Holy Week is a term that is still used, even with the renewal of the Triduum, and it refers to the week beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Holy Saturday. It includes the last days of Lent.
Fig Sunday was a name for Palm Sunday because figs were eaten that day, memorializing the fig tree cursed by Christ after his entry into Jerusalem ( Mark 11:12-14).
As Jesus enters Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, the crowd joyfully hails Him as the King and Messiah returning to the City of David. He is the prophet who brings new hope and calls people to conversion.
On Palm Sunday we begin our preparation for Holy Week. At Mass, we receive blessed branches of palms to symbolize our profession of Jesus as the Messiah, King of Peace. Picture yourself in the crowd welcoming Jesus. Find a special place for your palm. Think of a concrete way you will live out your calling as a disciple of Jesus. Each time you see the palm, remember your call and pray for help to respond to it.
A short time after Jesus enters Jerusalem the Lament for Jerusalem happens. Have you ever been so disappointed in something that you just sat down and wept? That’s what happened to Jesus. In Luke 19:41-42, we hear of His great disappointment and frustration that He cannot help Jerusalem and its people. The people of Jerusalem do not accept His message of justice and peace, so the Temple and Jerusalem are to be destroyed again. Jesus is so upset that He weeps.
We often forget that although Jesus is fully God, He is also fully human and experienced all the things that normal people experience. He enjoyed excitement, laughter, and fun times with friends. He also experienced fear, sadness, and frustration. He was completely human in all things but sin.
At the Last Supper, Jesus makes the sad announcement: “One of you is about to betray me.” All of the apostles respond in horror, “Is it I, Lord?” In the Greek, the question is so framed that the negative response is anticipated. None of them can think of himself as turning against his Friend and Master. And yet, they are unsure of themselves, And even more interesting, Judas does not ask the same question as the other apostles.
Every individual is capable of sin. Some are inclined to sins of weakness. And then there are the self-righteous who set themselves over others in judgement and condemnation. Their sin is deeper. It is pride- the sin of Lucifer. At the root of all sin is the self that exalts itself over and against God, Who wills what is good for us and Who Himself is love and mercy without limit. No individual with a human heart is so sure of himself that he is safe in pointing the finger at another. All of us need to ask, “Is it I, Lord?” It takes courage to face the answer: “Yes, I have betrayed my Master.”