As we journey together during our most Holy Week

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

In this Lent of 2022, together with the whole Church, we are in the midst of responding to Pope Francis’ invitation to participate in the Synod on Synodality, listening to one another and to the Spirit, as we journey together. Respon­ding to our Holy Father’s invitation, we are reflecting on the ways in which we encounter and listen to one another and how that reflection, encounter, and listening can help us discern the way in which the Spirit is calling us to “be Church,” missionary disciples, the people of God, and community of believers.

My personal experience of the Synod has caused and helped me to “listen,” not only to many voices, but also to listen to the Scriptures, especially the Gospels, in a different or new way. So often, the Gospels invite us to consider an “encounter” with Jesus. Those encounters with the living Word of God are surely an opportunity for listening and discernment. For many years as a priest and now as Bishop, as I offer words of introduction at the beginning of Mass during Lent, I will speak about being on our “Lenten journey.” (Little did I know, until recently, that Lent is an experience of “synodality,” the way in which we journey together as the Church.)

Now, as we approach and enter into Holy Week, we can certainly reflect on the journey from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. As I reflect on Holy Week as a journey, there are many thoughts that come to my mind. For the moment, I would like to reflect on three ways that could help us in our prayer and meditation as we enter into Holy Week during this year of the Synod on Synodality:

Walking with Jesus: the Entrance into Jerusalem and the Way of the Cross

When are times that the Church, the people of God, literally “walk together”? Liturgically, we call them processions and they are symbolic of our journey together as the People of God. In some countries, communities, and parishes, processions of the Blessed Sacrament, Marian processions, or Feast Day processions are very common. In most parishes (in this part of the country), processions are not as frequent as they used to be. Yet, there are two days in the year when it is common for most Catholics (around the world) to either see or be part of a procession: Palm Sunday and Good Friday. Do we take the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of Jesus’ “triumphant entry” into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and what it means to “walk with him” and one another in that moment? Do we reflect on what it means to hold the palm branch in our hands, just as the crowds did 2,000 years ago and to cry out with them “Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”? What was that moment like for Jesus, when he knew that things would be very different in five short days?

We know well that, together with the whole Church, we also “walk with Jesus” and our Blessed Mother on Good Friday, the Way of the Cross, to Calvary. Most of us do not need to be reminded of the meaning of this journey, as he carried the Cross and would give his life to save us from our sins. We have seen the “mystery of the Cross” in the senseless violence and suffering in Ukraine during these past six weeks and surely all those who are suffering are with us as we walk together, especially on Good Friday, on the road to Calvary. Have you ever thought about how much of the human family is literally “united in prayer” on Good Friday? Throughout the world, Christians walk with Jesus, as we dramatize the way of the Cross and, at 3 p.m. in every time zone across the globe, reflecting on the Lord’s Passion, we are united in prayer. Could it be that, on this Good Friday, we all might be a little more aware of the way in which we share in the “journey to Calvary”?

Walking with Jesus in ministry, service, and Sacrament: The Chrism Mass and Holy Thursday

The Chrism Mass is an important part of Holy Week that sometimes can be overlooked. Many members of the Church may be unaware or have never even heard that a Chrism Mass is celebrated during Holy Week. The Chrism Mass is celebrated either on Holy Thursday morning or on another day during Holy Week when as many priests as possible, with deacons, consecrated religious, and members of parish families join with the bishop as the Sacred Oils (of Catechumens, the Sick, and Chrism) that are used for the celebration of the Sacraments, are blessed or consecrated. Also at this Mass, all priests are invited to renew the promises they made on the day of their ordination. In the blessing and distribution of these Sacred Oils and in the priests’ renewal of their promises, we are reminded of the way in which the whole people of God receive the gifts of faith and new life (in Baptism) and are “strengthened for the journey” by the grace of the Sacraments.

On Holy Thursday, as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, and in sharing this Last Supper of the Lord made new, we give thanks in a particular way for Jesus’ gift of his own Body and Blood in the Eucharist and for the gift of the ministerial priesthood. In this diocesan Year of the Eucharist, we are praying for and working towards a greater appreciation of the gift of receiving the Real Presence, the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion and of his abiding presence. We also give thanks and pray for our priests and seminarians, as we continue to pray for an increase in priestly vocations. Many parishes will also be able to return for the first time in three years, to the “Washing of the Feet” on this Holy Thursday. Whether we see its dramatization or listen to the Gospel of Holy Thursday (Jn 13:1–20), we recall that Jesus calls each of us to loving and humble service, to “wash one another’s feet” as we journey together.

Praying with Jesus: in the Garden and on the Cross

In Luke’s Gospel (18:1), Jesus tells a parable about the “necessity to pray always.” We know that it is easier said than done, but Holy Week is an opportunity to renew our commitment to pray always (or as often as possible). There are many moments, on the journey of Holy Week, that give us opportunities to be united with Jesus and one another in prayer. One of those moments is, on Holy Thursday night, after the Last Supper, when Jesus invites us, as he invited the Apostles to “watch and pray” with him. This moment, sometimes described as the “agony in the garden,” is an opportunity for us to accompany Jesus and to allow him to accompany us, when it feels like we “can’t take it” or that life is “too much to bear.” If we can spend time in prayer with Jesus in the garden, he can teach and strengthen us to say to Our Father, “not my will, but thy will be done.”

As Good Friday is a moment when the whole Church is “journeying together,” it is also a special moment to be united with Jesus and one another in prayer. One source of prayer and meditation on Good Friday is the “Seven Last Words” of Jesus on the Cross. We believe that the gift of faith is, as St. Augustine said, “ever ancient and ever new.” Some may have heard that there is a new Catholic “app” available on the internet. It is called the “Hallow” App and it provides many resources for prayer and the spiritual life. During the 40 days of Lent, the focus of the daily reflections on this “app” has been the “Seven Last Words.” I have recently learned that there are still many fans of the late, great Archbishop Fulton Sheen. One of the best-known “sermons” of Bishop Sheen is his reflections on the “Seven Last Words.” There are many resources and ways to pray with Jesus on Good Friday and mediate on his words, what is most important is that we respond to his invitation to watch, listen, and pray.

As we journey together during this, our most Holy Week, let us pray that the journey will lead us all to the peace and joy of Easter.