Holy Week

Today's Gospel reading (John 12:1-11) is all that survives from the ancient liturgy for today. It is an especially appropriate Gospel for this first weekday of Holy Week. Mary of Bethany's lavish gesture in anointing Jesus' feet with expensive aromatic nard six days before Passover suggests a link between Mary's extravagant gesture and the Church's elaborate ceremonial in Holy Week. This story serves as a great introduction to what we do as Church during Holy Week - with intensely dramatic, emotionally affecting, deliberately over-the-top ceremonies, extravagant in the best sense of the word. Not unlike Mary with her expensive perfumed oil, the Church pulls out all the stops this week - and for a good reason. Not for nothing was this week once (not so long ago) called The Great Week.

Of course, thanks to the pandemic and the necessary precautions we have had to adopt, last year's Holy Week's ceremonies were reduced to a minimalistic residue. This year, presumably, will see something more than last year's minimalism but less than the extravagant ceremonial this week properly calls for.

The Church has a great story to tell - better by far than any TV mini-series - and an important one, which needs to be told with all the ritual riches in the Church's treasury. Right now however, it is increasingly minimally heard and minimally seen.

(Photo: Palm Sunday at Saint Paul the Apostle Church, NY)