67. The Beauty of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to the Solemn Easter Vigil

Notes

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, celebrating Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The event is described in all four gospels, with Jesus riding a donkey, fulfilling a prophecy from Zechariah. This act symbolizes Jesus's mission of peace and spiritual salvation rather than an earthly revolt.
The crowd's reaction to Jesus on Palm Sunday reflects their desperate hope for a warrior king to overthrow Roman rule. They hailed Jesus as a king with palm branches and shouts of hosanna, but their expectations were not met by Jesus's mission of spiritual salvation.
Within days of Palm Sunday, the same crowd that celebrated Jesus turned against him, shouting "crucify him." This shift occurred because Jesus did not meet their expectations of immediate political liberation, highlighting the theme of unmet expectations and the challenge of aligning with God's plans.
Holy Week invites reflection on whether we would follow Jesus unconditionally or only when he aligns with our agendas. It challenges us to consider if we are prepared to follow Jesus to the cross before the resurrection, a central theme of Holy Week.
The Paschal Triduum begins with Holy Thursday, which commemorates the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist. The mass includes symbolic elements like an empty tabernacle and the distribution of hosts consecrated during this service, used throughout the Triduum.
During Holy Thursday, the washing of the feet by the priest symbolizes Christ's humility. The service also features a Eucharistic procession and an opportunity for the congregation to watch and wait with Jesus, emphasizing the continuity of the Triduum as one liturgy.
Good Friday is unique as it is the only day of the year without a mass, due to the absence of consecration, reflecting Jesus's death. The service includes the Adoration of the Cross and the distribution of hosts consecrated on Holy Thursday.
The Good Friday service also features the great intercessions, a series of prayers for various groups, including those who do not believe in God or Christ. These prayers highlight the universal scope of the liturgy and the church's mission.
Holy Saturday, the final day of the Triduum, is marked by the solemn Easter Vigil, the highest mass of the year. This vigil celebrates the resurrection of Christ and includes the service of light, where the paschal candle is lit from a blessed fire.
The Easter Vigil begins with the proclamation of "Lumen Christi" and the lighting of individual candles from the paschal candle, symbolizing the light of Christ overcoming darkness. This ceremony is followed by the exultet, a beautiful proclamation of Easter joy.
The Easter Vigil features more readings than any other liturgy, with a minimum of three Old Testament readings, reflecting the rich scriptural tradition of the church. These readings recount key moments of salvation history, including the creation story and the exodus.
During the Easter Vigil, new members may join the church through baptism and confirmation. This part of the service is significant for welcoming new believers and celebrating their initiation into the faith.
The Gloria is sung at an unusual time during the Easter Vigil, after the Old Testament readings and before the epistle, adding to the unique structure of this liturgy. This placement emphasizes the transition from the Old to the New Testament.
The solemn Easter Vigil must start at dusk, symbolizing the transition from darkness to light, which mirrors the resurrection of Christ. This timing is significant and differs from regular Saturday vigil masses.
The Paschal Triduum is a deeply symbolic and transformative period in the liturgical year, encompassing the events from the Last Supper to the resurrection. It invites the faithful to engage deeply with the mystery of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection.

Episode Transcript

Welcome to the Saint Coleman Catholic Church podcast from Pompano Beach. Be sure to follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so that you can be notified every time we release a new episode from Saint Coleman. Welcome to the parish podcast. We are in holy week, and, of course, we started. We've already had Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday is so interesting. We're gonna talk about that, and and we're gonna also preview the Paschal Triduum, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil. Let's talk about Palm Sunday. Of course, this marks Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Crowds are waving palm branches, shouting hosanna, hailing him as a king.

But within a week, many would turn on Jesus, and they would crucify him. Now all four gospels give an account of the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Jesus riding a donkey, which fulfills the prophecy from Zechariah chapter nine in the Old Testament. The crowd sees a messiah, their messiah, but their expectations are about to be challenged. Now these people weren't just excited.

They were actually desperate, living under Roman rule. They wanted a warrior king to overthrow the Roman oppressors. They thought that Jesus was here to deliver that kind of kingdom. Jesus, though, didn't come two thousand years ago to become an earthly ruler. The donkey is a clue.

The donkey he rides in on on Palm Sunday. Not a horse or a chariot, as a triumphant king would, but a humble donkey. He's proclaiming a kingdom of peace and salvation, a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly revolt. But, of course, the crowd misses this. They don't understand yet.

