Simple Ways for Holy Week

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If you, like me, bemoaned how terribly late Easter would be this year, and now, like me, you find yourself woefully unprepared for Easter this year, I hope these ideas help you through Holy Week. Publishing this is also my personal “to-do” list for Holy Week this year. I hope you have a blessed Holy Week!

Cover or take down holy images and statues.

Doing so makes my home and our prayer corner a stark reminder of what happens this week, when Jesus’ body was disfigured and unrecognizable, darkness came, and His followers didn’t know what to expect next. It helps to increase our longing for Easter, both in the physical sense that we’ll once again have the beauty of the religious images, but also the spiritual sense. (or so I hope it works like this for my family, even if we don’t exactly realize the spiritual effects, yet).

Watch a movie with your family.

“The Passion”, “The Gospel of John”, or the kid-friendly “The Last Supper, Crucifixion, and Resurrection”.

Spring-Clean Your House

Or even clean just part of your house, like your kitchen and front door spaces. It feels so good to have spaces clean, and in my experience, it feels joyful in anticipation of the Resurrection. It’s a great time to freshen up my domestic church, clear the clutter, and make room for beautiful flowers for Easter.

Turn off the music.

Or, choose something like Gregorian Chant or the Lenten album “Lent at Ephesus”. Most of us can’t “turn off” our regular duties to enter into contemplative prayer for the week, but we can turn off the excess noise around us and work towards a contemplative “ora et labora” practice. I try to do this from time to time all year, especially when I’m preparing dinner or doing other chores. It only takes a few minutes to settle my mind and find a quiet space, and then it becomes easier to offer my work to the Lord. I pray for family, friends, and the Church while I chop veggies or fold laundry. Another great option when I struggle with complete silence (or when I also want to improve the atmosphere in my home for my children) is to listen to this Gregorian Chant Rosary.

Do some spiritual reading

This is a short and powerful read about suffering with Christ. Or read the daily Mass readings (I also appreciate the daily reflections by the women at Blessed Is She) each day, letting the magnitude of our spiritual history sink in just a bit more. Each year I find myself feeling more impacted by Christ’s suffering than the year before, and it makes Easter all the sweeter.

Begin the Divine Mercy Novena

The novena always begins on Good Friday. It’s a beautiful prayer, and the Divine Mercy is so powerful. If you have an intention you’d like me to pray for this year during the novena, send me a message! I’ll keep you in my intentions.