The Great Week and the Mass

The Week of Weeks is almost upon us.  We call it Holy Week because it presents to us the sanctifying events of Jesus’ undying love for all people.  Our Eastern Rite brothers and sisters call it the Great Week because it is the greatest week in the Church’s calendar.  It begins with Palm Sunday and brings us through the last days of the life of Our Lord commemorating His Passion and His Death culminating with His Resurrection on Easter.

So, how do we enter into this “Week of Weeks”?  Well, first we must understand that we should  NOT approach Holy Week with the attitude that it is simply remembering events that happened in the distant past. You know, the “over and done” or “it’s a thing of the past” mentality. No, Holy Week is a much deeper reality, a different kind of remembering.  It is a remembering that places the very mystery of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection before us.  It is about Jesus making Himself really present to us.  How so?

This type of remembering happens in and through the sacred liturgy of the Church and most especially by the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice at Mass. This remembering and making present happens at every Mass. We as Catholics believe that the liturgy does not simply recall the events of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, but makes them present again (Catechism of the Catholic Church , #1104). We could say that what happens at Mass and during Holy Week is not like looking at pictures of someone.  Instead, it is having that Person present right before us who is doing everything possible to show us His love.  And not only that, this Person, Jesus, is inviting us into this mystery of His love – into His suffering, death, and resurrection.  He is reaching out to draw us closer and closer to Him especially in Holy Communion.   We could say that at every Mass and, in a wonderful way during Holy Week, we are there in Jerusalem with the Lord in these mysteries!  We are not geographically present in Jerusalem, but we are really there spiritually. 

Yes, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us, “In the liturgical celebration of these events they becomes in a certain way present and real.” (#1363) 

Wow! That is a real game-changer!  Coming to Mass during Holy Week or any day of the year is not like coming to a movie, a play or watching something online.  Being present at the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass, we find ourselves in the very Presence of Jesus and drawn into the mysteries of His life, passion, death and resurrection.  That is why that whenever we can be, we should be in church for Mass.  Of course, that has been difficult for us to do during this time of pandemic.  We are so grateful to see that we are beginning to emerge from the necessary restrictions of the pandemic and we will come back to Mass rejoicing knowing that Jesus is waiting for us!

If we believe that Jesus is truly and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist, we can never approach Mass or the days of Holy Week again in the same way.  We know that coming to Mass is not like watching the films Ben Hur, King of Kings or QuoVadis, (those favorites always on TV around Easter time).  It is so much better!  Going to participate in the Masses of Holy Week (or any day) is all about being in the very Presence of Jesus and having the Paschal Mystery (Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection) right before us.  

And if that weren’t enough, Jesus gives a personal invitation to each one of us to enter into these mysteries.  Jesus says to each of us, “Come to Me and enter into the mysteries of My love for you!”  Coming to Mass, coming to Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist, coming to the dynamic outpouring of grace in the mysteries of His passion, death and resurrection fulfills the greatest need we have – to know that we are loved and that we can love in return.

Coming to Mass tells us that we belong to Christ who laid down His life for us, that we are sons and daughters of God the Father and members of Christ’s Body the Church.

With that in mind, as Holy Week is just a few days away, here are a few thoughts about coming to church and entering into the mysteries of Christ’s love for us present in those beautiful liturgies of the “Great Week.”

• When we enter into the proclamation of the Passion on Palm Sunday, we should call to mind that His sacred passion is made present to us by the sacrifice of Jesus made present on the altar.
• When we come to the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening, we should thank Him for the great sacraments of Holy Orders (the ordained priesthood) and the Holy Eucharist that He gave to the Church at the Last Supper. Jesus gave us these marvelous sacraments in light of what He would do for us the next day on the hill of Calvary.  These sacraments make possible His Eucharistic presence for us all!
• When at the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday after we have contemplated the heart wrenching suffering of Jesus in His passion and death on the cross, we should kneel in adoring love before the gift of very His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist that hung upon the cross.
• When we experience the glory of the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday night, we should confess that Christ, the Light of the World, is present to us in the words of Sacred Scripture and most especially in the Holy Eucharist as He comes to us by sacred mysteries of His passover from death to life celebrated on the altar. 
• When we come to Easter Sunday Mass and hear the Alleluias sung in praise of our Immortal Risen King, we should offer our adoration, love and praise to Jesus Christ.  We should profess our faith in Christ crucified and risen, substantially present in the Sacrament of the Altar.  In the celebration of the liturgy, His work of redemption draws us into the life of the Holy Trinity.

As a matter of fact, any time we come to Mass,  we are in the sacred Eucharistic Presence of the One who was pierced through for our sins on the cross and remains with us in His risen glory.  He immerses us in His unfailing love and boundless mercy poured out upon us.  How awesome is that?

So, dear friends, the question for us remains, “How can we ever see Holy Week or Mass again in the same way again?”  He has done it all for love of us and continues to make the mysteries of His love present to us in our churches. He has shown us that He has laid down His life and has taken it up again in order to give Himself to us!   Oh, yes, it is game-changer.  It is what draws me to Mass every day.  I believe that you would say the same.

Praise and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in our midst!

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh