Carpe diem is an old Roman expression frequently translated as “seize the day.” It reminds us to take advantage of the present moment and not to let opportunity pass us by. Whether an athlete in competition, an investor in the market, or a suitor in love, opportunities must be recognized and grasped, or they can pass away and be lost.
Holy Week is one such opportunity. It is the most important week of the Church’s year because it commemorates the most important events of history. The Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and our faithful acceptance of their graces, determine nothing short of our eternity. The events of Holy Week also most clearly and convincingly reveal the depth of God’s love for us. They remind us why we can always have hope, even when things seem definitively lost.
Holy Week is full of drama and insights into humanity. From Palm Sunday’s rousing “hosannas” at Christ's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, to Good Friday’s calls of "crucify him,” we see the fickle nature of our response to God. From Saint Peter's Holy Thursday pledge, "I will die for you," to his "I do not know the man" hours later, we see how we can weaken and waiver. We see the apostles falling asleep on Jesus in Gethsemane, fleeing from Him at His arrest, and, but for Mary, Saint John, and the Holy Women, abandoning Jesus on Good Friday.
Holy Week also reveals Christ’s love for us and His abandonment to the will of the Father for our salvation. In the face of betrayal, false accusation, and bitter abandonment, Jesus continues undeterred on to Calvary, the Cross, and His death. He does it out of love for each one of us who also can be fickle, weak, and wavering. Holy Week ends with Christ’s Resurrection, His triumph over sin, death, and evil, and His Easter greeting of “Peace be with you” to those who had wavered, fled, and abandoned Him.
For me, Holy Week is always a time of renewal in which my faith deepens and my appreciation of the extent of God’s love for me, and us all, becomes more apparent. At Christmas, we rightly reflect in wonder at God becoming man. During Holy Week, we are amazed at the mercy of God and His willingness for His Son to take on the price of our sins so that justice can be done and we can be saved.
We devote the current issue of the Four County Catholic to helping you appreciate the importance of the events that we commemorate in Holy Week, with reflections on the Chrism Mass and the Easter Triduum, an explanation of why Mass is not celebrated on Good Friday, a local OCIA conversion journey, and guidance to help families enter these sacred days more deeply.
I hope that these articles will not only be informative but that they will inspire you to participate in your parish's Holy Week services. For those of you who are homebound and unable to attend the liturgies in your parishes, I hope that you will be able to participate in the liturgies through television or online streaming.
I pray that all of us, opening up our hearts, minds and souls to God’s graces may deepen our appreciation of His love for us and that we may respond with a renewed faith in God, a greater hope in His promises and a deeper trust in the mercy of God who through it all and after it all, says to us, “Peace be with you.”
By Bishop Richard F. Reidy, the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Norwich
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