As Christians prepare for the Easter celebrations, a Catholic priest has urged everyone to use the Holy Week to reflect deeply on their faith and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Very Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, described Holy Week as “a very special week for the Catholic Church and the Christian world in general,” set aside to prepare for Easter.
He said the week is called holy because it marks “the passion, the death, and of course, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
He explained that the week begins with Palm Sunday, which remembers Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
“Jesus was now prepared to take on headlong his own passion, which will lead to his death and subsequently his resurrection,” he said.
Fr Godonu added that activities continue through Holy Thursday, when the Church celebrates the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist during the Mass of the Last Supper.
Good Friday, he said, focuses on the suffering and death of Jesus, with events like the Stations of the Cross and veneration of the cross.
All these, he said, peaks during the grand celebration of the Easter Vigil, leading into Easter Sunday.
Fr. Godonu said the purpose of Holy Week is to remember what Jesus went through “in order to gain us salvation, eternal salvation.”
He urged Christians to take the period seriously and use it for reflection, prayer and renewed commitment to their faith, and to live lives worthy of their faith.
