What’s the Deal with Holy Week? 9 Things to Know and Share

Holy Week is tremendously important in the Christian year. What is it? Where did it come from? And what happens in it?

Here are 9 things to know and share.

 

1) What is Holy Week?

Holy Week is the week preceding Easter Sunday. According to the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, “The Sixth Sunday [of Lent], on which Holy Week begins, is called, ‘Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord’” (n. 30).

Holy Week thus begins on the Sixth Sunday of Lent, and the period is characterized by a variety of liturgical celebrations. These have changed over time, but the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church states:

The various traditional rites of the week, of which each day has its own, probably began to develop at Jerusalem in the 4th cent., when pilgrimages became easily possible, and Christians could indulge a natural desire to re-enact the last scenes of the life of Christ in liturgical drama.

The Pilgrimage of Egeria, now generally thought to describe a visit in 381–4, gives a detailed account of the contemporary observance of Holy Week in Jerusalem (s.v. “Holy Week”).

Because of Holy Week’s importance, the liturgical celebrations during it take precedence over any other celebrations that would otherwise occur in the period (e.g., saints’ days). The General Norms state, “the weekdays of Holy Week, from Monday up to and including Thursday, take precedence over all other celebrations” (n. 16a).

 

2) What happens on the Sunday of Holy Week?

On this day, the liturgy commemorates both Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and his Passion.

The Triumphal Entry was an event in which Jesus conspicuously fulfilled the messianic prophecy of Zechariah 9:9—“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt the foal of a donkey.” He thus openly displayed himself as the messianic king of the Jews.

During this event, the crowds waved palm branches to hail his arrival, which is why the day is called Palm Sunday and why we use palm fronds in the liturgy on this day.

We know the event happened on this day because John reports that Jesus was anointed at Bethany “six days before the Passover” (John 12:1)—that is before, Good Friday—and that he made his final entry to Jerusalem “the next day” (John 12:12). Therefore, the entry occurred on the Sunday preceding Passover.

On this day the liturgy also commemorates the Passion of Jesus, and the Gospel reading is devoted to his suffering and crucifixion with which the week climaxes.

 

3) What happens on the Monday of Holy Week?

In the Gospels, Mark 11:12 reports that “on the following day” (Holy Monday), Jesus was returning to Jerusalem from an overnight stay in Bethany when he found a fig tree displaying leaves but no fruit and cursed it.

He then went to Jerusalem where he found the temple polluted by people buying and selling, and he cleared them out.

Jesus also begins teaching in the temple on a daily basis.

In the liturgy, the Gospel reading for this day is from John 12, and it backs up in time to the day before the Triumphal Entry and relates the story of Jesus being anointed at Bethany. He notes that this is in preparation for his burial (v. 7).

Although these events took place the previous Saturday, they are presented here in the liturgy to form a thematic narrative leading up to the Crucifixion.

 

4) What happens on the Tuesday of Holy Week?

In the Gospels, Mark reports that on this day “they passed by in the morning” (Mark 11:20), the saw the fig tree that Jesus had cursed withered.

Jesus continued to teach in the temple on this day.

In the liturgy, the Gospel reading is from John 13, and it records Jesus’ prediction at the Last Supper that one of the Twelve—Judas—will betray him. Judas then leaves the meal, and Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him three times.

These events took place on Holy Thursday, but they are presented here to continue the thematic narrative leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion.

 

5) What happens on the Wednesday of Holy Week?

In the Gospels, Mark 14:1 reports that “it was two days before the Passover” (i.e., Holy Wednesday), and the chief priests and scribes were plotting how to kill Jesus.

Judas Iscariot then went to the chief priests and offered to betray him (Mark 14:10). Judas thus agreed to spy on Jesus, and so Holy Wednesday is sometimes called “Spy Wednesday.”

In the liturgy, the Gospel reading is from Matthew 26, and it covers how Judas agreed to betray Jesus, along with events that occurred the next day, including the beginning of the Last Supper.

