'Tis another year celebrating Holy Week under the implementation of quarantine in the country. It is well known that Holy Week is celebrated yearly to commemorate Jesus’s sacrificial love for us.
However, not a lot of people know the story behind Holy Week holds. Nor does a handful of them know the significance and symbolism of each day Lent Week holds. Especially since it is a very crucial week that led to Jesus’s crucifixion.
If you’re curious to know more about the details, stick around since we will be discussing Holy Week and its Origins: The Story Behind Lent Week.
What is Holy Week?
Holy Week, also known as Passion Week, is a seasonal celebration to reminisce about the life Jesus walked up to until His death and resurrection. Lent Week consists of Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Each day holds a story that shows the fulfillment of the prophecy that has consistently been hinted a lot in the Old Testament; just like how Isaiah 9:6 stated “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday, also referred to as Passion Sunday, perpetuates Jesus's modest entry while riding on a young donkey. The crowd welcomed him with waving palm branches that signify righteousness and triumph while laying a path by spreading their cloaks on the ground upon his entry shows how Jesus is recognized as a valued royalty. Palm Sunday symbolizes the start of the victory Christ will bring as He conquers sin and grave.
Holy Monday
Jesus Christ went to the temple courts only to witness people who were selling and buying noisily there. The temple grounds looked like a market as people bargained and continued without care. The lack of respect for the holy place angered Him, and He furiously overthrows tables of money changers and drove them out of the temple. In Matthew 21:13 he said “It is written. My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.” Holy Monday shows how Jesus cleansed the temple. Including his reasonable anger and disappointment, or can be referred to as “banal na galit” in Tagalog to the people who were deficient in expressing their courtesy to His house.
Holy Tuesday
Holy Tuesday refers to how Jesus noticed the form of a fig tree by the road that stood bearing nothingness but leaves. He then went closer to the tree and told it that it shall never bear fruit again. His disciples were astonished at how the fig tree withered ever so quickly. In Matthew 21:21-22, Jesus replied, “ Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, "Go, throw yourself into the sea," and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Holy Tuesday signifies that judgment will betide those who do not bear the fruits of repentance.
Holy Wednesday
Wednesday of Holy Week is traditionally also known as "Spy Wednesday" because Judas made a deal with the High Priest to betray Jesus in exchange for thirty silver coins as stated in Matthew 26:14-16. According to Matthew 26:6-13, this is also the day on which the woman at Bethany anointed Jesus with a costly jar of alabaster in Simon the leper's home. Holy Wednesday represents Christians remembering Jesus' and the betrayal of Judas, a clandestine spy among the disciples. It just shows how people can be truly wicked by tormenting Jesus and scheming against Him.
Maundy Thursday
The Easter or Sacred Triduum (Triduum Sacrum) is the three-day drama of Christ's salvation that takes place during Holy Week: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. "Maundy Thursday" is another name for Holy Thursday. All of the events of that first Holy Thursday are outlined by Father Bernard Strasser: First is the feeding of the Easter lamb or the paschal meal, second is the washing of the disciples' feet, third is the institution of the Most Sacred Eucharist, fourth is the prophecy of Judas' betrayal and Peter's denials, fifth is Jesus' farewell discourse and priestly prayer and lastly, Jesus' suffering and capture in the Garden of Olives. Maundy Thursday commemorates Jesus’ institution at the Last Supper of the Eucharist, thereafter a central element of Christian worship.
Good Friday
Good Friday is a significant day of the year because it commemorates what we consider to be the most historic weekend in human history. Christians have declared the cross and resurrection of Jesus to be the definitive turning point for all life ever since he died and was raised. The notion that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life on the third day, all in accordance with what God had vowed all along in the Scriptures, was “of first importance” to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:3). On Good Friday, we commemorate the day when Jesus gladly suffered and died as the supreme sacrifice for our sins through crucifixion (1 John 1:10).
Holy Saturday
The Church gathers at the Lord's tomb on Holy Saturday to reflect on his pain and death. The altar is left empty, and the Mass sacrifice is not celebrated. The Easter celebration begins only after the solemn vigil held during the night in anticipation of the resurrection, with a spirit of joy that lasts for the next fifty days. The traditional end of Lent is Holy Saturday, also known as Easter Vigil. This holiday commemorates Christ's final day on earth, which is traditionally connected to his victorious ascension into heaven.
What is Resurrection Sunday?
Resurrection Sunday, or others may call it Easter Sunday, is not a part of the lent week. Rather, the Lent Week is a week of Jesus’ life that led Him up until Resurrection Sunday. Just like its name, it is a day when Jesus rose from the grave including the revelation of Christianity’s stronghold foundation after being set free from sin and death due to Christ’s atonement. A very symbolic Sunday that saved humanity from falling out of grace.
Story by Faith Ongaria and Erin Mapanao
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