St. Anthony's Parish  Your English speaking Roman catholic parish in Kraineem   

Home > Communication > News >

News

Printable version     

A Holy Week which will be a sign of unity

By Fr. Philip Sandstrom

Kraainem (11 December 2006).- This year it all comes together as it should. Both the East and the West in the Church and our Jewish Brethren are celebrating the most important moments in their belief at the same time. The Jews are celebrating the Pass-over from Egypt to the Promised Land, from Slavery to Freedom, the Exodus. And at the same time the whole Christian Church is celebrating the Pass-over of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, through Death to Life – and our entrance into this motion by our Baptism, our Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. 

In the Western Church the ‘theme text’ repeated often during Holy Week is from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 2:6-11. It tells us of Jesus’ work for us – the Paschal Mystery. 

His state was divine, yet Christ Jesus did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on the cross. But God raised him on high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as LORD, to the glory of God the Father. 

LORD is a Jewish and Christian way of speaking of God – so the Father after the humility of his Son showed him to us as God, the LORD of all creation. 

The Eastern Byzantine Church uses another ‘theme text’ for this week which opens for us another aspect of our relationship to the LORD. They use the repeated Biblical description of heaven as ‘the marriage feast of God and his people’ with the people awaiting the return of the Bridegroom. 

Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night; and blessed the servant whom He shall find watching, but unworthy is the servant he shall find slothful. Beware, my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, holy, holy, art Thou, our God. Through the Theotokos (the Blessed Virgin Mary), have mercy upon us! 

This way of approaching the Pass-over of Jesus insists on our need of ‘being ready to receive Him’ and His work for our salvation. HE is the Bridegroom. And the Church – including each of us – is the Bride of the LORD. Are we prepared to receive our LORD?

Our Jewish Brethren in their celebration of Passover also use this ‘bride/bridegroom’ theme, since in the Synagogue and at home they read aloud the Song of Songs, that collection of love poetry in the Old Testament which speaks of the LORD’s seeking out His Bride and their coming together in a Marriage Covenant. It would be a good custom for us to read out this book at home during Holy Week too to see more clearly how the Scriptures, and Jews and Christians both, are to understand our relationship to our God. 

Historically, our ancestors in the faith at first celebrated only Easter Sunday and reminded themselves of the Resurrection each Sunday during the year. Only after the Roman persecutions generally stopped in the 4th century did it became possible to visit the Holy Land as pilgrims for Easter. Following the Passion Accounts in the Gospels, they then counted backwards to celebrate Holy Saturday, Good Friday and Holy Thursday – so the “Sacred Triduum”. Palm Sunday celebrations were generalized in the West later, around the 9th century – both to round off the Holy Week and also to make a sort of week long ‘tourist-pilgrimage package tour’ for those going to the Holy Land to celebrate Easter. 

▲up