Homily: March 27, 2024, Wednesday of teh Holy Week

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Preached During  Holy Family School Mass. 

This week is a special week, do you know what it is known as?

Yes, Holy Week! It is the holiest week in the whole year of the church. This is the week when the church follows everything that happened to Jesus, and studies seriously everything that Jesus did and taught, every day, up to Easter Sunday. Christians all over the world remember and celebrate the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus during this week.

How many of you went to church last Sunday? Did you take back some palms?

Great! So last Sunday was Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday. It remembers the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem sitting on a donkey and many people welcomed him with palms shouting, “Hosanna to the King of kings!” It is the beginning of Holy Week.

Then we have Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday.

And what is today?

You are right, today is Holy Wednesday. But there is also another name to this day…anyone knows?

Today is also known as Spy Wednesday. A spy is someone who works in secret. A spy is someone who betrays the trust of others.

Did you listen carefully to the Gospel passage today?

We heard Jesus telling his disciples that one of them will betray him. So, who is the spy?

Yes, Judas Iscariot. Traditionally, Judas went to the chief priests on Wednesday and received thirty silver coins from them to betray Jesus. So, this day is known as Spy Wednesday.

Tomorrow is Holy Thursday. Jesus had his last supper with his disciples, celebrating the traditional Passover feast of the Jews. On this day, he instituted or introduced the priesthood. I am a priest of Jesus, and so I am here to celebrate Holy Mass for you, during which I will repeat the exact same words which Jesus said at the last supper with His disciples.

Holy Thursday is also known as Maundy Thursday. Maundy comes from the Latin word "Mandatum," which means commandment. After the last supper, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet and gave them the commandment, “love one another as I have loved you.”

And then, what is the day after Holy Thursday?

Good Friday! And what do we remember on that day?

Yes, Jesus died on the cross. It was a terrible death, but why do we call it good?

Because His death is not a normal death. Jesus died to save us from evil, from sin. Sin leads us to eternal death, but because Jesus took that death on our behalf, we are saved! And so, it is good!

There is no Mass on Good Friday. People come to church to venerate the cross of Jesus and pray the Stations of the Cross to remember the sufferings and death of Jesus.

After that is Holy Saturday, which is a very quiet day. All the churches in the world will be closed because Jesus had gone to the place of death, but not for long.

In the evening of Holy Saturday, all the churches will break the deadly silence and begin to rejoice and sing and celebrate again. Why?

Yes, because Jesus rose from the dead and is alive!! We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we celebrate new life. If you come to Easter Vigil Mass, the celebration will be at 8p.m. Many people who want to become Catholics will be baptized on that day. In our diocese, around 900 people will join the Catholic church this year. That is so wonderful!

And then we enter the holiest season of the year, and what do we call it?

EASTER!

We are now still in Holy Week. We have a few more days to prepare ourselves well, so that we can celebrate Easter with great joy. What can you do during these few days of Holy Week?

What Jesus wants is for us to be close to Him. Today we recall how He was betrayed, His heart must have been very sad. And in the following days when we remember how He suffered and died for us, let us spend as much time as possible to be with Jesus.

So, check with your parents for the timings of Mass these days and come to be with Jesus. Thank Him for His great love for us. Thank Him for our faith, for our church, for our families. Amen.


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