Holy Week

By: Nathan Sharum

Holy Week is the week before Easter Sunday. The Holy Week includes: Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday, through Wednesday; The previous list are some of the famous days around Easter. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He spent forty days in the desert. The forty-days in the desert resembles the amount of days the earth was flooded while Noah’s ark carried animals and the amount of years the Israelites were in the desert. Jesus did very memorable events during Holy Week.

First off, Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is when Jesus comes back into Jerusalem and there are palm leaves everywhere on the ground which many people raised in the air to create a festive atmosphere. Zechariah 9:9 states, “Exult greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! Behold: your king is coming to you, a just savior is he, Humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

When he walked closer and closer Jesus wept about how their peace had been hidden from their eyes and they had not realized that God’s coming to you, always. It also states in Philippians, “Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord.” Jesus knew that He was soon to die and He was sadly ready for it.

Holy Monday, a normal Monday to some but a very special Monday to us. Holy Monday is rarely noticed because of all of the other events around it. In Matthew and Luke it says Jesus cleared the temple on Palm Sunday. In the Gospel of Mark it says Holy Monday is the day that Jesus emptied the temple, controversial. In the Gospels they wrote about how Jesus often taught in the temple. Later religious leaders asked Him many questions. These questions were usually trying to trick Jesus with questions about marriage and authorities along with taxes. Holy Monday was over that night and then Holy Tuesday arrived.

Holy Tuesday, The third day in Holy Week. On Holy Tuesday, Jesus spoke about one of His memorable parables; the fig tree. The fig tree parable was about faith. Jesus spoke about when we may say that we are Catholic but on the inside we are not. In order to say that we are truly Catholic we need to be Catholic on the inside.

Jesus also did more cleansing of the temple on Holy Tuesday. Jesus knew that someone would betray Him and He knew these were His last days, and this, this is what He chose to do. As night grew, Holy Tuesday was over and Holy Wednesday was here.

Holy Wednesday, or others may know it as spy Wednesday. That would be the day when Judas made his final destination of betraying Jesus. Now why, why would a man who gave up everything and followed Jesus for three years choose to betray him? He went to the chief priests to make a deal and hand Jesus over for thirty silver coins. Obviously the plan had not been in action and he did it the next day. Even when Jesus gave the Bread of Life discourse the year before, He knew who would betray Him. He knew who believed Him and who did not, and He knew it would be on Holy Thursday.

Holy Thursday, the last supper and the day Judas would betray Him. Holy Thursday. On Holy Thursday the Sacrament of the Eucharist is made. This is done through Passover when Jesus turned bread and wine into His own body and blood. He said whoever shall betray me will get a dampened piece. So, when Judas received the dampened bread Jesus told him whatever he was doing, do it quickly. The next event was washing of the feet. This is when Jesus washes all of His disciples' feet. After that, He says to John, “As I have done for you, you should also do.” He then prays at the garden and gets arrested, for He shall be executed the next day.

Good Friday, the saddest day in the whole entire Catholic year. Good Friday is when Jesus carried His cross and died for our sins. Jesus carried the whole world on His shoulders and He was insulted physically and mentally. This was an act of love because God gave the world His only Son that we might be saved by faith in Him, and this culminated in Him being murdered on a cross. John was the only apostle there that witnessed the death of Jesus. All of the other apostles were in hiding. We have a quiet time where we are sad because in those hours Jesus was dying on the cross. Darkness rolled in as evil had no obstacles, but not for long.

At the end of Friday, Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb, so on Saturday we remember how Jesus' body was laying in the tomb. He is not burned like how some people were back then. Pontius Pilate released His body to Joseph of Arimathea, and His body was placed in his garden tomb. Jesus’ body was treated with reverence and the ladies were going to finish all of the work after the sabbath. Mary was a widow when Jesus died and Nazareth was ninety miles away. The action of Pontius Pilate, giving Jesus back from the cross, was rare. Usually they were thrown into a giant grave or left up there to be eaten by birds and wild dogs, and yet Pontius Pilate gave Jesus back to Joseph of Arimathea. The ladies would then see something amazing, or nothing (literally) the next day.

Easter Sunday, the most important day of the year. Jesus is then risen from the dead. His disciples run after to see Him. Jesus is truly risen from the dead. We most definitely should be happy because the man who died for us, giving us eternal life, has risen from the dead. By resurrecting from the dead, Jesus taught people more convincingly that He is the true Messiah and that He is the one that God sent for us. Jesus is the best living human being alive. We have to cherish this because He has no sin, never has and never will. Jesus is the true messiah and we have to live out what He taught us to do because He died for us; every single human being including you.

Let us continue His work and grow in our mind and convert others into this amazing religion because we are Catholic.

Links

Holy Wednesday

Holy Saturday