Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish

Throughout Holy Week, we explore the significant moments in Jesus’ life, from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, the solemn observance of the Crucifixion on Good Friday, culminating in the joyous celebration of Easter Sunday. Each day of Holy Week provides us with moments to connect with our faith and remember the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made out of love for all of us.

Holy Week, and the commemoration of Christ’s Passion, Crucifixion and death can be very difficult subjects to broach with our children. How much should we tell them? How can we explain these events in a way that is appropriate for them?

As most of us on the Holy Rosary Liturgical and Sunday School teams are parents ourselves, we’ve asked ourselves and debated these questions too, so we wanted to share with our faith community a family-friendly version of a walk through Holy Week – a shorter, softer overview of Christ’s final moments. Holy Week is a profound time of reflection, remembrance, and hope, and it offers us a valuable opportunity to deepen our understanding of the pivotal events leading up to Easter:

• Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week, celebrating Jesus’ humble entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy and symbolizing peace, as crowds honor him with palm branches and praises.
• The Last Supper is when Jesus celebrated the Passover with his friends and the Apostles. Passover is the day the Jewish people remember when God saved them from being slaves in Egypt. This happened on Holy Thursday night.
• Jesus’s friend Judas left the supper and betrayed Jesus by telling the Jewish priests where Jesus would be so they could arrest him. The high priest, Caiaphas, wanted to get rid of Jesus because he could see how much the people liked him and he worried the people wouldn’t listen to him anymore and would listen to Jesus instead. 
• Still that night, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was very worried about all the terrible things he knew were about to come, but he was willing to do what God wanted him to do. Judas came with many people and found Jesus in the garden. Jesus was arrested.
• On Good Friday, the people who arrested Jesus made him carry a heavy cross (about 300 pounds) made of cypress wood to the place of his crucifixion, then nailed him to the cross with two other criminals and left him there. The people and the soldiers mocked him; only his mother Mary, three other women, and the apostle John stayed with Jesus to the end. Jesus died three hours later.
• Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross, and given to his mother Mary. A man named Joseph of Arimathea laid Jesus’ body in his own tomb and covered the entrance with a large stone. 
• On Holy Saturday, we commemorate the miracle that Jesus performed while his body was resting in the tomb, often called “The Harrowing of Hell”. Up until the moment Jesus died on the Cross, heaven was closed off to us. On Holy Saturday, Jesus descended into Hell and freed all the Holy Souls who were trapped there, waiting, and released them into heaven! 
• On the Evening of Holy Saturday, we celebrate a very special, and indeed the most beautiful and important Mass of the whole Liturgical year: The Easter Vigil Mass. In this celebration we celebrate the moment of Jesus’ resurrection by processing the Light of Christ into the church, through the lighting of the Paschal candle and the many votive candles of the faithful gathered. 
• Then, after all the penance and anticipation of Lent, we finally celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus on Easter Sunday!

Here are some answers to common questions that may come up during Holy Week. If something comes up that you don’t know the answer to, it’s okay to say that! Take those questions down, and come back to it. Jessica is always available to answer questions via email (HolyRosaryEvents@hotmail.com)!

• The Jews/Romans/Judas were not bad people. It is a horrible thing to imagine today, but Crucifixion was a common punishment for criminals in Jesus’ time. Two thieves crucified with Jesus. The Jews thought Jesus was blaspheming, or making fun of God, or teaching people to go against God’s Laws. They were worried (and jealous) that Jesus had so many people following him. The Romans thought Jesus was leading a rebellion. Both groups did not understand that Jesus was really and truly the son of God, and was teaching the people new laws from God; a better way to live. 
• Jesus was mocked by the soldiers, again, because they did not know he really was the Son of God. They thought he was just a criminal. While their behaviour is definitely unkind and wrong, they really thought Jesus was a bad person who deserved to be punished. 
• When Jesus said “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”, He did not really think that God had abandoned him. In Jesus’ time, all the Jewish people knew all the Psalms by heart. What Jesus said is the first line of Psalm 22, which predicted very accurately the events of the Crucifixion. By saying this line from the Psalm, he was showing everyone around Him that he truly was the Messiah.
• Jesus did not get off the Cross, simply, because he loves us. Since the very beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned and disobeyed God, heaven was closed off to us. No one could go to heaven! In the Old Testament, and still in Jesus’ time, Jews would sacrifice a lamb in atonement for their sins. But they kept sinning! So God sent his Son, the Lamb of God, to be sacrificed on the Cross, so that all sins in the past and the future would be forgiven! Jesus stayed on the cross and died to open heaven for us, so that we can go to heaven when we die.  

Our aim as a Parish and a faith community is not only to educate but also to inspire and engage you and your children in meaningful discussions about these events, helping them see the relevance of Jesus’ journey in their own lives. Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege of guiding you and your family during this sacred time.

May God bless you and your families during this holy season.

The Holy Rosary Liturgical Team