easter Sunday.

  3. Another aspect of participation is the fasting and abstinence on Good Friday, and optionally (but laudably) on Holy Saturday as well. God made our senses for external experiences of faith, but the interior is important too.

  4. Nor is the Triune Lord and Lamb placed on the Altar, but is reserved!

    Paschalis Sollemnitatis 54-55:

    54. After the postcommunion prayer, the procession forms with the crossbearer at its head. The Blessed Sacrament, accompanied by lighted candles and incense, is carried through the church to the place of reservation, to the singing of the hymn “Pange lingua” or some other eucharistic song. [60] This rite of transfer of the Blessed Sacrament may not be carried out if the liturgy of the Lord’s passion will not be celebrated in that same church on the following day. [61]

    55. The Blessed Sacrament should be reserved in a closed tabernacle or pyx. Under no circumstances may it be exposed in a monstrance.

    The place where the tabernacle or pyx is situated must not be made to resemble a tomb, and the expression tomb is to be avoided: for the chapel of repose is not prepared so as to represent the Lord’s burial but for the custody of the eucharistic bread that will be distributed in communion on Good Friday.

  5. Passover Mass has always been very memorable for me, starting on Palm Sunday. There are still many churches in Indonesia who carry out processions around the church building while the people carry palm leaves. Holy Thursday Mass ended with a prayer, praying in front of the Most Holy Sacrament in the monstrance. Friday morning there was a via dolorosa procession. Until Easter Sunday Mass, after Mass there is usually an Easter party for the children. Now everything is gone because of the useless covid restrictions rules. I hope that the Catholic Church around the world dares to oppose the COVID-19 restrictions, which we all know are completely useless.

1 Trackback / Pingback

  1. Along the route of Holy Week – Via Nova Media

Leave a Reply to father peter stravinskas Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*