Holy Week is that time of the year when Catholics commemorate the passion and death of Jesus and celebrate his resurrection. Since it is also vacation time for most people, it is easy to forget that Holy Week is about prayer, devotions and penance, and not about going to the beach and partying all night.
Do you want to have a holy Holy Week? Your Semana Santa will just turn out to be any other week if you do not make a personal effort to sanctify it. So what should you do to make Holy Week truly holy? Aside from participating in Church liturgical services, I suggest the following activities. But of course, you can add your own suggestions to the list.
1. Some of our worst enemies are our own kin. Reach out to your difficult family members and do the Stations of the Cross and the visita iglesia with them.
2. Jesus loves everyone and befriends those who are condemned by others as sinners and outcasts. Remember the people you dislike or hate. Text, call or visit them and reconcile with them this Holy Week.
3. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. You can also “wash the feet” of others by doing acts of humble and loving service.
4. Give up something you don’t need or spend as much on your needy neighbors as you spend on hard drinks, cigarettes, and other unnecessary wants.
5. On Maundy Thursday, prepare a simple meal for your family and begin the meal with a shared prayer and a short remembrance of the Last Supper.
6. On Good Friday, spend a quite time before a crucifix. Reflect on the important choices you have made in the past. Get to know yourself better and ask: what changes do I need to make in order to foster a more intimate relationship with Christ?
7. On Black Saturday, make Easter presents for those who are close to your heart. Make something that will express to them that they are important and precious to you.
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Please know that this article was first posted here on 28 March 2007.
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenarpoetry/4185857039/
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On Good Friday… No TV, no radio, no cellphone, no internet. Disconnect from the world and reconnect with out Lord.
Unfortunately, I don’t get Holy Week off. However, growing up in a Fil-Am community, I remember we used to do these things during Holy Week:
1. We abstained from meat all week, and in addition, fasted on Friday.
2. We also prayed the Rosary, as well as the Stations of the Cross together every day.
3. On Good Friday, my brother and I were encouraged to sleep between noon and 3.00 pm. I don’t recall why, but when we got older, we stopped doing this. School and later, work, got in the way of this.
This isn’t specifically a Holy Week thing, but more of a Lenten activity – prepare a box filled with dry foodstuffs that will be enough to feed a family of four for two days. It was called “Project 5000,” named after Jesus being able to feed 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. It is a good reminder that there are others who are in need.