Holy Week – It’s the Most Sacred Time of the Year

Today, on Palm Sunday, we commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We have now entered the most sacred time of the entire liturgical year. As Holy Week progresses to its final days, the solemnity heightens. This week offers us a profound opportunity to reflect on the most important moments of Jesus’ earthly life leading to his passion, his death on the cross and his glorious resurrection. Through rich rituals and re-presentations we are drawn into the heart of the Christian story where we find God’s free gift of redemption for each one of us.

The most solemn part of this week is the Easter Triduum (meaning “three days”): Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday. Though three days chronologically, they form one liturgical celebration—the Paschal Mystery. You’ll notice this in the seamless flow of the liturgies: Holy Thursday has no formal dismissal, Good Friday begins and ends in silence, and Easter Vigil bursts forth from darkness into light. It’s a sacred trilogy, one great commemoration recounting Christ’s final days, ultimate sacrifice, and triumph over death.

At church, we often hear Jesus called the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, a title fulfilled at Easter. The Jewish Passover “Pasch”, commemorated God freeing the Israelites from slavery, with the blood of a spotless lamb saving them from death. This foreshadowed Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper, where He offered Himself as the true Paschal Lamb. On Calvary, He became the ultimate sacrifice to free us from sin. In the Holy Eucharist, we receive the body and blood of Christ, the Lamb who gave His life for our salvation.

The Paschal Mystery is therefore God’s plan of redemption for the fallen human race through the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is one marvellous event stretched across three days.

Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood. He washed His disciples’ feet as a sign of service and took bread and wine, saying, “Do this in memory of me.” Priests continue this sacred offering at every Mass using the words of Christ. The Holy Thursday Mass ends with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of repose, inviting us to prayer and adoration.

Good Friday marks Jesus’ crucifixion. The tabernacle is empty, the altar bare, and the statues covered. Jesus is gone. This powerful imagery reminds us that Good Friday is a solemn day of mourning and prayer. Fasting and abstaining from meat help us enter into the sacrifice of a God who gave everything for us. Join us for Stations of the Cross and the Veneration of the Cross at various locations as we reflect on this most sacred and
sorrowful day.

Holy Saturday is a day of silence and sorrow, as Christ lies in the tomb. There is no daytime Mass, and the faithful often continue their Good Friday fast. With Mary and the disciples, we remember the pain of His absence… until the Easter Vigil begins that evening. The Easter Vigil begins in complete darkness symbolising the tomb, and moves into the light with the blessing of the Easter fire and the Paschal Candle, signifying Jesus as the light of the world. It is a grand and solemn liturgy, often called the mother of all vigils. It includes extended Scripture readings, the baptism and confirmation of new members, and the first celebration of the Eucharist since Holy Thursday. Alleluia! Christ is risen! This is the day we’ve been waiting for! The forty days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during Lent have prepared our hearts to fully celebrate the completion of the Paschal Mystery, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Jesus’ power was so great that He destroyed even death itself, so that we might have eternal life.

I warmly encourage you to attend these liturgies. A time where Jesus most tangibly transforms our tribulation into triumph, our sadness into song, and most importantly death into life. The Sacred Triduum is a powerful journey that draws us into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Do come along and take part in commemorating the greatest story ever told, a beautiful three-day trilogy known as the Sacred Triduum.

Blessings, Fr Gerard