Palm Sunday

Good FridayHoly Thursday

Holy Saturday Easter Sunday

Holy Week Holy Week at Homeat Home

Simple Prayers while at Home

Holy Week at Home“To be holy does not require being a bishop, a priest or a religious. We are frequently tempted to think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary aff airs to spend much time in prayer. Th at is not the case. We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we fi nd ourselves.

Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by labouring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain.” -Pope Francis

Th ere is always something special about Holy Week. Th e symbolism of our Church comes alive more in these seven days than any other period of the year. Spending Holy Week at Home is in no way anyone’s desire, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make it special, holy, and/or beautiful. We hope the following prayers assist you and your family during this Holy Week at Home.

Recommendations: 1.) We encourage completing these prayers with your household. If there are just two of you, you’ll have less people, but everything should still make sense. If you are an individual, the prayers are still relevant, the refl ec-tions can still be completed, but some of the actions will require an adjustment. 2.) Identify a Prayer Leader to read ahead and gather any supplies or make any preparations needed so the prayer can be focused on the spiritual components, and not the logistics.3.) Take turns reading, or leading the diff erent components of the prayer.4.) If your household can handle it (especially on Palm Sunday and Good Friday) consider reading the entire readings that can be found at usccb.org/readings.5.) Make sure this is a positive experience for everyone.

Other Th oughts:Holy Week is full of symbolism. Palms on Palm Sunday, Washing of the Feet on Holy Th ursday, Dressing the Altar and Venerating the Cross on Good Friday, Fire, Candles, Light, Water, Oil on Holy Saturday and of course the bare/covered cross on Easter Sunday. Th is prayer service tries to incorporate many of these symbols and actions. If you have any questions regarding them, please don’t hesitate to ask. We would love to explain!

Th e holidays of Holy Week have numerous names, and each day has numerous focus points. Palm Sunday is also Passion Sunday when we focus on Christ’s arrest, sentence, and death. Holy or Maundy Th ursday is the day we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist, wash the feet out of loving service, and as part of the Univer-sal Church we receive the oils we use for the entire year. Good Friday we again focus on Christ’s death, but also venerate the Cross, and usually also refl ect on the Stations of the Cross. Easter/Holy Satuday we acknowledge our entrance into the Church, and the entire story of the Church. We welcome all who wish to join the Church on this day. And Easter or Resurrection Sunday we of course focus on Christ’s defeat of death. We encourage you to continue to learn about these holidays beyond what these prayers can provide, and we hope you will join us for Holy Week 2021.

Holy Week at Home

Intro: Today, we begin Holy Week. It is a day that is called Palm Sunday because of the palms we receive at Mass and the remembrance of the Jesus entry into Jerusalem when the people placed palm branches in front of him to keep the dust down from the road as a way to honor and respect him.

Action: Let’s begin by taking a minute feeling the breeze, smelling the fresh air, listening to the sounds of nature, all of God’s creation, and remembering, that all God created is good.

Refl ection: What is your favorite part about being outside?

Collect: Dear family, since the beginning of Lent we have been preparing our hearts through sacrifi ce and acts of love. Today, we gather spiritually with all in the Church both on Earth and in Heaven for the beginning of Holy Week, a week we remember Jesus’ life, his death, and his resurrection. Today is the day Jesus walked into Jerusalem, with the people cheering and revering him, putting their palm branches down for him to walk on, keeping his feet clean from the dust of the dirt. As he passed the people, he clearly saw several of the people that would be putting him to death later that week.

Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:8-9A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.Glory to you, O Lord.

Th e very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. Th e crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.”

Th e Gospel of the LordPraise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Refl ection: Few of us say “Hosanna” today. If you were a part of the crowd, what do you think you would say as Jesus walked by?

Action: Place a branch from your yard, or a recent walk with your family, in a window or onto your door much like we would a wreath at Christmas time.

Prayer: With this branch, let us remember that our Lord Jesus is the King of Kings. With this branch, let us remember that our Lord Jesus is the Bread of Life. With this branch, let us remember that our Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God. With this branch, let us remember that our Lord Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. With this branch, let us always remember our Lord Jesus’ love for us all, especially this Holy Week.

Almighty God, our Creator, and Creator of all things in nature, please bless our yard, our trees, our branches, that we may see your beauty in them all. Please bless our walkway, that even on our worst days, we can walk this path knowing we will be entering our home of love, a love that we learn through your son, who continues to live and will reign for ever and ever. Amen.

Recommended Location for this prayer: Outside

Palm Sunday

Joe Weyers, ©2020

Holy Week at HomeHoly Thursday

Intro: Tonight we celebrate Holy Th ursday. It was this evening almost 2,000 years ago that Jesus sat with his disciples for his last supper. During that meal, he gave us an example of how to serve others out of love, and he gave us the Eucharist, our spiritual nourishment, the source and summit of our Christian lives.

Let’s begin by thinking about all of the meals and conversations we have had sitting here.

Refl ection: What has been one of your favorite meals or memories sitting here?

Collect: Dear family, we have cherished our meals at this table, but we know that Jesus is the Bread of Life, and that our greatest banquet is the banquet of his love which we receive in the Eucharist, our spiritual nourishment. While we miss this great gift , we are grateful for the love Jesus shared in his life, in his death, and in his resurrection. Let us pray that we may draw from so great a mystery, the fullness of love and of life. Th rough our Lord Jesus Christ, our Creator’s Son, who lives and reigns with God our Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture Reading: John 13:4-5A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.Glory to you, O Lord.

He rose from supper and took off his outer garments, took a towel and tied it around his waist. Th en he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.

Th e Gospel of the LordPraise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Refl ection: Why do you think Jesus wanted to wash their feet instead of just telling everyone to go and wash up themselves?

Action: Take a bowl of water with a small cup. Pour the water on each person’s feet and then dry them with a towel. Do this for everyone in the family.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you taught us how to love through service. May this small action of washing each other’s feet, an action that you showed us the night you were arrested, be an action of thanksgiving for each other. Let it remind us of our love for one another. Th at through our love for each other we are in communion with each other. And let it remind us that while we may not tonight be able to visit our Church, we are a Domestic Church. Let our Domestic Church be a place for us all to grow in holiness, and love for you, our savior.Amen.

Recommended Location for this prayer: The Dinner Table

Joe Weyers, ©2020

Holy Week at HomeGood Friday

Intro: On Sunday, we placed this branch as a reminder of the people that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with many only a few days later changing their mind, and betraying him. As we look at this branch, and refl ect on this day that we remember Jesus’ death for us, let us take a minute in silence thinking about the times since we put this branch up that we have betrayed Jesus by making a choice that goes against his love.

Refl ection/Action: Recognize a recent time you have not shown love to a family member (here) and apologize to them.

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, you created us and guide us as we seek to always desire you, and through you, help us fi nd peace. We pray that despite every harmful obstacle, we may always recognize the signs of your fatherly love and the witness of the good works done by those who believe in you, and so in gladness confess you, the one true God and Father of our human race. On this Good Friday, a day where a virus has led us all to carry a cross, help us to see our salvation through the love of your son upon his death.

Scripture Reading: John 19:16-18, 28-30A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.Glory to you, O Lord.

Th en he handed him over to them to be crucifi ed. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. Th ere they crucifi ed him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.

Aft er this, aware that everything was now fi nished, in order that the scripture might be fulfi lled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” Th ere was a vessel fi lled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is fi nished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Th e Gospel of the LordPraise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Action: Take a very slow walk around your neighborhood, about half the speed of your normal pace. With each step mention a name of someone in your life refl ecting on yours and God’s love for this person.

Refl ection: Who was the hardest person to pray for?

Prayer: May your abundant blessing, O Lord, we pray, descend upon us, as we have honored the Death of your Son in the hope of our own resurrection: may pardon come, comfort be given, holy faith increase, and everlasting redemption be made secure. Th rough Christ our Lord.Amen.

