Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we begin Holy Week, I invite you to fully enter into this time by attending our liturgies so that the Lord may fill you with the many blessings waiting for those who journey with Him. This weekend we celebrate the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and then quickly find the rejoicing of the crowds turning somber as we hear of the Lord’s passion, crying out in the Psalm, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”
Thursday evening, we are allowed to be present at the Last Supper when the Lord gives us the great gift of His very Body and Blood. After the Last Supper, he asked the Apostles to “stay awake and pray” as He experienced the agony in the Garden. The Apostles fell asleep, but we are invited to remain with Jesus in prayer offering a small consolation to Him who has so frequently consoled us.
On Friday, we stand at the foot of the Cross with the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John. The Lord freely chooses to suffer and die so that He can pay the punishment for our sins. I encourage you not to work or go to school that day. Not playing video games or binging Netflix, but to quietly and reflectively stand at the foot of the cross and experience the sadness, helplessness and despair of the Blessed Virgin Mary as she watches her son brutally killed.
Holy Saturday we have the greatest Mass of the Year. Moving from the darkness of Friday’s death, led by the light of the paschal candle (just as God guided the Israelites by a pillar of fire to the promised land) into the Church to hear the good news of the Resurrection. Filled with Easter joy we see the fruits of the resurrection’s promise of eternal life manifested in those who will be baptized that night.
I look forward to seeing you throughout this week.
In Christ,
Bishop Tim Freyer