HOLY WEEK

This week marks my first Holy Week since I have returned to the Catholic Church.
It starts with Palm Sunday, when we commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus, the Lamb of God who would die for the sins of the world. This week Catholics focus on the sufferings of Jesus at the Cross and His glorious resurrection.
It is paramount to place the hope of the Resurrection against the background of His suffering and death. As we walk through the darkness of Holy Week we realize the horror and magnitude of sin and its consequences through the suffering of Christ on the cross. Only then can we can understand the joy and hope of Easter morning.
When I focus on the passion of Christ, gives me greater understanding of the Sacrifice. The cross is the sign of our salvation. Jesus Christ offered Himself the perfect sacrifice for our redemption from sin on the cross.
When I come to the Cross of Jesus I see there are two sides to it. The side we emphasize a great deal is that the blood of Jesus was shed in order to redeem us from our sins. The other side is that Jesus also died in order that the Church, the Bride, may have life.
John records that as he stood at the cross, a Roman soldier came and pierced His side, and out of His side flowed blood and water. Blood speaks of the wiping out of sin. But water, throughout the Bible speaks of Life. That life for the Christian starts in the waters of baptism. He was the One who effected your Baptism into the Body of Christ: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body whether Jews of Greeks, whether slaves or free and have all been made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Cor 12.13). We are incorporated into His death and resurrection in baptism. Jesus died on the one hand to redeem from sin, but on the other hand to give life. St. Bonaventure said the Church was born from the wounded side of the Lord with the blood and water representing the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Baptism.This week is especially important in that my wife and daughter are being confirmed into the Catholic Church. What a glorious way to start their life as Catholics on Easter Sunday. Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes on me shall never die”.
What a glorious promise and beginning.