Holy week starts tomorrow! Even if you haven't done anything this Lent, here are some ideas to enliven your Holy Week and prepare your heart for the celebration of Easter.
It's easy to let Lent pass me by, making the season a common place routine, performing only the smallest sacrifices possible rather than accepting the invitation from God to do some necessary Spring cleaning for my soul.
But instead of avoiding things for fear of failure, remember God asks for our faithfulness and obedience, even if this doesn't always spell success. Thank God for the opportunities to grow after failing, and then make a plan to avoid the same failures.
Challenge your comfort zone.
In this last week of Lent, look to the cross to motivate you to get outside of your comfort zone. Enter into the passion of Christ by participating in every day of Holy Week.
Many parishes have a special Holy Week schedule. Check out what is going on at your local parish and consider participating in the special events.
Go to Mass more, even if that means one extra weekday. I really struggle with planning the kids' breakfast, making their lunches, snacks, task managing them in the morning, dropping them off at school, and then getting to Mass on time while keeping the baby happy. The chances are good, though, if I plan on going every day, that I will at least be successful one of those days.
Spend time in Eucharistic adoration. Beyond spending time with our Lord in a chapel, also seek out parishes that are having 40 hours for the Lord, or Benediction. On Holy Thursday visit the altar of repose at the local parishes.
Pray the Stations of the Cross.
April 3, 2015: Pope Francis holds the cross during the celebration of the Lord's Passion, in St. Peter's basilica at the Vatican, Friday.
If the weather is nice, try to find an outdoor stations. On Good Friday, most parishes will have Stations you can attend, but if the time isn't convenient, you can still manage to read the prayers and meditate on your break at work or before going to bed.
Go to Confession. It's also a wonderful time to cleanse my soul of sin through the sacrament of reconciliation, and learn how much I am dependent on God through regular abstinence and fasting.
Pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary. Five years ago I was introduced to this beautiful devotion through reading Our Lady of Kibeho by Immaculee Ilibagiza. The Seven Sorrows Rosary originates with the Servite Order in the 13th century. In the apparition of Our Lady of Kibeho, Marie-Claire was told to reintroduce the prayer to the world. While the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows is observed on September 15, there is no better time to start praying the Rosary and meditating on her sorrows than during Holy Week.
Promises for Peace. The seven graces Our Lady promises to those who devote themselves to daily meditating on her sorrows are:
I will grant peace to their families.
They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.
I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.
I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.
I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.
I will visibly help them at the moment of their death—they will see the face of their mother.
I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and sorrows will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy.
Furthermore, Christ promises to those who devote themselves to meditating on His Mother's dolors:
That those who before death invoke the Blessed Mother in name of her sorrows, should obtain true repentance of all their sins.
That He would protect in their tribulations, all who remember this devotion, and He would protect them especially at the hour of their death.
That He would impress upon their minds the remembrance of His Passion, and that they should have their reward for it in Heaven.
That He would commit such devout clients to the hands of Mary, so that she might obtain for these souls all the graces she wants to lavish upon them.
Persevere in Hope. As we enter into the deeper intensity of Lent during Holy Week, remember that Our Lady told Marie Claire that we would not enter Heaven without much suffering. She shared with Saint Bridget that her soul was pierced with grief every hour of her life on earth. The visionaries of Our Lady of Kibeho all repeated the same sentiment of Our Lady, "I cannot promise you joy in this life, but I can in the next."
Even if you're suffering from lack of joy, there's still hope for peace. From personal experience, I can tell you that gift of peace was rewarded immediately after praying the novena to Our Lady of Sorrows, but I also gained a greater appreciation and love for the sufferings our Blessed Mother endured for our sake.
Resources: You can find the Rosary instructions and meditations here. I also recommend reading the earlier mentioned book, Our Lady of Kibeho, as well as The Seven Sorrows of Mary: A Meditative Guide, by Brother Joel Giallanza, C.S.C., and The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Prayers, Devotions and Reflections for September, by Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, for further information and meditation guides.
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