You are invited to walk Holy Week as a Hebrew person in 1st century Palestine. Imagine who you are, why you are in Jerusalem for Passover in the first place, and what you are going to see and feel as the week progresses.
Children’s Time
Scripture
Mark 12 28 One of the legal experts heard their dispute and saw how well Jesus answered them. He came over and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 30 and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.31 The second is this, You will love your neighbour as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 The legal expert said to him, “Well said, Teacher. You have truthfully said that God is one and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love God with all of the heart, a full understanding, and all of one’s strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself is much more important than all kinds of entirely burned offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered with wisdom, he said to him, “You aren’t far from God’s kingdom.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Reflection
Prayers
from St. John chrysostom (349-407 CE)
So let us all be sober and watchful, and prepared for everything, so that we may be well disciplined in prosperity and restrained under the onset of adversity, showing great prudence and constantly rendered thanks to the loving God… and thus be able to pass our life on earth securely and having much confidence regarding the life to come. May we all reach it, through the love and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, sovereignty, and praise, now and forever, for ages and ages. Amen.
Egeria in the Holy land, c. 380 CE
Egeria was a nun from France who was touring the Holy Land in the late 4th century. She was in Jerusalem during Holy Week and provides the only eye witness account of how the early church celebrated.
On Tuesday they do everything in the same way as on Monday. Only this is added on Tuesday: late at night after the dismissal has been given in the Martyrium and they have gone to the Anastasis, and a second dismissal has been given at the Anastasis, they all go at that hour in the night to the church which is located on Mount Eleona. As soon as they have arrived in this church, the bishop goes into the grotto where the Lord used to teach His disciples. There the bishop takes up the book of the Gospels and, while standing, reads the words of the Lord which are written in the Gospel according to Matthew at the place where He said: “Take heed that no man seduce you.” Then the bishop reads the Lord’s entire discourse. When he has finished reading it, he says a prayer and blesses the catechumens and then the faithful. The dismissal is given, and they return from the mountain, and everyone goes to his own home, for it is now very late at night.
The Barefoot Evangelist 