I know most of you are thinking, "what? Christmas is so far away!" And that season evokes different feelings; feelings of warmth, love, peace, nostalgia, anticipation. I love Easter Sunday, too. After 40 days that have a tinge of clouds cast over them, Easter is all light, color, freshness and sweets.
But Holy Week has its own power. Growing up around D.C., there is a strong tradition of attending Holy Week Masses and services. Even in Miami, people understood and appreciated it profoundly. It wasn't until I moved to the west coast of Florida that I realized not everyone had a deep love and appreciation for it. It's wasn't anything negative I sensed. It was more of an ambivalence, which got my thoughts turned toward why I love it so much.
Holy Week has a sort of hush about it, as if God is inviting us to peek into the mystery of His Love. We step outside of time, we live again the betrayal of friends save his mother and 2 others. We witness the love of a brave woman named Veronica who pushes through the crowd to wipe his stinging face. We feel his absence from our churches when He is removed from all tabernacles on Holy Thursday until he rises to be with us on Easter. The church does a magnificent job in helping us to feel along with our Lord. Because only when we enter in can we understand what our shortcomings and laziness at looking at our lives actually means.
Holy Week reminds us that our work is not done, both on the outside in our world, but most importantly, on the inside. If we enter in, we can't fake it. We know what's important in life. And if by chance this year we have gotten off course, we will see it and make some changes.
What a gift indeed.
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