Holy Days, Holy Week

Mar 25

When I was growing up, there was a poster in our church that featured a large cross on a hill with the phrase: "Only one week in the whole calendar is called Holy." At the bottom of the poster were the dates and times for the Holy Week services and events. That poster and phrase have stuck with me for many years.

As I grew older and learned about Salesian Spirituality, this saying led me to reflect on the Salesian value and practice of seeing every day, every moment as "holy." St. Francis de Sales tells us that the sacred can be found in the ordinary moments of life and that all of us are called to be holy. If this is fully embraced, how can one week be set aside as more special than others?

The answer is in our history and tradition. From the first days of the Church, the early Christians honored the days before Easter as a sacred time of remembrance and sorrow. At the same time, the Church used these days to look forward to the victory of Easter Sunday. Some believers referred to this period as "Silent Week" or "Great Week." By the fourth century, the Western Rite of the Church settled on the phrase "Holy Week."

The week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday has been set apart to help Christians reflect on the transformative story of our faith. The observance of these days is a way to make a mini-retreat before the ’high holy days' of the Paschal Triduum and the celebration of the Easter mysteries.

St. Francis also recognized the need to set apart certain times of the year, the week, and the day to focus on our relationship with God. The Introduction to the Devout Life and the Spiritual Directory given to the Sisters of the Visitation give very specific directions and guidance on how to set apart certain periods of time for prayer, contemplation, and action.

In many ways, the themes of Holy Week - love, betrayal, loss, grief, and hope - are really a part of our everyday lives. If we see these themes in the light of the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord, we can see how every day can be transformed into an opportunity to "live Jesus" and to strive for holiness.

One contemporary Christian author calls us to see each day with "Easter eyes." While this phrase may be new, the concept is ancient. Christians have been called to live the Paschal Mystery since the days of the New Testament. Finding forgiveness and celebrating Resurrection moments in our ordinary lives is something practiced by centuries of saints, including Francis de Sales, and now can be practiced by each of us, every day, every week.