Pope Francis opened Holy Week celebrations the Palm Sunday ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica. “For the second time we are living in the context of the pandemic. “Last year we were more shocked, this year we are more tried, and the economic crisis has become heavier,” he said after reciting the Angelus at the end Read more
In the Pope’s Holy Week message, Francis reaches out to those whose lives have changed most because of COVID-19. In a video message, he speaks of the difficulties and suffering these weeks have brought many people, for those with sick people at home and those who are in mourning. “I can imagine you in your Read more
The Vatican department for liturgy published guidelines Friday for bishops and priests on the celebration of Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter liturgies during the coronavirus pandemic. The document recommends that bishops postpone those liturgies which may be postponed. It also indicates how priests and bishops can offer those celebrations which cannot be moved, such Read more
Is Holy Week really worth the effort? If you talk to pastors, liturgists, choir directors, leaders of RCIA, etc., Holy Week is a time of frenetic activity, the culmination of much planning and lack of planning, and somehow—at least sometimes—inspiring. And then…? Well, a few weeks of lilies and extra “Alleluias!” and then back to Read more
For 1.2 billion Catholics around the world, this week marks the single most important week of the year: Holy Week. Holy Week – which culminates with Easter Sunday – enters into the heart and soul of Christianity, which is the death and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth two thousand years ago. As Fr. Robert Barron Read more
Restrictions imposed by the Israeli government are preventing Christians from worshipping freely in the Holy Land this Holy Week. Yusef Daher, secretary-general of the Jerusalem Interchurch Center, said the network of Israeli police barriers disrupt the flow and number of people who are able to reach the church of the Holy Sepulchre for Good Friday Read more
The Cross is the great paradox of Christianity. More than a few people have asked me over the years why the Catholic Church focuses so prominently and persistently on the Crucifix. One inquirer even suggested that the Crucifix hanging above the Altar is too intense a reminder of the sorrow in the world and that Read more
We are people of the Way, an ancient term for the first Christians which is found in the Acts of the Apostles. Jesus showed us that way throughout his whole life on earth, but this way becomes particularly clear and calls to us most profoundly in the events of Holy Week, not only by Jesus’s Read more
Holy Week and Easter has just been observed right around the world. The Atlantic has posted a picture gallery of 38 images depicting the different ways Easter has been observed. “Families attended church services, hooded penitents took part in processions, and children hunted for Easter eggs. In Catholic passion plays, participants depicted Jesus’ trial and Read more
President Obama hosted his third annual Easter prayer breakfast at the White House on Wednesday (April 4), saying that Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice during Holy Week puts the travails of his own life in perspective.
His five-minute mini-sermon provoked sympathetic laughter from the audience of about 150 clergy and other guests when he talked of the burdens of the presidency.
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