Holy Week

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER By

The Rev’d Canon Noel A. Burke, MA Rector of St. David’s Church And

Chairman of the Commission on Liturgy, Spirituality and Music Diocese of Barbados 1

Holy Week Holy Week is a very sacred time of the year. It is a period in which we commemorate and remember the final week of Jesus' life on this earth.

These are the days leading up to the great Paschal Feast.

The Lenten season of fast and self-denial is coming to an end so that this coming week is extremely important for all Christians.

The greatest focus of the week is the Passion (passage from this life to the Father) and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the events that led up to it.

Palm Sunday Historical documents, such as Egeria’s diary tell us that as early as the fourth century, the Church celebrated this as "Great Week" with deep solemnity.

It begins with Palm Sunday, which marks Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

The central feature of the service proper to this day, is the procession of palms.

The palms are blessed and are then borne in procession to the church or around the church in some cases, after which the Mass is celebrated.

The other notable and very ancient feature of the present Palm Sunday Mass is the dramatic reading of the Gospel of the Passion with participation by three readers with assistance also from the congregation itself.

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Paschal Triduum Especially important this week is the Easter or Paschal Triduum. This is the three days just before Easter.

Professor Patrick Regan tells us that in the early fourth century the Church’s annual celebration of the paschal mystery took the form of a festival lasting three days.

During this time frame, as Professor Regan correctly puts it, the church ritually articulates, appropriates and meditates the central event of the Gospel - Jesus path and passage from crucifixion to resurrection.

It is vital to understand the significance of these days in which over a three day period we celebrate the one event of Jesus’ return to the Father.

If we really take christianity seriously it would be hard to ignore the event that is central to our faith.

We have an obligation to participate in these rites in order that we may better understand the faith we hold so dear.

Chrism Mass One of the features of Holy week is the Chrism Mass, in which the bishop blesses oils that will be used during the year at the visitation of the sick and for the anointing of persons at baptism along with the consecration of chrism which the bishop uses at episcopal services such as confirmation and ordination.

At that Mass all the priests of the Diocese renew their sacred vows and concelebrate with the bishop.

The christian church teaches that at the Last Supper, Jesus not only instituted the Eucharist, but also inaugurated the sacred priesthood.

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Our current diocesan bishop holds this Mass on the Wednesday night of Holy Week to facilitate the preparation that is taking place in the various parishes on Maundy Thursday.

Maundy Thursday On Holy Thursday, we celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Last Supper, which He shared with His apostles on the night He was betrayed and arrested.

This is one of the most beautiful liturgies of the entire church year. In some churches the priest will wash the feet of persons, just as Jesus did. It must be noted that a morning mass in parishes is not allowed on this day.

When all persons have made their communion the sacrament that remains is transferred to the Lady Altar, the Altar of Repose and the main altar is stripped of all of its decorations and left bare.

This reflects the barrenness of the cross which we seek to ritualize.

Good Friday On Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion and death of our Lord, we have the veneration of the Cross.

A service is held from Midday until 3:00pm (the three hours in which the Gospel tells us that Jesus was on the cross).

As part of the Liturgy for Good Friday there are solemn Collects, the Veneration of the Cross and the Good Friday Communion.

There is no consecration of the Eucharist on this day, and so the Communion we make will be that from the night 4

before, which has been reserved in the tabernacle at the Lady Altar Holy Saturday On the evening of Holy Saturday there is the very important Paschal Vigil.

We keep watch for the expectant rising of Our Saviour. At this service which begins in darkness the Paschal Candle is lit and brought into the church. (the congregation is normally asked to bring a candle to church).

The Paschal Candle s placed in a prominent place in the sanctuary and lit at all liturgical services during the fifty days of Easter.

A number of lessons are read at the Vigil Mass tracing salvation history from creation to the resurrection of our Lord – the new creation. In Christ all things are made new.

In the early church persons who would have spent months of preparation were initiated, that is they received baptism (the water bath and Confirmation (the Laying-onof hands and made their communion for the first time.

In the vigil liturgy, the font is blessed and then the congregation is sprinkled with water from the font as a sign in memory of the fact that we have been born anew and share in the new life which comes to us through the water of baptism.

Easter The Vigil Mass ends in time that persons can get home and prepare for the Easter Mass on the following day, Easter Day, the queen of festivals.

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Professor Kevin Irwin is noted for saying that when we hear vigil it means attend mass the following day.

It must be recognized that Easter is not simply a day; but rather the first of fifty days leading the Feast of Pentecost, the Fiftieth Day, which includes the observance on the fortieth day – the Feast of the Ascension.

Conclusion In this one great observance made from Maundy Thursday to Easter we recognise Jesus’ tremendous sacrifice for us as he brings us daily from death to newness of life.

When we engage ourselves wholeheartedly in living the entire paschal cycle (Lent, Triduum and Easter's Fifty Days) we discover that it can change us forever. Our total outlook changes, if only we give ourselves the opportunity.

The Triduum is at the heart of the Easter season, it is an intense profound immersion in the fundamental mystery of what it is to be Christian.

During these days, we meditate on the suffering of Christ , who laid down his life for us so that we might rise with Him to newness of life.

Holy Week is a time to clear our schedules, so that we can truly be focussed on Jesus and what He has done and continues to do for us.

May God’s name always be praised. Amen

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