Holy Week

Good morning, happy Friday and blessings. I remind you that ‪this Sunday‬, Palm Sunday, Holy Week begins. We call Holy Week to everything that happens within Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday. Although we know that every week is holy, it is the most intense liturgical moment of the whole year. The exercise will be to make Psalm 150 real: May all that breathes praise God! This year will be historic for the whole issue of the Coronavirus and the social distancing reality that will bring us face to face with a Palm Sunday without Palms, Easter without processions, and a celebration of liturgies without the participation of people to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As a preventive measure, we will continue celebrating the Easter services by electronic means. Hence, during the homilies, I will continue to insist that the death of Jesus was neither demanded, nor programmed, nor permitted by God. The God of Jesus does not need blood to be able to forgive us. For this reason, we will be remembering at Easter that Jesus saved us living, not dying. I will also remember that Jesus does not respond to the provocation of those who mock him. He doesn't say a word. Jesus only breaks his silence to address God with a heartrending cry: "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" He does not ask God to save him by lowering him from the cross. Only do not hide or abandon it in this moment of death and extreme suffering. 

We will remember Jesus' words on that Holy Thursday: While they were dining, Jesus took bread, pronounced the blessing, broke it and gave it to his disciples saying: Take and eat this is my body. In other words, we will remember a bread broken and shared with the people. And we will also imitate of Jesus how to suffer in order to console; humiliate ourselves to be like any other person; and suffering and humbling to succeed.

As soon as we have this whole Coronavirus issue under control, it is important to be able to organize a great procession of thanksgiving together and take back the streets celebrating life. Later you will begin to receive the entire live program of the Holy Week liturgies.

Today I invite you to pray together with Santa de Teresa de Jesús and make her words ours: Nothing disturbs you; nothing frightens you, everything happens, God does not move. Patience reach everything; Whoever has God lacks nothing: Only God is enough.
Blessings
Fr. Luis +