Get up, let us go. Look my betrayer is at hand

This week we enter into Holy Week. Jesus makes his grand entrance as he ascends to Jerusalem there to embrace the Cross.
We hear Jesus' words to his disciples, "Get up, let us go. Look my betrayer is at hand." Unlike the apostles who flee, we stay by his side and make that journey with him.

We walk with Jesus this whole week. We must ascend with him. The higher we go the better our vision becomes; the higher we go with him the clearer God’s loves is made known.

Thursday evening we celebrate the Lord's Supper as Jesus washes the feet of the disciples, on his knees he calls us friends.

Thursday night we sit and pray as Jesus enters his agony; we set aside time to stay with him in prayer so that we might not succumb to the test. We remain awake where the apostles slept; we stay where the apostles stray. Then alert and by his side we see him betrayed and arrested, carried away bound hand and feet.

The hands that healed are now wounded by the burn of the rope.
Friday Morning we rise not to greet the new day but to hear the sentencing of Christ, condemned to death. The crowd jeers crucify him.
There he receives the cross and makes his way to Calvary. We journey with him, side by side as he stumbles beneath the weight of the cross.

Friday around three we pause from our activity and we are silent as Jesus breathes his last, bows his head and embraces the silence of death. The lips that spoke of the goodness of God and nearness of the kingdom, the lips so vibrant with life, remain mute, motionless, blue.


Saturday we remember Jesus is buried in the tomb. The one who brought light to the world is now shrouded in darkness. We look for it but find it not.

Saturday evening, we gather to witness the light scatter the darkness in the Easter Vigil and we remember the words of St. John light came into the world and the darkness could not overcome it.

Sunday, the tomb is empty. The presence of God cannot be contained and there we encounter a love that is stronger than death and we rejoice. And once again Alleluias resound.

We ascend with Christ and as we climb and reach the pinnacle, the summit, we experience what real love looks like.
Let us journey with Him and learn to love as he loves us.