After entering into Holy Week on Palm Sunday, we continue one of the most important weeks in the Church. It is a week that is full of suffering and pain, yet equally full of promises and hope. This is a week where we seek to see the Cross – and we want to see it, hopefully, with the aid of the new spiritual sight (and insight) which Lent has given us.
The Cross is, indeed, a symbol of great suffering, but it is transformed by Jesus into a symbol of hope, trust, and, above all, love.
Psalm 27 sets the stage for the rest of this week and prepares us for the events which lie ahead: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?” These words encourage us to keep “first things first” and maintain our resolve to follow Jesus through death to new life.
For further reflection: Do we allow the busyness of the world to overshadow what is most valuable to us and our salvation? Obviously, there are commitments to be filled and work to be done this week, but we are challenged now to keep our priorities in mind and to balance our lives. It is easy for us to be all-consumed with the demands of work, chores, and all of the “stuff” that supposedly needs to get done. Can we just stop on occasion this week and remind ourselves of what is most important in the grand scheme of things? Is the Lord really our light and our salvation? Do we really “need” Him? Will we let Him and His grace guide us through the events this week to the joy that awaits us at Easter?
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La Semana Santa es para nosotros el tiempo en que meditamos sobre la muerte salvadora de nuestro Señor. Los días de su sufrimiento se acercan.
La oración y los eventos de la Semana Santa caracterizan a Jesús como el Siervo de Dios: el perfecto Siervo de Dios y siervo del pueblo. Él vino a servir a los pobres y a los que sufren, trayéndoles justicia y libertad, y luz en la oscuridad para todos. Él será la Alianza viviente para nosotros, el pueblo, uniéndonos con Dios y los unos con los otros. Todo esto lo hizo por nosotros por medio de su muerte salvadora en la Cruz.
Sabemos que en estos días de Semana Santa, Jesús nos conducirá de la muerte a la vida, si aprendemos de Él a amarnos y a servirnos unos a otros; y a vivir los unos para los otros, aun a costa de sacrificio. Que el Señor nos dé valor para ello.
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Holy Week at Holy Cross Parish
╬ March 28: Holy Thursday Mass, 7pm (Bilingual) [No Morning Mass or Adoration during the day]
Washing of feet during Mass & Eucharistic Procession & Adoration in the School Hall afterward, until 9pm
╬ March 29: Good Friday [No Morning Mass or Confessions]
- Stations of the Cross, Noon
- Good Friday Service, 3pm (English)
- Living Stations of the Cross followed by Spanish Good Friday Service, 5:30pm
╬ March 30: Easter Vigil Mass, 8pm (Bilingual)
╬ March 31: Easter Sunday Masses, 9am (English) & Noon (Spanish)
