Priest offers five suggestions for making the most of Holy Week

Cesar, left, Julio and Margarita Zuñiga kneel in prayer on Nov. 3, 2023, during a Mass at St. Rita Parish in Indianapolis. (File photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

Holy Week is the high point of the Church’s liturgical year. It is a week marked by solemn and ultimately joyful liturgies in which Catholics give worship to God and enter more fully into Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.

Holy Week, which takes place from April 13-20 this year, offers the faithful many opportunities to take part in liturgies overflowing with deeply symbolic rituals, starting with Palm Sunday and going forward to the chrism Mass, the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, the Easter Vigil on the night of Holy Saturday and the joyous liturgies of Easter Sunday.

Father Michael Keucher, archdiocesan vocations director and pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Shelbyville and St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Shelby County, offered five suggestions to readers of The Criterion to help them make the most of Holy Week this year.

• During Holy Week, spend at least five minutes a day looking at a crucifix—“Kneel if you can. Looking at the sacrifice of Jesus reminds us of the power and depths of his love. It is also a summons to us to have a similar love in return.”
• Do a technology fast one day of Holy Week—“Focus that day on our Lord’s passion. If the weather is fair, go outside and read and pray one of the Passion accounts” (Mt 26:30–27:66, Mk 14:26–15:47, Lk 22:39–23:56 and Jn 18:1–19:42).
• Pray for priestly vocations on Holy Thursday—“This is the day Jesus gave us the priesthood. You can find all kinds of beautiful priestly vocation prayers online. Pray especially for the priests who have given you and your children the priceless gifts of the sacraments of baptism, holy Communion, confession, the anointing of the sick and last rites and matrimony.”
• If in good health and of adult age, do a simple bread and water fast on Good Friday—“Jesus models fasting for us and teaches us to do it. Doing this on Good Friday is a way for us to join ourselves to Christ’s suffering and death.”
• Make a good confession before Easter—“There is nothing as refreshing as having a clean conscience and a life set on God. God wants to give you a new, fresh start!”