HOLY WEEK CALENDAR AND THINGS YOU SHOULD DO EACH DAY

With God, we are all loved.

Holy Week is a virtuous moment for Christians as this will remind everyone that God sacrificed his son for us, to show how genuine His love he has for us.

God’s love has and will always be powerful. It will overcome all fears, doubts, and tribulations that one has. The power of His love is never-ending, and only His love can conquer pain without asking for any return.

The love He has for us is perfect. There is no complication, scars, and uncertainties that He chose to sacrifice his son for us.

As Holy Week is approaching, it is indeed a great time to repent and honor His love for us.

The Holy Week started on April 10 – Palm Sunday and will end on April 17 – Easter Sunday. The following dates are included in the Holy Week timeline :

• April 10 – Palm Sunday

• April 11 – Holy Monday

• April 12 – Holy Tuesday

• April 13 – Holy Wednesday

• April 14 – Holy Thursday

• April 15 – Good Friday

• April 16 – Holy Saturday

• April 17 – Easter Sunday

This Holy Week timeline is a good guidance for us to be reminded how gracious God is. Within this week, we can repent, remember, act on His will, and rejoice as His love made it this much blessed.

Holy week in some people are meant for having different religious activities but some people spend their time in leisure because who can resist a 4-day vacation? This week is not just for repentance but also remembering all things that Jesus had done for us by sacrificing His own life for the sins of mankind.

Other people see this time as an annual opportunity to relax and see and beauty of nature unlike any other or simply, by resting. Some are preparing for events of Holy Week as a sign of respect and gratitude.

What happens on the days of Holy Week? What kind of events of Holy Week is being done by the devotees?

This week is fully loaded with activities for all ages starting in Palm Sunday. Palm or what we call "Palaspas" are used as a yearly tradition and are blessed in different catholic churches in the country. It signifies the beginning of the Holy Week or "Semana Santa”.

With different designs and varieties, Palm Sundays are seen as a beautiful event with attractions of beautiful culture of the church and the greenery of lent. Even though the designs are different, the uniformed purpose of palms are to signify the beginning of lent and at the same time was kept for another purpose which is the Ash Wednesday for the next year.

The way that the Catholics recycle and reuse their things for other religious events is a fun thought to think about because they don't scrap or throw it away but they use it again to strengthen everyone's faith.

Next is Holy Monday which is despite the time of lent, most of our workforce are still working at this moment until Holy Wednesday.

But in these times people celebrates different occasions such as confessions for those who are sinned and masses in different parishes and churches for the people.

Included in these are the holy Eucharist’s or holy masses for the churchgoers and also for the people who want to refill and quench their thirst in terms of faith-building.

The church, particularly the Archdiocese of Lipa held it Chrism Mass on Holy Tuesday which signifies the start if the holy week. Activities which are held at San Sebastian Cathedral in Lipa are all about lent which ensures the fulfillment of churchgoers.

Aside from the chrism masses, there are activities called a blessing of the holy oil for sacraments. It is when the oil is blessed for this occasion and for other activities as well like priesthood ordination, blessings, etc.

The people of the church, mainly the priests also reminisces their vows and promises to the Catholic Church in this Lenten season. They show again their unbending faith in God and renew their lifetime service for Christ and for the People.

Jumping to Maundy Thursday, where we could say the real holidays and Lenten celebrations began the church have a lot of activities over the weekend. Expect a lot of happenings when this day comes.

Expected that there are holy masses in churches everywhere, there is an event called mass of the last supper which lasts until midnight. This mass includes the scenery of what Jesus did before he was crucified.

Sometimes portrayed thru plays, they recreate Jesus' act of washing the feet of his disciples and the transferring of his body to another church that comes with a parade.

Another awaited event is the Good Friday. At this time, Jesus is considered dead and along with many beliefs is the “Siyete Palabras” or the 7 last words of Jesus before he died.

Many people are invited and this event and share their thoughts that linked to the certain word they are assigned in. Different personalities shared their different life changing experiences that bring them closer to God.

Along with this sharing are the mix of different emotions that fill the whole place; sadness, gratefulness and faith. They share stories with different genre that changed their life forever that strengthen their Bond with our creator.

Good Friday is also the day that the cross is honored thru the Liturgy of the word of God. This is to signify that the holy cross is the symbol of death of the savior that ignites hope and cleanses the sins of the world.

Motorcades of Images of Jesus are also held in this time where people waits in the streets to witness Jesus along with their prayers and wishes for the betterment of each other, it will end through the "Paglilibing" or Interment of Jesus.

As we all know, this interment is the start of one of the most marvelous miracle. So as the people wait for Christ to return, they start the reading of the bible thru singing of "Pasyon".

Pasyon is a catholic tradition passed thru generations that shows the deep faith in God by reading bible verses in a rhythmic way. This lasts for hours which are attended mostly, by our Lola's and apo's which will inherit the culture later on.

Black Saturday on the other hand is the day of Preparation of the arrival of Christ. A mass is held at night which will last until midnight, the time that Christ will rose again from the dead.

Lastly is Easter Sunday, the day where everything goes back to normal. Everyone is joyful for the resurrection of Christ and at the same time all of the church activities go back to where it was.

This states the rich culture and history of the Catholic Church. Amidst this global pandemic, "if there's a will, there's a way." as the alert level system and the covid-19 threats go down, the church is bringing and reverting it's activities in its old fashioned way which the people missed and loved.

Even though the churches are jam packed with happenings and gatherings, there are still online masses and online platforms for those who can't attend physically. It is for them to feel the faith even though they are far, especially senior citizens and people who are sick.

Aside from Church activities, there also a lot of beaches to be visited here in Batangas, considering that it is Summer Season and people just want to beat the summer heat.

Different tourist’s destinations await for beach goers and for those who savor their vacation thru leisure and relaxation. Examples are the dazzling beaches, Stunning Seashores and High Mountains that fill up the adrenaline of everyone.

These are things that happen on the days of Holy Week.

Yet no matter who you are, let's take this holy week as a treasure, an annual treasure that will come every time. It is your choice to choose what path of self healing will you take but either way, it will always going to be fruitful.