They want a liberator. Fast forward a few days. Jesus cleanses the temple, challenges religious leaders, and keeps talking about God's kingdom, not overthrowing the Romans. There is no uprising, and the crowd's hype fades. Some of the same people who shouted hosanna on Palm Sunday are yelling crucify him five days later.

Why the change? Well, Jesus didn't meet their expectations. They wanted instant freedom, not a call to repentance. When he didn't deliver their version of salvation, they were easily turned when the religious rulers were trying to drum up the crowd against Jesus in front of Pilate. It's a chance for us to ask ourselves, how often do we want God to fit our plans instead of trusting him?

And Palm Sunday invites us to reflect on that. Would we be waving palms with the crowd and cheering for Jesus only when he matches our agenda? Are we ready to follow the real Jesus, the one who leads to the cross before the resurrection? This Holy Week, it's a chance for us to think about that as we move through the week. We're coming from Palm Sunday, and we're moving to the Paschal Triduum.

Now on Holy Thursday, this is a mass that celebrates the institution of the priesthood and the institution of the Eucharist. And you'll notice, or you might notice, that the tabernacle doors are open, and there's no Eucharist in the tabernacle at the start of this mass. Something very symbolic there, because every person who receives communion at the mass of the Lord's Supper and on Good Friday will be receiving hosts, consecrated hosts that are consecrated at the Holy Thursday mass. You're going to see the washing of the feet where a priest echoes the humility of Christ. You're going to see a Eucharistic procession and an opportunity to wait and watch with Jesus.

Now, something interesting about Holy Thursday is there's no recessional hymn, and that's because the triduum of the three days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday is one liturgy. And in the entrance procession on Good Friday, our priest there there there will not be a an entrance hymn. Our priest will come in, prostrate before the altar, and go straight to the chair, and give an opening prayer. Also, in Good Friday, we have the great intercessions. 10 intercessions for the world and various people.

People who don't believe in God. People who don't believe in Christ. Also on Good Friday, we have the Adoration of the Cross. Very beautiful moment. And Friday Good Friday is the only day of the year that's not a mass.

That is because there's no consecration. Again, this is because Jesus dies on Friday. And the consecrated hosts from the Good Thursday celebration will be distributed in a communion service, part of the liturgy, of Good Friday. Finally, the last day of the Triduum is Holy Saturday. The church calls it the solemn Easter vigil.

In fact, it's the highest mass of the year. Yes. It's higher than Christmas. It is the evening where around the world at various churches, if there are people to join the church, adults that are protestants, that are making a profession of faith would join. It's where people who are not Christian and have not been baptized would receive all three sacraments of initiation.

And the service begins with the service of light, where the paschal candle is lit from a fire, and the fire is blessed before the lighting of the candle. Then there's a procession into the church, and Lumen Christi is proclaimed. Also, the congregation has the small white taper candles, and they light that from the paschal candle, the Easter candle, as it is in the middle of the church as it's processing in. We have the beautiful placing of the paschal candle into the candle stand, and at that moment, the lights come on. Everybody has a lit candle.

This is representing the light of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the triumph of Christ, of light over darkness. Then there's a beautiful proclamation of the exultet. And there's a lot of readings, in fact, more readings, at the solemn Easter Vigil than any other liturgy throughout the year. There's a minimum of three readings from the Old Testament, but there could be as many as seven. That's up to the pastor.

But you'll hear the account from Genesis. You'll hear the account of the deliverance of the Jews from pharaoh, the exodus through the Red Sea. Also, something interesting you might notice on Holy Saturday is the Gloria is in a very interesting place. It is after the Old Testament readings and before the epistle. After the priest gives a homily at churches around the world, if there are people to join, this is when it happens.

Baptism would occur if there are baptisms. A rite of reception would occur if there are Protestants joining the that particular Catholic church, followed by confirmation. So the Paschal Triduum is a very, very beautiful service. You'll notice that the solemn Easter vigil is the only service on the schedule, and it must start at dusk when the sun goes down. So the solemn Easter vigil doesn't start at the normal time a Saturday vigil might start.

You can check the website or the church bulletin for the exact schedule for the Paschal Triduum coming up this weekend. Thanks for listening to the Saint Coleman Catholic Church podcast. If you wanna be notified every time we release a new episode, you can follow us on Apple podcast or Spotify. And be sure to spread the word about our parish podcast.