Take Time for Reflection This Holy Week

After keeping the ritual of waving palm fronds on Palm Sunday to commemorate Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Christian believers (the practicing, the nominal, and the ritualistic) are called to ponder the tenets of their faith and predispose them to acts of holiness.

What should Christians reflect on this Holy Week?

First, Holy Monday’s gospel focuses on the role of women in the service of Christ as depicted in the encounter of Mary with Jesus whose feet she anointed with expensive perfumed oil and dried with her hair. Christians know full well that it was a woman, Eve, who caused the downfall of man. But it was also a woman, Mary, our Blessed Mother, who was the instrument chosen by God to bring about redemption, says the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

Boastful Peters

Holy Tuesday’s gospel relates Peter’s utterances denying any association with Christ – the Peter chosen by Jesus to be the head of the Church He founded!  The gospel narrative speaks of how the boastful Peter failed, denying His Lord three times. It was a betrayal of the worst kind!

In the Philippines, boastful Peters are legion – those who abuse their power, those who utter empty promises to the electorate, those who are so afraid to lose their power that it is used to stifle dissent or disagreement. Just tune in to the news about how some leaders oppress and betray the people they have sworn to serve.

In the corporate world, boastful Peters are found in autocratic executives and managers – those who have no qualms about stepping on anyone’s toes just to keep their position, or those who abuse their employees by not giving them just wages or the credit they deserve.

Betrayal

Betrayal – that of Judas Iscariot – is the subject of the gospel for Holy Wednesday (Matthew 25:14-25) in which Jesus turns to His twelve disciples at the Passover meal saying, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”

Betrayal is evident in many places – in homes where marriages are plagued by infidelity, dishonesty and indifference; in places of work where greedy corporate leaders hide important information about finances until they’re caught and their organizations crash, leaving their loyal employees to their own devices. The Church has been a victim of renegade priests and bishops (particularly those involved in sex abuse scandals) and lay leaders who pay lip service to loyalty and work with a personal agenda.

Brotherly Love

The ritual of Maundy Thursday consists of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Washing of the Feet, a Eucharistic procession, and the Garden of Gethsemane Vigil. It also commemorates the institution of the priesthood and the Holy Eucharist.

The dominant theme of Maundy Thursday’s ritual and gospel (John 13:1-15) speaks of brotherly love and humility: “…you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Envy is one of the reasons for today’s myriad miseries, and brotherly love is the antidote. Take a look at some family members who are saddened by their relatives’ good fortune, advancement in their career, or conversion, as in the case of the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son who begrudged his younger brother’s spiritual transformation. Or neighbors who keep up with the Joneses.

Consider too the scheming employees who gossip about a newly promoted coworker, much like the self-righteous people who wanted to throw Jesus off the cliff because of His immense popularity.

Patience, Perseverance, Commitment

Meditations for Good Friday should remind believers of Christ’s supreme act of love for man to the extent of suffering a horrible death – death by crucifixion.

The Good Friday antiphon asks: How do we love Him in return? That means, how do we show that our Christianity is sincere and lasting? It’s a tough act and a sacrifice – praying for those who have wronged us, bearing their wrongs patiently, and wishing them well – but Christians ought to take note that the Ten Commandments are not mere suggestions!

Married couples show they love Christ by forgiving all the little and big hurts between them, showing each other respect and kindness, controlling their temper, and bringing up their children in the faith and fear of the Lord. Siblings and relatives interiorize their love for Jesus by not fighting over property or inheritance.

Families show they love Jesus by living their faith, frequently receiving the sacraments, keeping traditional values – that is, not being swayed by the secular world that promotes materialism, consumerism, relativism, and New Age deceptions.

The point of meditation throughout Holy Week is that Christianity is not a mere collection of devout practices and rituals. In the words of Opus Dei founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá, it implies a mission to practice what one believes or preaches. He says “being a Christian is not simply a way to personal contentment. It implies a commitment…Being a Christian is not simply incidental. It is a divine reality that takes deep root in our life.”