Read Katie’s great post below on Holy week and how to make it an extra special time of growing deeper in your faith. In the comments you can read what I wrote about a couple of our family Holy week traditions.
Also, let us know if you do anything special during Holy week to make it more…HOLY for you or your family?
How Will You Set Holy Week Apart?
Katie also mentions there that she watches The Passion of the Christ each year. I have to admit that I don’t look forward to seeing that movie over and over. It’s not easy watching such pain and suffering…and it’s also not easy to wrap my brain around the fact that it was all for you and for me. Yet it is good to be reminded of just that fact, so I’ll usually take the kids to a Good Friday Passion play at church which is more age-appropriate for them. Even that is hard to watch, but necessary lest we forget to live our lives showing Him we’re grateful.
For a truly blessed Holy Week, you should see how the Orthodox Christians celebrate this week. They fast for 48 days before Easter and have services all week. The readings are so amazing and so other-worldly. It really helps you to understand the true significance of the this Holy Week. I attended a midnight service and will never miss another one. The service starts at 10:00pm and goes until 1:00am with a huge bash afterwards. The church is lit with candles until midnight and a procession take place with bells ringing and hundreds of candles lit. I get chills just thinking about it. Here is a part of the service.
“Today is hung upon the Tree, He Who did hang the land in the midst of the waters. A Crown of thorns crowns Him Who is King of Angels. He is wrapped about with the purple of mockery Who wrapped the Heavens with clouds. He received buffetings Who freed Adam in Jordan. He was transfixed with nails Who is the Bridegroom of the Church. He was pierced with a spear Who is the Son of the Virgin. We worship Thy Passion, O Christ. Show also unto us thy glorious Resurrection.” Imagine 3 hours of this and the most divine Byzantine chanting known to man. If you can, try to find an ethnic church, maybe Syrian. To hear the gospel read in Arabic is something else.
Wow Debbie, that does sound so beautiful and holy and powerful! It reminds me of the Easter Vigil in the Catholic Church. It’s also 3 hours or so and begins in darkness with the lighting of the Easter candle. Then from that light one candle is lit, then another and so it goes until everyone is holding their candle and they are all lighting up the church. The amazing music begins and along with the many scripture readings we are brought from the story of creation all the way through the whole bible and it’s neat to see how everything is connected and part of God’s whole big plan. That’s called the “liturgy of the Word” and next we celebrate the “liturgy of the Eucharist” when we gather around Christ’s table and along with the new “Catechumens” (those who are coming into the Church), we receive our Lord in Communion.
Holy Week can be so deep and holy if we truly seek out the depth and holiness. 🙂