Holy Week at Home

With no public celebrations for Holy Week because of the Covid-19 crisis, people are being encouraged to celebrate the special Holy Week ceremonies through their parish webcam at home (or on RTÉ or at www.vatican.va).  

There are many creative ways of participating in such liturgies. For example, on Palm Sunday many people gathered in some evergreens from their garden and placed them in a prominent place such as on a coffee table for the celebration of the Blessing of Palm.

After the ceremony, having connected with members of the local community but from home, the suggestion was to place the evergreens in a special place as you would the Blessed Palm each year to remember Christ welcomed into Jerusalem as the Messiah, ahead of his Passion, Death and Resurrection – and to know yourself blessed in the moment as Holy Week begins.

In response to the photo here, posted for Palm Sunday on Twitter (@MDCCE_DCU), people commented by uploading their own compositions and reflections. It could be that, by involving ourselves in rituals and reflections like this at home, some people might be more connected than ever this year with the meaning of Holy Week.