As Jesus was approaching the final days of his life and was staring torture and death in the face, each of the Gospels tell us how clueless the apostles were about what was about to happen in Jerusalem and what Jesus’ arrest, torture, and death would mean for them. In the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, the apostles John and James beg for the best seats in Jesus’ kingdom, having not listened at all to Jesus’ lament over his impending death. In the Gospel of Luke, an argument breaks out at the Last Supper over which of the apostles is the greatest. In the Last Supper account in John, Philip complains that he does not know who Jesus is; Thomas complains that he does not know where Jesus is going; and Peter considers Jesus’ act of humble service (foot washing) to be highly inappropriate and only grudgingly agrees to take part in it. Truly it was only with the grace of the Holy Spirit that the Church ever got off the ground.

Next weekend (April 12-13) we begin our solemn celebration of Holy Week by recalling Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. In a big city like Chicago, with its diverse population, it is easy to remain clueless about the significance of the liturgies of Holy Week. The services of Holy Week are unique, in that they invite us to experience through various rituals that crucial week in Jesus’ life: his entry into Jerusalem, his last supper, his arrest, his conviction, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. Making the whole journey with Christ engages us in a way that simply coming to Mass on Palm Sunday and Easter does not. During Holy Week we enter into the central mystery of our faith, but also the central mystery of our lives:  Jesus died and rose for us, so that we might share in his glory.

During the years I was at the Servite Parish in St. Louis, we had lots of funerals. One of the drivers for the local funeral home was named Carl. Whenever it was near Easter and Carl was my driver to the cemetery, I could be certain that he would regale me about Holy Week in Ste Genevieve when he was a kid. Ste Genevive is a town of about five thousand people sixty miles south of St. Louis and is the oldest town in Missouri.  It was settled in the early eighteenth century by French colonists, when most of the central United States belonged to France. Today Ste Genevieve is a tourist town with quaint shops and inns; but the Ste Genevive that Carl remembered from the 1930’s and 1940’s was a very isolated place, a strongly Catholic community surrounded by the Bible Belt. During Holy Week, work schedules, school schedules, and social activities were reduced, so that everyone could participate in Holy Week Services. The Palm Sunday Procession snaked through the narrow streets of the village, with just about everyone participating. There was the solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday after the evening Mass, with crowds of people gathered around the Repository Altar, which was itself surrounded by an avalanche of flowers. Because church bells were not rung of Good Friday, altar servers would run through the streets calling people to the three hour service on Good Friday afternoon; and when the service was over, an eerie silence fell over the town out of reverence for Christ’s death.

Perhaps Carl embellished things a bit, but that does not mean that we cannot experience the essence of what Carl described in our parish beginning next weekend.. One of the changes brought about by the pandemic is that many of us now have more flexible work schedules. More of us can plan to be at church.  So, if your schedule permits it, make Christ’s journey from death to new life an integral part of your life next week. We begin with the blessing of palms at all of our weekend Masses, commemorating Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem. The 10:30 Mass (weather permitting) will begin with the blessing of palms in the garden and a procession into church. As the Palm Sunday liturgy moves along, the tone changes from celebratory to solemn, from a triumphal entry at which crowds waved palm branches to quiet and solemn as we tell the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and death. Our other liturgies of Holy Week lead us through the pain of death to the joy of resurrection. So, make plans to be present Holy Thursday evening, Good Friday at noon or in the evening, and then Holy Saturday evening, when we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and welcome out new Catholics. We won’t have altar servers running through the streets reminding you to come to church; so, program the schedule in your calendar and set your alarms.

                                                         Fr. Joe