 

6) What happens on the Thursday of Holy Week?

In the Gospels, Jesus and his disciples sacrificed the Passover lamb (Mark 14:12) and found the location where Jesus had arranged—ahead of time—to eat the Last Supper. This involved a subterfuge. Instead of just telling the disciples where they would eat the Passover, Jesus sent two of them into the city, where they would find a man carrying a jar of water (an unusual sign, as this was normally women’s work). They were to follow this man home, enter the house, and the homeowner would then show them an already furnished guest room.

The apparent purpose of this subterfuge was to keep Judas from knowing in advance where the meal would be eaten, preventing him from being able to betray Jesus before the Last Supper.

At the event, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-20), instituted the Eucharist, and predicted his betrayal by Judas and his denial by Peter.

During this supper, Jesus also said, “A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another—just as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). The Latin word for commandment is mandatum, and this passed over into English as “maundy.” Consequently, this day is sometimes called Maundy Thursday—the day Jesus gave this commandment.

Afterwards, they went to the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed before Judas arrived with an arresting party. He was taken to the home of the high priest, where Peter denied him three times, and a hearing was conducted before Caiaphas. Some of this likely occurred after midnight, meaning it technically happened early on Good Friday.

In the liturgy, on the morning of Holy Thursday, it is customary for the bishop and the priests of his diocese to celebrate a “chrism Mass,” in which the oils used in the sacraments are consecrated. (However, for logistical reasons this Mass can be celebrated on another day.)

In the evening, the season of Lent ends with the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. According to the General Norms, Lent runs “from Ash Wednesday up to but excluding the Mass of the Lord’s Supper” (n. 28).

A new liturgical season—the Paschal Triduum—begins at this point. “The Paschal Triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper” (n. 19).

The Gospel reading at this Mass is from John 13, where Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, and—optionally—the priest celebrating the Mass may do the same for some of the faithful.

Afterward, the altar is stripped, the Eucharist is processed to a place of repose, and a period of silent Eucharistic adoration is held.

 

7) What happens on the Friday of Holy Week?

In the Gospels, Jesus was brought before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, early in the morning. Apparently, proceedings involving the high priest had lasted all night, as John tells us that the Jewish officials had not yet been able to eat the Passover meal (John 18:28).

At this point, Matthew tells us that Judas repented and insisted on returning the money he had been paid to betray Jesus, after which he hanged himself (Matt. 27:3-10).

A series of legal proceedings followed, including a hearing before Herod Antipas (Luke 23:6-12). However, ultimately Jesus was condemned to be crucified.

During the Crucifixion, “from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour” (Matt. 27:45)—that is, from about noon to about 3 p.m.—at which point Jesus died.

Since the sabbath was about to begin at sundown, a hasty burial was arranged for Jesus in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea—a Christian who was a member of the Jewish council—since this tomb was located near where Jesus was crucified (John 19:38-42).

In the liturgy, the season of Triduum continues. Mass is not celebrated on this day. Instead, a Communion service is held (often at about 3 p.m.). This consists of a liturgy of the word, the veneration of the cross, and the distribution of holy Communion.

 

8) What happens on the Saturday of Holy Week?

In the Gospels, the only report we have of this day is from Luke 23:56: “On the sabbath they [the disciples] rested according to the commandment.”

In the liturgy, the season of Triduum continues. During the daytime hours, Mass is not celebrated, and holy Communion is given only to the dying.

However, after nightfall, a vigil Mass commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter is celebrated (i.e., Easter Vigil).

This Mass includes a special ceremony in which the faithful hold lighted lamps or candles, reflecting the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matt. 25:1-13), where the wise virgins await Christ’s return with lighted lamps.

It is also customary for catechumens to be baptized and, in many places, for already baptized candidates to be received into the Church. They are also confirmed and receive their first holy Communion, completing the sacraments of Christian initiation.

