By Andrew Junker | April 2, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

It might be the most famous week that’s ever passed.

Beginning with Jesus triumphantly entering Jerusalem to the cries of “Hosanna,” the seven or eight days that took place nearly 2,000 years ago also included His celebration of the Passover with His Apostles, His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, His passion and death, and, finally, His resurrection from the dead.

Read the story: Holy Week liturgies around the Diocese of Phoenix

In other words, it’s difficult to overstate Holy Week’s importance in the life of the Church.

“The reason it’s a holy week is because we’re entering into the recreation of the whole universe,” said Fr. John Muir, assistant director to the diocesan Office of Worship.

“The cross is God’s great judgment and restoration for the whole universe. It took a week for God to create the world and now it takes a week for God to recreate the world,” he said.

The recreation of the whole universe — Fr. Muir admitted that it’s a difficult concept to swallow, but if the faithful follow the thread out and use their Catholic imagination, the earth-shattering uniqueness of Holy Week can come into focus.

“The word ‘imagination’ is important, because most modern people have been trained to see the world as an uninteresting and unenchanted place. The world is a distant, endless chain of cause and effect,” he said. “That’s a misrepresentation of the universe.”

What is needed, perhaps, is a sacramental view of the world, Fr. Muir said, a view that shows God is present in the world today, and that, through a great mystery, people can in some way be present at the events of Jesus’ last week on earth.

“Pope Gregory the Great said we live now in the time of the dawn where light and darkness is intermingled. Holy Week is plunging into the dawn, the movement of Christ through the darkness to the light,” he said.

Catholics can see this in the way the week’s liturgies unfold.

On Palm Sunday, they receive palm branches, which recall the enthusiasm of the crowds at Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. On Holy Thursday, they can witness their parish priest washing the feet of 12 parishioners, and recall Christ’s instituting of the priesthood and the Eucharist.

After Holy Thursday Mass, the priest removes the Eucharist from the tabernacle and strips the altar. The Eucharist is reserved in a side chapel for adoration, re-imagining the time Jesus spent in Gethsemane praying.

On Good Friday, Mass isn’t celebrated. There’s a service for venerating the cross and listening to a Gospel account of Christ’s passion. The tabernacle light is blown out. Jesus is in the tomb.

Then, most dramatically, the Easter Vigil.

In a darkened church, a series of seven Old Testament readings recounts the Church’s salvation history from the creation of the world onward. Catholics hear about Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his own son, the Exodus and Isaiah’s prophecies of a savior.

At the end of the readings, the lights are put on, the choir sings the Gloria, and the church bells are rung.

It’s all a lot to take in, but Fr. Muir said with a little groundwork, attendance at Holy Week liturgies can be hugely beneficial to the spirit.

“The level of your preparation determines the level of your celebration. If people just have a normal week and then show up at the vigil, their participation might not be very fruitful,” he said.

New Catholics

There’s a group of people each year who are always prepared for the Easter Vigil Mass. They’re the candidates and catechumens who will enter the Church this year.

Sr. Marilyn Bever, CSA, runs the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults program at St. Louis the King Parish in Glendale. She’s seen the profound impact the Holy Week liturgies can have on those who are becoming full members of the Church.

“It is just that awareness of these rituals that they’ve never been aware of before,” she said. “Just to have the chance to discuss with them later about what the impact was is special.”

Her parish includes some of the candidates and catechumens throughout Holy Week, but especially during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, when the priest washes the feet of a couple RCIA members.

But preparation for Holy Week shouldn’t just belong to those entering the Church. It’s an important aspect for all Catholics, no matter their age, said Fr. Muir.

“Try to teach the liturgy to your kids. It’s really important to have family traditions outside of church, because that stuff reinforces what’s happening during Holy Week,” he said.

Family traditions

Marci Gilligan knows that well. She’s a home-schooling mother of seven who attends Mass at St. Maria Goretti Parish in Scottsdale. Because she teaches her own children — who range in ages from 10 to six months old — they have plenty of time to do Lenten and Holy Week projects.

“One thing the kids always like to do is take an old cardboard box and fill it with sticks and stones and write on index cards the sacrifice that we’re trying to make,” she said.

Gilligan then places that box in the garage until Easter Sunday. When her children wake up, they find the tomb-like box utterly transformed. The sticks and stones have been replaced by flowers and the index cards now read, “Alleluia.”

Gilligan is also a convert to the faith from Judaism, which brings her a unique perspective during Holy Week. This year, she’ll be able to celebrate a Seder meal with her son at his Catechesis of the Good Shepherd class.

“It’s exciting to share what I had growing up with the fullness of what the Church has. It wasn’t until I became Catholic and went through the triduum that I really could understand what I did as a child with my family at the synagogue,” Gilligan said.

“Now, the circle is complete, knowing that Jesus is our Savior. It brings it all together,” she said. “It’s special to be able to hand that on to the kids.”

It’s also a perfect example of what Holy Week can be, according to Fr. Muir — a time when Catholics are connected to events stretching back thousands of years, but which are also made present at every parish church.

“The reason it’s holy is not because we have more Masses or extra symbols,” Fr. Muir said. “It’s because God invites us in a privileged way outside of our own time.”