Thursday, April 7, 2022

LITERARY: “Lenten Season 2022: What is it and why is it solemnly observed?” by Juancarlos Raphael Apalit

 

Published by: Airene Nicole Q. Pamintuan

Date Published: April 7, 2022

Time Published: 3:21 PM


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If you are of a religion that celebrates lent, then you are aware of why lenten season and why it is celebrated. And if not, here’s everything that you need to know about lent and why it is observed in multiple religions.


The Lenten Season started last March 2, 2022 and will end on April 14, 2022. Under the lenten season in Christian beliefs, we get to pay tribute by the celebration of the Holy Week. What is the holy week and why do we celebrate it?


The Holy Week is known as the week where Christians devote to the passion and sacrifice of Jesus Christ in saving humanity from their sins. The Holy Week observes the events and happenings that lead to Jesus’ death when he was crucified and how he was resurrected days later.


Before we really get into what happens every day of the Holy Week, let’s start with the name of these 7 days of the Holy Week which are: Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.


Where did the Holy Week start? Well, it all started on Palm Sunday where Jesus was believed to have entered Jerusalem where he was greeted with crowds who waved palm branches or what we know by the name “palaspas” in Filipino. Their celebration of Jesus’ entry is stated in the bible in Mark 11:9-10 which stated: “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”


His entry was then followed by a few more days namely: Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday. These were the days of the week where Jesus shared his teachings in the temple. These were also the days where Jesus made vendors inside the Temple leave because he believed that they made profit off of God’s house and how Jesus scolded the Jewish leaders for their hypocrisy. This can be seen in Matthew 21: 12-46 and Matthew 23-25


The teaching and scolding was then preceded by Holy Wednesday or Spy Wednesday. This is known to be the day where Judas gets bribed to betray Jesus. Judas Iscariot was bribed with thirty pieces of silver to coordinate with the Sanhedrin who wanted to apprehend Jesus. Here, Judas addressed Jesus as “Rabbi” for the crowd to quickly identify him. This is stated in Matthew 26: 14-16


Following the betrayal, Maundy Thursday comes and this is where the “Last Supper” happens. During the supper, Jesus gives them bread and wine to which he states the food given is his body and blood. This is also the day that Judas executes his plan to earn 30 pieces of silver in exchange for helping the Sanhedrin while Jesus prays at the Gethsemane. After the said apprehension and invasion, Peter, who is in the crowd, is identified as a follower of Jesus to which he denies and claims that he does not know who Jesus is. Peter’s denial of Jesus was predicted. These events are seen in Matthew 26: 17-75


After the Last Supper and Jesus’ arrest, Jesus is now under trial before Pontius Pilate. This was also the day of his death sentence, torture, crucifixion, and his burial. In contrast to the events in this day of the Holy Week, it is called "Good" Friday as a commemoration to Jesus’ holy or noble deed of saving humanity from their sins through crucifixion. These events are shown in Matthew 27.


After the death of Jesus Christ comes Holy Saturday where Jesus’ followers come to visit his tomb. This is where Jesus' followers anticipate his resurrection and how they manifested their faith in Jesus Christ. This is seen is Matthew 27: 57-66


The Holy Week then concludes with Easter Sunday or the glorious day where Jesus has risen from the tomb where his resurrection takes place. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to take a look at Jesus’ tomb but were interrupted when a violent earthquake took place at the tomb. From there, an angel came down from heaven and said that Jesus has risen from the dead. This is seen in Matthew 28: 1-10


It’s amazing, right? It’s amazing how Jesus Christ was risen after saving humanity from their sins. The Holy Week shows us where faith can bring us and how we should manifest selflessness and firm belief in what God has in store for us all.

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