I came to the United States in 2009. Little by little I started not only to learn English, but also to learn about American culture. All of its traditions were new to me. Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, etc. Once, I was chatting with a friend, and he asked me about the celebration of Holy Week in the United States. Immediately, I started to remember the way that we celebrated Holy Week in Colombia, and of course, it was very different. Colombia has a lot of processions, a lot of people, activities for children, youth, and adults. Long lines of people waiting for their turn to go to the sacrament of Reconciliation, long ceremonies (people do not care about time), and even the Easter Vigil was a long celebration (around 4 hours). Of course, all of these flashbacks happened in a second. I then described the way Americans celebrate the Holy Week, which of course was very different. My friend said to me that Holy Week in America was “boring.” I laughed and explained that Holy week in America is just very different.
I believe that even though there are not the same expressions of faith during the most important week of the year for all Christian people, the Americans have wonderful expressions of faith because they understand the real importance of this week (At least, I want to believe so).
We praise the Lord on Palm Sunday and recognize Jesus not only as the King of the Jews, but also as the King of the Universe. He is the King of our lives. We praise Him with palms saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9).
On Holy Thursday we celebrate the sacrament of Love, the Eucharist. At the Last Supper, Our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to stay with us in the bread and wine. We need to say to the Lord “thank you” for all the wonderful gifts that the Lord gave us in this Supper.
On Good Friday Jesus died for us on the Cross. He cleansed us of our sins through His sacrifice because by the Holy Cross, He has redeemed the world. We call this day “Good” not because it was good to see a man die on a Cross, but by the act of Jesus through His death, He restored our friendship with God.
On Easter vigil the Christians rejoice at the triumphant Resurrection of the Lord. St. Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith” (1 Cor. 15, 14). Easter Vigil is the center of our faith. The resurrection of Christ gave us hope and the possibility to go to the house of our Heavenly Father.
Even though the way Christians celebrate Holy Week is different, we have the same spirit. The Lord Jesus saved all of us regardless of our traditions, nationality, language, or culture. We commemorate His passion, death, and resurrection. We live these sacred mysteries with faith and love. We say thank you to the Lord for His sacrifice on the Cross and His resurrection from death.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin be with you always
Fr. Jorge Ramirez