Recommended Location for this prayer: Outside, Facing the Branch from Sunday

Joe Weyers, ©2020

Holy Week at HomeHoly Saturday

Intro: Sunday we celebrated Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem and many of his followers welcoming him by placing branches on the road in front of him preventing dust from getting onto his feet. On Th ursday, we remembered Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, teaching us all how to serve one another out of love. Yesterday, we refl ected on Jesus’ passion, or his love, for each of us, by taking up his cross, and dying for us all. Along the journey to Golgotha, the place of his crucifi xion, he probably saw many of those same people who just on Sunday had praised and honored him with the palms.

Today is Holy Saturday. If we were able to attend Mass this evening, we would participate in what is considered the greatest of all liturgical celebrations. It is a Mass that we remember our Church’s history, and welcome our newest members who have spent months and years learning, praying, and preparing to become Catholic.

Refl ection/Action: Why do you choose to follow Christ as Lord?

Collect: O God our Creator, in a time of such fearsome storms in our world, we turn to you out of love, grateful for your son’s sacrifi ce. We pray that we may always think thoughts worthy and pleasing to your majesty and act in love as He would to our brothers and sisters. Guide us as we look to celebrate and see the good in this world, during these darkest of days that we face. Th rough our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.

Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:31-2:3A reading from the book of Genesis.

God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed - the sixth day. Th us the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.Th e Word of the LordTh anks be to God.

Action: Remove the branch you displayed on Sunday. Remember that this branch was displayed as a remembrance for Holy Week. Th at we would remember Jesus as the King of Kings, the Bread of Life, the Lamb of God, and the Resurrection and Life. If you lit a fi re, place it in the fi re pit.

Refl ection: Take a minute and feel the warmth of this branch. As you feel the heat, remember God’s loving and good embrace. Let the light of the fl ame shine for you, and as the branch burns into ash, remember that this journey began on Ash Wednesday with the reminder that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Remember that the dust we shall return to at our death, tonight, Jesus remains a part of.

Prayer: God our Creator, everything you made was very good. As we conclude our journey and prayer of Lent, Holy Week, and the Triduum, we look to the hope and joy of your resurrection tomorrow. Th ere is much sadness in our world, but it is through your love we can fi nd joy, happiness, and love, even among the sorrow. Help us all see your goodness, and share that with one another through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Recommended Location for this prayer: Outside, Near the Branch from Sunday, if you have a fire pit, consider having it Also near and pre-lit.

Joe Weyers, ©2020

Holy Week at HomeEaster Sunday

Intro: Th e Lord is truly risen, alleluia! It is on this day that we celebrate that Jesus Christ conquered death and unlocked for us the path to our heavenly reward. Look upon the items on the table. We have these in our home because we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord who died entered the city of his death last Palm Sunday, gave us the Eucharist and taught us how to serve on Holy Th ursday, was put to death on Good Friday, experienced a full day of death on Saturday, and rose from his grave today, Easter Sunday. Th is is not a pile of religious stuff . Th ese are memories, tools, resources, and guides for our faith, all pointing to today’s celebration of Easter, the day of our Lord’s Resurrection. With the aid of these items we share throughout our home, we hope to continue to be renewed through the Spirit and rise up in the light of life.

Refl ection/Action: Share a story of an item on the table, or share which is your favorite item.

Collect: Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory fl oods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King, let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness. Rejoice, let our family, our Domestic Church, rejoice, arrayed with the lightning of his glory, let our home shake with joy, of this glorious resurrection.

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:5-8A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.Glory to you, O Lord.

Th e angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucifi ed. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Th en go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” Th en they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.

Th e Gospel of the LordPraise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Action: Have each family member bless each other by tracing the sign of the cross on each other’s forehead. As you bless each other, tell that person one way they give you joy.

Prayer: On this day, the Holiest of all Holy Days, let us together remember all that we believe by proclaiming the Apostles’ Creed.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suff ered under Pontius Pilate, was crucifi ed, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Recommended Location for this prayer: Dinner Table with as many of your household religious items (any cross, crucifix, icon, rosary, prayer card, etc...) on it.

Joe Weyers, ©2020