A presentation prepared for Catholic RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) introducing the Catholic understanding of the meaning and Biblical sources for Holy Week liturgies and commemorations.

1. WHAT IS HOLY WEEK?
ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA PARISH
SOMERSWORTH, NH
RCIA

2. WHAT IS HOLY WEEK?
• HOLY WEEK is the last
week of Lent before
Easter; Holy Week
begins on Palm Sunday
and ends on Holy
Saturday.

3. MOVABLE FEAST
• The dates for Holy Week
vary, and are determined by
the date of Easter, which is
a “moveable feast.” In the
Latin West, Easter is always
the first Sunday after the
first full moon following the
Vernal Equinox.

4. COMMEMORATION OF THE PASSION
• Altogether, Holy Week is a
commemoration of Christ’s passion and
death, by which is accomplished the
salvation of humanity through the
atonement for our sins. The Gospels
provide an unusually detailed account of
these days, and Holy Week has been
observed by Christians as part of the
liturgical life of the Church from at least
the 4th century.
•

5. COMMEMORATION
• “Commemoration”—
remembering together—but
in a special way that we
“make present” the events
we commemorate and
become, in a sense
“present” ourselves as
participants in those events.

6. OF WHAT DOES HOLY WEEK CONSIST?
• Holy Week includes the Sacred
(or Paschal) Triduum (“three
days”) which consist of Holy
Thursday, Good Friday, Holy
Saturday, and Easter Sunday
(days being marked from evening
prayer—or Evening Mass of the
Lord’s Supper—on Holy Thursday
to evening prayer on Easter
Sunday).

7. PALM SUNDAY
• Palm Sunday—
Commemorates
Jesus’s triumphal
entry into
Jerusalem:
•

8. FROM THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW—21:1-9.
• When they drew near Jerusalem and came to
Bethphageon the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent
two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the
village opposite you, and immediately you will
find an ass tethered, and a colt with her.Untie
them and bring them here to me. And if anyone
should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master
has need of them.’ Then he will send them at
once.” This happened so that what had been
spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:
“Say to daughter Zion, ‘Behold, your king comes
to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt,
the foal of a beast of burden.’”

9. FROM THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW—21:1-9.
• The disciples went and did as Jesus had
ordered them. They brought the ass and
the colt and laid their cloaks over them,
and he sat upon them. The very large
crowd spread their cloaks on the road,
while others cut branches from the trees
and strewed them on the road. The crowds
preceding him and those following kept
crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son
of David; blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.”

10. PASSION SUNDAY
• Palm Sunday is also referred to as
“Passion Sunday” because the Mass
includes a reading of the passion
narrative from the Gospel (typically
done in the form of a dramatic
reading by parts—in which the
people of the parish participate as
the voices of the crowd). The
vestment colors of the priest and
deacon are RED, signifying the
martyrdom of Jesus in His
crucifixion.

11. HOLY THURSDAY
• Holy Thursday—
Commemorates the Last
Supper, Christ’s institution of
the Eucharist, and the
establishment of Holy Orders
(the ministerial priesthood).
Vestment colors are WHITE,
signifying joy over these
great sacramental gifts.

12. FROM THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW: 26:26-28.
• While they were eating, Jesus took
bread, said the blessing, broke it,
and giving it to his disciples said,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, gave
thanks, and gave it to them,
saying, “Drink from it, all of you,
for this is my blood of the
covenant, which will be shed on
behalf of many for the forgiveness
of sins.”

13. MAUNDY THURSDAY
• Sometimes called “Maundy
Thursday” (from the Latin
mandatum for “mandate” or
“commandment”—Christ’s
command to serve one another, and
exemplified by His washing the feet
of His disciples. This act of humility
and service is commemorated by
the pastor washing the feet of
twelve parishioners.

14. FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, 13:4-5, 12-14.
• He rose from supper and took off his outer
garments. He took a towel and tied it
around his waist. Then he poured water into
a basin and began to wash the disciples’
feet and dry them with the towel around his
waist. . . . So when he had washed their
feet [and] put his garments back on and
reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do
you realize what I have done for you? You
call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly
so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the
master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another’s feet.

15. PROCESSION
• Following the Mass of the Lord’s
Supper the altar is stripped, and
the people customarily process
to a “garden of olives” to “watch
and pray” with Jesus, and to
commemorate his night of prayer
in the Garden of Gethsemane.
•

16. FROM THE GOSPEL OF MARK, 14:32-35.
• Then they came to a place named
Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples,
“Sit here while I pray.” He took with him
Peter, James, and John, and began to be
troubled and distressed. Then he said to
them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and keep watch.” He advanced
a little and fell to the ground and prayed
that if it were possible the hour might pass
by him.

17. VISITING CHURCHES
• Visiting Churches—There are various
customs associated with the visiting
of churches on Holy Thursday. These
may have originated with the seven
pilgrim churches of Rome, or nine
churches for a “novena,” or 14
churches for the Stations of the
Cross. Some traditions move the
visiting of churches to Good Friday.

18. GOOD FRIDAY
• The commemoration of the Lord’s
crucifixion and death. No Mass is
celebrated on this day. Instead, there is
a liturgy that includes a reading of the
Passion, the intercessory prayers, the
veneration of the cross, and
Communion (sometimes called the
“Mass of the pre-sanctified”—as
indicating that the consecrated hosts
distributed come from the Holy
Thursday Mass the night before). The
vestment color is RED.

