Holy Week

From The Lord Will Answer, A Daily Prayer Catechism.



"No other week in the church year has so strong an aura of special devotion. The eight days from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday immerse us in the central mystery of God's work of salvation through the Lord's death and resurrection.

Holy Week contains in itself not only the final days of Lent but also the celebration of the Passion of Christ. Holy Week falls into two distinct parts. Palm Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week, and the day hours of Maundy Thrusday complete our time of preparation. The Holy Communion of Maundy Thrusday night begins the Three Holy Days, or Holy Triduum, which is completed at Evening Prayer (Vespers) on Easter Day. The services of these days form a single unit of celebration of Christ's death and resurrection. The week thus faces both back to the very beginning of Lent, and forward to the 50-day celebration of the resurrection, which is sealed on the Day of Pentecost."