At this point, Holy Week itself is over, but there is more to the story . . .

 

9) What happens on Easter Sunday?

In the Gospels, the disciples first learned of the Resurrection after the women went to the tomb and met angels, who revealed that it was empty. This triggered a period of confusion among the disciples, but the confusion was dispelled when Jesus himself appeared to them, initiating the season of Easter joy.

In the liturgy, a single Mass is celebrated in the morning. The Gospel reading is from John 20:1-9, which records the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalen and how Peter and the beloved disciple ran to the site and found her report was true.

The season of Triduum then concludes. The General Norms state that it “closes with Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the Sunday of the Resurrection” (n. 19).

At that point, the joyous liturgical season of Easter begins.

AA-1025 (Communist Infiltration in the Church) – Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World

In 1972, a book purported to tell the tale of a Communist infiltrator at the Vatican dedicated to bringing down the Church. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss who this mysterious agent was, where he came from, and whether he really did what the books says.

https://youtu.be/kRVA3iidyrg

Help us continue to offer Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World. Won’t you make a pledge at SQPN.com/give today?

Links for this episode:

This Episode is Brought to You By:
Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World is brought to you in part through the generous support of Deliver Contacts, offering honest pricing and reliable service for all your contact lens needs. See the difference at delivercontacts.com.

Rosary Army. Featuring award-winning Catholic podcasts, Rosary resources, videos, and the School of Mary online community, prayer, and learning platform. Learn how to make them, pray them, and give them away while growing in your faith at RosaryArmy.com and SchoolOfMary.com

Tim Shevlin’s Personal Fitness training for Catholics. Providing spiritual and physical wellness programs and daily accountability check-ins. Strengthen yourself to help further God’s kingdom. Work out for the right reason with the right mindset. Learn more by visiting fitcatholics.com.

The Grady Group, a Catholic company bringing financial clarity to their clients across the United States. Using safe money options to produce reasonable rates of return for their clients. Learn more by visiting GradyGroupInc.com.

Great Lakes Customs Law, helping importers and individuals with seizures, penalties, and compliance with U.S. Customs matters throughout the United States. Visit GreatLakesCustomsLaw.com

Want to Sponsor A Show?
Support StarQuest’s mission to explore the intersection of faith and pop culture by becoming a named sponsor of the show of your choice on the StarQuest network. Click to get started or find out more.

Direct Link to the Episode.

Subscribe on iTunes. | Other Ways to Subscribe.

PlayPlay

The Weekly Francis – 21 March 2024

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 12 February 2024 to 21 April 2024.

Angelus

General Audiences

Letters

Messages

Speeches

Papal Instagram

The Rapture (Big Finish) – The Secrets of Doctor Who

The 7th Doctor at The Rapture. Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Cory Sticha discuss this audio story that takes the Doctor and Ace to Ibiza where they encounter two angels and the imminent Rapture. They discuss the Rapture within Christian belief; Ace’s existential crisis; and the true story of Blessed Francisco Palau.

Direct Link to the Episode.

Subscribe on iTunes. | Other Ways to Subscribe.

PlayPlay

Star Trek: Nemesis – The Secrets of Star Trek

The last of the TNG films is widely marked as the weakest. Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Cory Sticha discuss th film’s strengths and weaknesses and its themes of identity and the moral and ethical considerations of cloning and artificial sentience and more.

https://youtu.be/Wz1l1mJIz1E

Direct Link to the Episode.

Subscribe on iTunes. | Other Ways to Subscribe.

PlayPlay

A Satanist Asks for Help (Possession, Obsession, Vexation, Infestation) – Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World

When a Satanist recently asked Jimmy Akin for help with whether he might be possessed, Jimmy offered his best advice. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss that advice and explore how one could approach a similar situation with empathy, charity, and reason, while taking this kind of situation seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSANzPZRTGU

Help us continue to offer Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World. Won’t you make a pledge at SQPN.com/give today?

