Catholic Things: Holy Week

Because not all readers of this little blog are Catholics, I have decided to do a recurring series of posts called “Catholic Things.” I'll use these posts to explain various aspects of Catholic tradition, especially our calendar. I hope they are accurate and illuminating. To my fellow Catholics: if I make any mistakes, call me out on it!

Holy Week Procession in Lima
Source

Today began the 8 day period of Holy Week. Hallmark may have made Christmas out to be the biggest season of the year, but in Catholic tradition, Holy Week is where it's at. This is the week that celebrates Jesus's death and resurrection. It is the holiest week of the year, and therefore involves the most church services. Here's what Holy Week looks like.

Palm Sunday – The day that Jesus arrives in Jerusalem (the holy city of Israel) and is greeted by crowds singing and waving palm branches. Sunday mass on Palm Sunday is longer and more ornate. People wave palms and sing during the beginning of mass. Many parishes also do a procession to the church from a nearby location.

Holy Thursday – The celebration of the last supper. This is when Jesus institutes the tradition of the Eucharist (the bread and wine that Catholics consume at each mass). It is also the night that Jesus is betrayed and captured.

Good Friday – This ironically named day is the day that Jesus was crucified and died. There are no masses on Good Friday. This is because Mass is a celebration. Instead we hold services.* Many parishes do Stations of the Cross in addition to the Good Friday Service.

Holy Saturday – This is the night of nights. The Easter Vigil Mass, held in the evening, celebrates the resurrection. Generally it is a candlelit mass. It's long, but that makes sense since it's the highest mass of the year.

Easter Sunday – This is the day of celebration of the Risen Christ. It's a joyful mass and a joyful day. The traditional Easter dinner (not a part of church celebration) in the US is lamb (because Jesus is called the lamb of God).

Holy Week is a huge extravaganza here in Andahuaylillas. Just look at this mass schedule:

Day	Time	Event
Palm Sunday	9:00 AM	Procession
	10:30 AM	Mass
Holy Monday	9:00 AM	Mass
	5:00 PM	Procession
Holy Tuesday	8:00 AM	Mass
Holy Wednesday	6:00 PM	Procession
	7:00 PM	Mass
Holy Thursday	3:00 PM-5:00 PM	Confession
	6:00 PM	Mass
	7:00 -10:00 PM	Adoration
Good Friday	4:00 PM	Procession
Easter Sunday	4:00 AM	Mass
	10:30 AM	Mass

Unfortunately, my internet situation and the busy mass schedule will make it impossible to show you day by day how the people celebrate. I promise to take lots of pictures which I'll share in the next week or two. As we begin this Holy Week, I pray that is may be a time of spiritual re-energizing for my fellow Christians and that we may be inspired by the intensity of the week to be better followers of Christ.