19. FROM THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, 27:45-46.
• From noon onward darkness
came over the whole land until
three in the afternoon. And
about three o’clock Jesus cried
out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,
lema sabachthani?” which
means, “My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me?”
•

20. FASTING
• Good Friday is observed as a
Fast Day. Fasting is a sign of
our contrition and our
undertaking of penance in
atonement for our sins.
•

21. STATIONS OF THE CROSS
• Another customary observance for
Good Friday is participation in the
“Stations of the Cross” devotion.
During the Stations of the Cross we
walk the via dolorosa (way of
sorrow), meditating upon the
sacrifice made by Christ for our
salvation (and often, too, upon the
sorrows of Mary, His mother, who
remained with him during his
Passion).

22. FROM THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, 23:26-27.
•
• As they led him away they took
hold of a certain Simon, a
Cyrenian, who was coming in
from the country; and after laying
the cross on him, they made him
carry it behind Jesus. A large
crowd of people followed Jesus,
including many women who
mourned and lamented him.

23. HOLY SATURDAY
• Holy Saturday—the day commemorating
Our Blessed Lord’s repose in the tomb,
his descent to the dead, and our
anticipation of the “empty tomb”—His
glorious Resurrection.
• There is no Mass for Holy Saturday, but
rather Holy Saturday ends with the Easter
Vigil (the first Mass of Easter Sunday) in
the evening.

24. FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, 19:38-42.
• After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of
Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove
the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came
and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first
come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of
myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial
cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish
burial custom. Now in the place where he had been
crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new
tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid
Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for
the tomb was close by.

25. HE DESCENDED INTO HELL
What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the
earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because
the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still,
because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who
were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and
the underworld has trembled. Truly he goes to seek out our
first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the
prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains,
he who is God, and Adam's son. The Lord goes in to them
holding his victorious weapon, his cross.
--Ancient Holy Saturday Homily

26. "THE HARROWING OF HELL”
“. . . I am your God, who for your sake
became your son, who for you and your
descendants now speak and command
with authority those in prison: Come
forth, and those in darkness: Have light,
and those who sleep: Rise.”

27. EASTER VIGIL
• Easter Vigil—At this Mass is
commemorated the Resurrection of
Jesus from the dead. Vestment
color is WHITE.
• The Easter Vigil Mass has FOUR
parts:
• 1. Service of Light;
• 2. Liturgy of the Word;
• 3. Liturgy of Baptism;
• 4. Liturgy of the Eucharist.
•

28. EASTER VIGIL MASS
• The Mass begins with the blessing of the new fire
and the lighting of the Easter (Paschal) candle. It
continues with the Easter proclamation (Exultet)
announcing the accomplishment of salvation
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
and readings from Scripture covering all of salvation
history. It continues with the blessing of the font,
the litany of the Saints, the baptism of the
catechumens, and the confirmation of the newly
baptized and of the candidates. These are followed
by the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and first Holy
Communion.

29. EXULTET : THE EASTER PROCLAMATION

30. EASTER SUNDAY
• Easter Sunday—
Commemorating the
Resurrection of Jesus.
Easter is the central
fact and celebration
of our faith.

31. FROM THE GOSPEL OF MARK, 16:1-7.
• When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the
mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they
might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had
risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.
They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the
stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they
looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back;
it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young
man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and
they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be
amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has
been raised; he is not here. Behold, the place where they
laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is
going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he
told you.’”

32. FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS,
15:12-19.
• But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can
some among you say there is no resurrection of the
dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither
has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised,
then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith.
Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we
testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did
not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead
are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if
Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still
in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ
have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.

33. OTHER ASPECTS AND TRADITIONS OF HOLY WEEK.
(NOT PRINCIPAL LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS)

34. LAZARUS SATURDAY
• “Lazarus Saturday”—a
traditional name for the
Saturday before Palm
Sunday, referring to Jesus’s
raising of Lazarus from the
tomb in Bethany, prior to
his entry into Jerusalem.

35. FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, 11:17-26.
• When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already
been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near
Jerusalem, only about two miles* away. And many of the
Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them
about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was
coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died. [But] even now I know that
whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to
her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know
he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told
her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes
in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives
and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

36. “FIG MONDAY”
• “Fig Monday,”—Monday
of Holy Week,
corresponding to the day
after Jesus’s entry into
Jerusalem when he
cursed the fig tree, and
reminding us that we
must “bear good fruit.”

37. FROM THE GOSPEL OF MARK, 11:12-14.
• The next day as they were leaving
Bethany he was hungry. Seeing from
a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went
over to see if he could find anything
on it. When he reached it he found
nothing but leaves; it was not the
time for figs. And he said to it in
reply, “May no one ever eat of your
fruit again!”

38. “CHRISM MASS”
• “Chrism Mass”—ideally celebrated on Holy
Thursday, but now more frequently earlier in
the week for pastoral reasons (such as
Tuesday in Holy Week). At this Cathedral
Mass, priests from the diocese join the
bishop in commemorating the institution of
the ministerial priesthood. The bishop also
blesses and distributes the Holy Oils for use
in Baptism, Confirmation, and Anointing of
the Sick in the parishes of the diocese (oil of
the sick, oil of the catechumens, sacred
chrism).
•

39. “SPY WEDNESDAY”
• “Spy Wednesday”—at one
time the name associated
with Wednesday of Holy
Week, marking the day on
which Judas entered his
agreement with the Temple
officials to betray Jesus.
•

40. FROM THE GOSPEL OF MARK, 14:10-11.
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the
Twelve, went off to the chief
priests to hand him over to
them. When they heard him
they were pleased and
promised to pay him money.
Then he looked for an
opportunity to hand him over.

41. EASTER CLEANING
• “Easter Cleaning”—the 3
days after Palm Sunday
are devoted to vigorous
cleaning of the
household in preparation
for the great feast of
Easter.
•

42. HAVE A BLESSED HOLY WEEK