Links for this episode:

This Episode is Brought to You By:
Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World is brought to you in part through the generous support of Deliver Contacts, offering honest pricing and reliable service for all your contact lens needs. See the difference at delivercontacts.com.

Rosary Army. Featuring award-winning Catholic podcasts, Rosary resources, videos, and the School of Mary online community, prayer, and learning platform. Learn how to make them, pray them, and give them away while growing in your faith at RosaryArmy.com and SchoolOfMary.com

Tim Shevlin’s Personal Fitness training for Catholics. Providing spiritual and physical wellness programs and daily accountability check-ins. Strengthen yourself to help further God’s kingdom. Work out for the right reason with the right mindset. Learn more by visiting fitcatholics.com.

The Grady Group, a Catholic company bringing financial clarity to their clients across the United States. Using safe money options to produce reasonable rates of return for their clients. Learn more by visiting GradyGroupInc.com.

Great Lakes Customs Law, helping importers and individuals with seizures, penalties, and compliance with U.S. Customs matters throughout the United States. Visit GreatLakesCustomsLaw.com

Want to Sponsor A Show?
Support StarQuest’s mission to explore the intersection of faith and pop culture by becoming a named sponsor of the show of your choice on the StarQuest network. Click to get started or find out more.

Direct Link to the Episode.

Subscribe on iTunes. | Other Ways to Subscribe.

PlayPlay

The Weekly Francis – 14 March 2024

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 26 February 2024 to 14 March 2024.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Instagram

Warrior of the Deep – The Secrets of Doctor Who

The 5th Doctor is caught in an undersea Cold War thriller that mixes in two old foes as well. Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Cory Sticha discuss the highs and lows of the story; the more than usually bad effects; and the ethical underpinnings of the Silurians and Sea Devils.

https://youtu.be/IoSCWR88WOQ

Direct Link to the Episode.

Subscribe on iTunes. | Other Ways to Subscribe.

PlayPlay

Fallen Hero (ENT) -The Secrets of Star Trek

T’Pol’s hero isn’t what she seems. Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Cory Sticha discuss the story’s themes of trust, earned, broken, and granted; the clash of human and Vulcan values; and the glimpse of future human-Vulcan friendship.

https://youtu.be/69je2hvHYy0

Direct Link to the Episode.

Subscribe on iTunes. | Other Ways to Subscribe.

PlayPlay

Don’t Make Fun of Renowned Dan Brown!

Today I was talking with someone about works that I’ve had to read as part of my job as an apologist–whether I wanted to or not–and he suggested that Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code might be one of them.

Indeed, it was.

I regarded the book as not only wildly historically inaccurate but as just, plain badly written.

Linguistics (the study of the phenomenon of language) is one of my hobbies, and I used to read linguistics blogs that would just savage Dan Brown’s horrible English prose.

That brought to mind an article I read back in 2013 in renowned British newspaper The Telegraph.

My favorite line has always been “It made his insect eyes flash like a rocket.”

Unfortunately, that article is now behind a paywall, but it’s a devastating parody of Brown’s abysmal writing style.

Fortunately, I found it elsewhere online.

In the service of preserving its memory, I present it here.

Don’t make fun of renowned Dan Brown

The snobs and critics will have a field day with the US author’s latest work – but I’m not joining in.

 

Renowned author Dan Brown woke up in his luxurious four-poster bed in his expensive $10 million house – and immediately he felt angry. Most people would have thought that the 48-year-old man had no reason to be angry. After all, the famous writer had a new book coming out. But that was the problem. A new book meant an inevitable attack on the rich novelist by the wealthy wordsmith’s fiercest foes. The critics.

Renowned author Dan Brown hated the critics. Ever since he had become one of the world’s top renowned authors they had made fun of him. They had mocked bestselling book The Da Vinci Code, successful novel Digital Fortress, popular tome Deception Point, money-spinning volume Angels & Demons and chart-topping work of narrative fiction The Lost Symbol.

