In our contemporary culture, practices such as penance, mortifications and bodily denial are sometimes seen as remaining symbols of an ‘outdated spirituality’, almost an affront to human dignity.

Yet, paradoxically, so many of us are willing to make sacrifices, as Fr Shannon Collins bluntly put it, for the “corruptible crown of physical beauty and material success”.

Fasting and penance are not stand-alone or an end in themselves. Rather, when partnered with prayer, almsgiving and the sacrament of reconciliation, they ready the whole person like an athlete, body, mind and soul for an upcoming feast. Denial during this time is no diet game.

It is a time to starve our ego. It is a time of drawing our attention to the very core of Holy Week, the Paschal Mystery, in which the son of God suffered, died for our miserable failures and then rose again in glory. These are the events that manifested God’s special love for us, events that accomplished our salvation.

Fasting and penance are not stand-alone or an end in themselves

The victory of Christ lifts our hearts and minds beyond the limited horizon of the present moment with all its difficulties and problems, to the future we anticipate as followers of Christ, an ever-so-peaceful future.

In the words of Bishop Tobin, this joyful anticipation, accompanied by the sufferings of humanity, seems to be the vision and hope our troubled world needs, now as much as ever.

Lent is a time of rekindling the fire of faith. It is a time of pleading mercy to a loving God for our failures, for His mercy is greater than our sin.

It is a time of opening up our hearts and minds to God’s grace and yield to his gentle healing touch of our resentments and hurts, of our indifference towards the suffering of the other.

We prepare ourselves, especially during Holy Week, by reflecting upon the areas of darkness in our lives into which God so deeply desires to shine a light. We ask God to rouse a sense of embarrassment, leading to deep sorrow, for any way we may not have been faithful, honest, loving, selfless or generous – in our relationship with God, with our family and with others.

When the light of God’s love shines into this level of self-awareness, then we are touched by a powerful experience of reconciliation where God is offering me wholeness and joy.

Reflections for Holy Week

Palm Sunday
Christ’s entry into Jerusalem

After driving out demons, healing the sick, and raising the dead, it was time for the King of Kings to enter the Holy City. The crowds sing their hosannas and wave palm branches thinking that the messiah was coming to assemble an army, and with the help of God, Israel would be set free.

Little did they understand that Christ was heading towards those who were plotting his death. Christ rode not on the back of a warhorse, but on a donkey. His companions accompanied him brandishing not swords, but palm branches. The moment of his victory, erected a week later, was nothing less than the cross.

Holy Thursday
The disciples gather around the Lord’s table

Jesus celebrates the Last Supper with his closest companions. On that occasion, as a gift to all humanity He gave us the Eucharist, His own body and blood which would be sacrificed on Calvary the next day. He bestowed the ministerial priesthood, in which He chooses and consecrates till this very day men and women to be good and holy shepherds, to share His sacrificial ministry of God’s people.

Good Friday
The Passion of Christ

Christ endures rejection, humiliation and intense physical pain for the forgiveness of our sins. We bring to mind our wounded world, the victims of rape, the casualties of war, the needlessly starving children in a world of plenty and the plight of refugees to reach a safe land. We follow Jesus as He carries His cross and with Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, we stand at the foot of the cross to witness the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God.

Easter Vigil
In the darkness of the night, we await.

In the darkness of the night we await at the tomb of the Lord for His promised resurrection. We immerse ourselves in the symbols of the liturgy – the new fire, the word, the water, the holy oils and the bread and the wine – all of which point us to Christ and help us to understand and share in the reality of His death and resurrection.

Easter Sunday
We rejoice in the new life of Christ.

We join with the Christian Church all over the world to proclaim and rejoice in the new life of Christ. It is the event that refreshes our spirits and gives a new hope to a tattered, weary world. It is the event that speaks to us of living forever and thus makes our lives here and now more tolerable and promising. It is the moment of victory, not by the sword, but by the humility and obedience of the living Christ.

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