The Catholic Church celebrates during the Holy Week the mysteries of salvation accomplished by Christ in the last days of his earthly life. It began last Palm Sunday, with our Lord's messianic entry into Jerusalem, until his blessed Passion and glorious Resurrection.

The weekdays of this week are dedicated to the celebration of penance. The faithful are also encourage to reflect more deeply on the Passion of our Lord.

The last three days of Holy Week are called the Sacred Paschal Triduum, which begins on Holy Thursday.

Holy Thursday

In the Catholic Church, Holy Thursday (also known as Maundy Thursday) is the

day that we celebrate the Last Supper, at which Jesus instituted the Mass and the Sacrament of Holy Communion. 

During the Mass, the reenactment of the washing of the feet of the twelve disciples is done by the priest celebrant. The group of men whose feet are to be washed should, as much as possible, represent a cross-section of the local community.  The number is traditionally twelve, though there is no exact requirement. 

During the Offertory part of the Mass, the faithful are encouraged to offer gifts in cash or kind for the needy members of the community.

After the distribution of Communion, a ciborium with hosts for Communion on the following day (Good Friday) is left on the altar. Following the prayer after Communion, the Transfer of the Most Blessed Sacrament to the place of repose takes place. It is not allowed to expose the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance or even in a ciborium. The Blessed Sacrament is reposed. It is not allowed to repose the Blessed Sacrament outside the church.

When the celebration has ended, the altar is stripped privately. That means any crosses be covered with red or purple veil. Even lamps should not be lit before images of saints.

The faithful are encouraged to do the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during

the night, just as the disciples stayed with the Lord during his agony on the Mount of Olives before the betrayal of Judas.

For Filipinos, the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is done through the traditional "Visita Iglesia" by families or with group of friends or relatives.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Good Friday in the Catholic Church

Good Friday is the second day of our Triduum. It is the day on which we commemorate the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, the act that brought salvation to all.

             

   "It is accomplished," And bowing his head he gave up his spirit. 

               (Jn 19:30)
  

So today, the whole Church, stripped of its ornaments, the altar bare with no cloths, candles nor cross, and the door of the empty tabernacle stands open, mourns the death of our Savior.  

The organ music is silent from Holy Thursday until the Alleluia at the Easter Vigil, as well as bells and other instruments; the only music permitted during this period is unaccompanied chant.

The liturgy in the afternoon consists of three parts:

(a) The Liturgy of the Word

The priest and assisting ministers enter in complete silence, without any singing. They prostrate themselves for a few moments of silent prayer in front of the altar, signifying both the abasement of earthly man, and also the grief and sorrow of the Church.

The Passion account from the Gospel of John is read. (During Holy Week, the Passion is read three times: on Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday.)

(b)  Veneration of the Cross

A cross, either veiled or unveiled, is carried in procession through the Church, and

then venerated by the congregation. We reverently venerate and kiss the wooden cross on which hung the Savior of the world in order to honor the great sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for us.

Adoration or veneration of an image or representation of Christ's cross does not mean we are actually honoring the material image but rather what it represents. In kneeling before the crucifix and kissing it we are paying the highest honor to our Lord's cross as the instrument of our salvation. Because the Cross is inseparable from His sacrifice; in reverencing His Cross we are, in effect, adoring Christ.

Thus we affirm: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee, because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has redeemed the world.

(c) Holy Communion

The altar is covered with cloth for the Holy Communion part and the ciboria containing the Blessed Sacrament consecrated on Holy Thursday are brought to the altar from the place of reposition.

The Our Father and the Ecce Agnus Dei (This is the Lamb of God) are recited before Holy Communion.

Then the congregation receives Holy Communion.

The Prayer after Communion is said, followed by the final Prayer Over the People.

At the end of the rite, the priest  and people depart in silence, and the altar cloth is removed, leaving the altar bare again except for the Cross and two or more candlesticks.

Seven Last Words:

In some Churches the reflections on the Seven Last Words of Jesus are done prior to the afternoon liturgy.

Day of Fasting and Abstinence:

The Catholic Church treats Good Friday as a day of fast and abstinence. According to Church's rule, fasting is required for ages 18 to 60, and abstinence is from age 14.

The Church mourns in silence:

The rest of the day we keep our meditative silence to mourn the death of our Lord Jesus Christ who saved us from our sins, as we await with joyful expectation his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Holy Saturday in the Catholic Church

Holy Saturday is the last day of Holy Week, and the last day of the Easter Triduum.  It commemorates the day that Jesus Christ's body is laid into the tomb. 