The critics said his writing was clumsy, ungrammatical, repetitive and repetitive. They said it was full of unnecessary tautology. They said his prose was swamped in a sea of mixed metaphors. For some reason they found something funny in sentences such as “His eyes went white, like a shark about to attack.” They even say my books are packed with banal and superfluous description, thought the 5ft 9in man. He particularly hated it when they said his imagery was nonsensical. It made his insect eyes flash like a rocket.

Renowned author Dan Brown got out of his luxurious four-poster bed in his expensive $10 million house and paced the bedroom, using the feet located at the ends of his two legs to propel him forwards. He knew he shouldn’t care what a few jealous critics thought. His new book Inferno was coming out on Tuesday, and the 480-page hardback published by Doubleday with a recommended US retail price of $29.95 was sure to be a hit. Wasn’t it?

I’ll call my agent, pondered the prosperous scribe. He reached for the telephone using one of his two hands. “Hello, this is renowned author Dan Brown,” spoke renowned author Dan Brown. “I want to talk to literary agent John Unconvincingname.”

“Mr Unconvincingname, it’s renowned author Dan Brown,” told the voice at the other end of the line. Instantly the voice at the other end of the line was replaced by a different voice at the other end of the line. “Hello, it’s literary agent John Unconvincingname,” informed the new voice at the other end of the line.

“Hello agent John, it’s client Dan,” commented the pecunious scribbler. “I’m worried about new book Inferno. I think critics are going to say it’s badly written.”

The voice at the other end of the line gave a sigh, like a mighty oak toppling into a great river, or something else that didn’t sound like a sigh if you gave it a moment’s thought. “Who cares what the stupid critics say?” advised the literary agent. “They’re just snobs. You have millions of fans.”

That’s true, mused the accomplished composer of thrillers that combined religion, high culture and conspiracy theories. His books were read by everyone from renowned politician President Obama to renowned musician Britney Spears. It was said that a copy of The Da Vinci Code had even found its way into the hands of renowned monarch the Queen. He was grateful for his good fortune, and gave thanks every night in his prayers to renowned deity God.

“Think of all the money you’ve made,” recommended the literary agent. That was true too. The thriving ink-slinger’s wealth had allowed him to indulge his passion for great art. Among his proudest purchases were a specially commissioned landscape by acclaimed painter Vincent van Gogh and a signed first edition by revered scriptwriter William Shakespeare.

Renowned author Dan Brown smiled, the ends of his mouth curving upwards in a physical expression of pleasure. He felt much better. If your books brought innocent delight to millions of readers, what did it matter whether you knew the difference between a transitive and an intransitive verb?

“Thanks, John,” he thanked. Then he put down the telephone and perambulated on foot to the desk behind which he habitually sat on a chair to write his famous books on an Apple iMac MD093B/A computer. New book Inferno, the latest in his celebrated series about fictional Harvard professor Robert Langdon, was inspired by top Italian poet Dante. It wouldn’t be the last in the lucrative sequence, either. He had all the sequels mapped out. The Mozart Acrostic. The Michelangelo Wordsearch. The Newton Sudoku.

The 190lb adult male human being nodded his head to indicate satisfaction and returned to his bedroom by walking there. Still asleep in the luxurious four-poster bed of the expensive $10 million house was beautiful wife Mrs Brown. Renowned author Dan Brown gazed admiringly at the pulchritudinous brunette’s blonde tresses, flowing from her head like a stream but made from hair instead of water and without any fish in. She was as majestic as the finest sculpture by Caravaggio or the most coveted portrait by Rodin. I like the attractive woman, thought the successful man.

Perhaps one day, inspired by beautiful wife Mrs Brown, he would move into romantic poetry, like market-leading British rhymester John Keats.That would be good, opined the talented person, and got back into the luxurious four-poster bed. He felt as happy as a man who has something to be happy about and is suitably happy about it.