Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday, March 24, is the first time we hear the Lord’s Passion in the liturgical calendar. In the homily that Pope Francis delivered on Palm Sunday in 2023, Pope Francis reminded us that “Jesus, in his abandonment, asks us to open our eyes and hearts to all who find themselves abandoned. ~ Hallow

Holy Week

Holy Week includes both the Church’s most solemn observances and joyous feasts. Unique, beautiful liturgies fill the period of time that begins on Palm Sunday and culminates with Easter Sunday.

Holy Thursday begins the Easter Triduum–the three days leading up to Jesus’ Resurrection. Its formal name is Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which was the first celebration of the Eucharist.

Notable at the Holy Thursday service is the washing of the feet, in which the priest washes the feet of 12 parishioners. Jesus did this to demonstrate to his disciples how they are to serve others through selfless love. Originally, only men were invited to be among the 12 to have their feet washed. A decree from Pope Francis in 2016 opened up the ritual to all.

Good Friday is the only day in the entire year in which no Mass is celebrated.
It’s a solemn day that calls for fasting and abstinence. Stations of the Cross are a common rite of devotion on Good Friday. The main service on Good Friday features no procession. The Passion is read and the Eucharist (consecrated on Thursday) is distributed. Veneration of the Cross and solemn intercessions–a set of shared prayer intentions offered universally on this day–are other unique elements to the Good Friday service. ~ Hallow

During Holy Week, Christians recall the events leading up to Jesus’ death by crucifixion and,
according to their faith, his Resurrection.

The week includes five days of special significance. The first is Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ humble entry (on a donkey) into Jerusalem to observe Passover. According to the Gospel account, he was greeted by crowds of people who spread their cloaks and laid palm leaves in his path and proclaimed him the Son of David (Matthew 21:5). In many Christian churches Palm Sunday is celebrated with a blessing and procession of palms.

On Maundy Thursday we mark Jesus’ institution at the Last Supper of the Eucharist, thereafter a central element of Christian worship. In Roman Catholicism, Maundy Thursday is accompanied by the pope’s washing of the feet of 12 humble or poor persons, in imitation of Jesus’ washing of the feet of his 12 disciples at the Last Supper.

Good Friday commemorates Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross; it is the most solemn day of the Christian year which is traditionally marked as a day of sorrow, penance, and fasting.

Holy Saturday, also called Easter Vigil, is the traditional end of Lent.

Christians observe Easter Sunday as the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection, according to the Gospels, on the third day after his crucifixion.

Palm Sunday and Holy Week

Palm Sunday

Holy Week

We Enter Holy Week