The Humility of Holy Week
Holy Week is upon us, and Lent is over. The sacrifices and reflections that marked these forty days are now ending and the true purpose of this time of penance is in front of us. These days of the Triduum are the culmination of the season, commemorating the final days of the earthly life of Christ and the sacrifice He made for our salvation.
Why was this sacrifice necessary?
The need to reconcile with God for the sins of our first parents and those of the many who followed, particularly our own sins, can only be understood by a mind in sync with the Creator. Many cannot accept this reality of our existence; many also choose not to accept it. God’s Chosen People were given insights which guided them for generations, but even so, their leaders came to reject these teachings when reality did not fit their expectations. We, as holders of the truth today, risk falling into the same trap as the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Arrogance has no place in evangelization. Only those who accept that the knowledge they possess is a direct gift from the Holy Spirit can properly share it. It was this humility which allowed a proper understanding of Christ’s teachings then, and the same humility we need today. Like the child seers of Fatima or the recipients of the manifestations of His word throughout the ages, only those with properly disposed hearts are open to God’s truth. He chose uneducated fishermen to bring the Faith to the world while intellectual doubters remained lost in their own arrogance.
The Fulfillment of His Kingdom
Perhaps Lent was very fruitful for you. Perhaps it was not, or at least you believe that it was not due to the many distractions that pulled you from your sacrificial goals. We must understand that the enemy works to discourage us by tricking us into believing that we made little if any spiritual progress. Discouragement is the tool that leads to the abandonment of our mission. We must be diligent to avoid despair as even the greatest saints struggled with this weakness. A feeling of failure may be a sign that in fact you are on the right track; the true progress is found in how you move forward. Indeed, the true measure of these forty days is not where you find yourself today, but in how you amend your life as a result.
Holy Thursday prepares us for the difficulty and uncertainty of Good Friday. At the Last Supper, Jesus’ ministry culminated in the institution of the Eucharist, the foundation of the Faith. The fulfillment of His mission would come in the events of the days to follow. Fear and doubt overcame even His closest disciples as they saw the Teacher taken from them in the most brutal fashion. Only three days later would they come to understand the fullness of His mission. Christ taught us many things, particularly that our earthly life is not what we live for, nor does it progress as we expect. Those who could not accept this reality could not reconcile how the Messiah came – not in regal splendor to overthrow the Romans, but to be subjected to a humiliating death at their hands. In response to their questioning, He stated, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Our commission as Christians is to bring His Kingdom into the world. As participants in the Eucharistic Revival initiative of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference, the World Apostolate of Fatima/Our Lady’s Blue Army is committed to bringing about a renewed zeal for Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Without belief in the Real Presence, we fail to be Catholic. It is tragic that the precious gift He gave us at the Last Supper is not fully accepted by Baptized Christians. It is even more tragic to think that perhaps only thirty percent of those who profess Catholicism believe fully in the Real Presence and the Eucharistic Sacrifice. We must work to bring about the realization of this gift first to our own family and then to our extended Christian family. We will be traveling along the Seton Route of the Eucharistic Procession to Indianapolis with the National Pilgrim Virgin Statue, conducting Night of Love vigils along the way. Please follow the schedule on our website and pray that belief in the Real Presence will increase throughout our journey. You can follow the Eucharistic Revival Fatima Statue Procession, which begins May 10.
The Light of the Resurrection
As I drove northbound along a road near my home the other morning, I passed by a cemetery on a hillside to my left. The sun rising on my right bathed the many tombstones which dotted the landscape in an eerie blanket of illumination. I thought for a moment of the Resurrection; like Christ on Easter morning, all of those buried there await the moment when they will be called forth from the grave. That is in fact the moment of truth, when the confines of this life will be opened and we shall take our place in eternity, for better or for worse.
The choices we make have eternal consequences. During her third appearance at Fatima in July 1917, Our Lady showed the children the path that leads to perdition. Christ gave us an alternative to this sad ending and the encouragement to please God with a repentant heart. Lent was a time of preparation for this week during which we recall the fulfillment of Christ’s mission. Good Friday is the day when He opened the door for us to enter heaven if we choose to follow Him there. On Sunday we will rejoice in the glory of the Resurrection. Perhaps the light of that reality will help us see fully what fruit was gained in these past forty days.
Have a blessed Triduum and a glorious Easter.
God bless you and Mary keep you in her Immaculate Heart.
David M. Carollo is the Executive Director of the World Apostolate of Fatima USA/National Blue Army Shrine. He wrote this for his Voice of Fatima column.
If you would like to comment on this post, please contact him at [email protected].