Christ lies in the grave, the Church waits at the Lord's tomb, mourning and meditating on his

suffering and death. After the great battle, He is resting in peace, but upon Him we see the scars of intense suffering. The mortal wounds of his body remain visible to us.

The whole day we keep our spiritual silence to reflect on God's redeeming love who gave up his only Son to save us from sin.  Holy Saturday is and should be the most calm and quiet for the entire Church year. The altar remains stripped and completely bare to reflect our deep sorrow and contrition for Jesus' death.

But although we are in mourning, there is much preparation during the day for the Easter celebration. Liturgically, Holy Saturday lasts until 6 o'clock in the evening or dusk, after which the Easter season begins.

Easter Vigil

The Easter vigil service begins around 10 o'clock in the evening with the blessing of fire and the lighting of a new Paschal Candle.

Nine readings are assigned to the Easter vigil: seven from the Old Testament, and two from the New Testament.

After the last reading from the Old Testament, the priest intones the "Gloria". At that moment

the candles at the altar are lit, the lights are switched on, and the church bells are rung again. The statues and icons, in places where they are covered with purple veils during Passiontide are dramatically unveiled.

After the homily portion, the liturgy of baptism and renewal of baptismal promises are done. The rest of the liturgy proceeds like a regular Mass.

The entire celebration of the Easter vigil should begin after nightfall and end before dawn of Sunday. Those who participate at the Easter vigil Mass fulfill their Sunday obligation. However, they may still attend regular Easter Sunday Mass and receive Holy Communion.

"Salubong"

In most parishes in the Philippines, the traditional "Salubong" is done.

"Salubong" (or the meeting) is a celebration of Christ's resurrection where two processions proceed from opposite ends of the parish towards the church in early morning (4 or 5 in the morning usually, just before dawn).

One procession is a statue of the Risen Lord, and the second procession is of the Virgin Mary

wearing dark clothes (black or dark purple) and a black veil, in mourning, and traditionally accompanied by the women faithful.

The two processions meet up in front of the church, where there is a high platform where usually a child dressed as an angel  would lift the veil of the Virgin Mary as soon as she meets up (Salubong) with the Risen Christ. Then the procession heads into the church for Mass.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Life that matters, facing the sunset

There is wisdom in the wise words: Growing old is a blessing that those who died young did not have the chance to enjoy.

Because celebrating life is beautiful, especially as I face the threshold towards life sunset.

In the remaining steps in my journey of life, I choose to travel light and be happy, becoming more philosophical and reflective about the joy of living. I realize that the greatest treasure in this life is actually living a happy life.

I have learned that happiness is not having what you want; it is really wanting and appreciating what I already have.

So looking at the bright side of life comes easy. Good times become good memories. Bad times become good lessons. I look to the future with serenity and hope... because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life.

Yet it is the present that fascinates me still, where I can reflect on life's great lessons, like the wisdom shared by these powerful thoughts:

Whether I am ready or not, someday it will come to an end. That means there will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days for me.

So that all the things I collected through the years, whether treasures or baubles, will just pass to someone else... to my loved ones I hope. But even these will shrivel to irrelevance insofar as I am concerned anyway. Because it will not matter what I owned or what I was owed... when my time is finally up.

Even my grudges, resentments, frustrations will finally disappear; so too my hopes, plans, and to-do list will expire.  Everything in my material world will become irrelevant.... someday.

So then what really matters? Well, I search for answers in these inspiring words:

What matters is not what I got, but what I gave and shared...

What matters is not my competence, but my character....

What matters is not my success, if any, but my significance, especially to those dear to me....

What matters is not what I learned but the things and examples that I taught and shared with those who look up to me....

What matters is not how many people I knew, but how many people will feel a lasting loss, when I am gone...

What matters is not my memories, but rather the memories that live in the people who love me....

What matters is my integrity, compassion, sacrifice. Because they can enrich, empower, and encourage others to emulate my examples... if they have any worth to humanity.

Yet I also realize that living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. Neither it is a matter of circumstances, but of deliberate choice.

So I choose and commit myself to live a life that matters, in what remains of my life's journey, as I end my reflection with....

A Serenity Prayer  

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

enjoying one moment at a time;

trusting that the Lord will make all things right

if I surrender to His will;

so that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

forever and ever in the next.

Thank You, Lord for the gift of life.

Thank You for my life's milestone

I celebrate today, May 9, 2014.

Amen.

Moving forward in my journey of life towards the sunset, I have learned that there is really no way to happiness. Because happiness is simply a way of life. But the best thing, I have also learned, is that it is free..... at least I think.