Holy Week

Look to the Lord in his strength; seek to serve him constantly.  Psalm 105:4

It’s my favorite week of the year…Holy Week.  To make it even better, we will be in school this week.  Each day the middle lovelies and I get to walk through the power, mystery and amazement of the Paschal Mystery. (Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection…it’s a test question this week) This week is epic for Christians…it’s the everything week…it’s the who we are and what we believe week!  I hope by the end of the post you are inspired to make sure it isn’t just another row of seven boxes on the calendar!

The power of the week began for me on Friday as the 5th graders shared the meditations they wrote on the Stations of the Cross.  Listening to an articulate 11 year old relate Jesus’ public stripping in the 10th station to the embarrassment and humiliation of adolescence or the tender mercy of Veronica serving as a model for true mercy and seeing Christ in everyone just brought me to tears.  They were so sincere and so real.  They wrote beautifully, reflected deeply and courageously shared their very personal work with a big crowd of peers and parishioners.  They inspired me and allowed me to see the suffering of Jesus and those who loved him with new eyes.

The 6th graders will be preforming the Stations of the Cross in Shadow Theater Monday night and Thursday afternoon. They’ve had to work hard and work quickly because snow days in Lent cut their practice time short but they amaze me.  The stations are set to powerful contemporary Christian music and leave the audience touched and inspired.  I’m amazed at how something so simple can have such an impact.  One of the things we do to prepare for this undertaking is watch Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.  I am amazed how their acting comes to life and fills with emotion once we’ve seen the movie.  One of the middle lovelies said the other day, “I just feel it now, I can imagine it better, but only for a few minutes because it’s just too hard to think about it too much because what Jesus did for us is just too much to soak up for a kid like me.” I put my arm around his shoulder and assured him it was too much to soak up for me too.

I have a Holy Week challenge for all of us!  Let’s dive into this week heart first and really soak it up. Here are some ideas to try this week…

*No TV…read the Passion Gospels instead
*No Dessert…save sweetness for the glory of Easter Sunday
*Less talking…more silence, stillness and pondering
*Think like someone else…like Mary, Peter, John or Mary Magdalene; any of the key players in the events of the weeks…put yourself in the story and let it wash over you
*Add a “foot washing” act of service to each day of the week
*Be grateful, prayerful and aware of all Jesus did for you this week so long ago

A Seed To Plant:  Look at the list above and make a Holy Week Plan!

Blessings on your day!