In the forty days prior to Easter Sunday, we prepare ourselves to gain a deeper experience of the event of Golgotha and to unfold a greater understanding of the effect of the death and resurrection of Christ on each individual, this world, and the cosmos.
This season begins with Ash Wednesday when palm crosses are burnt and our foreheads are anointed with ash to remind us that our body is but ash, but our spirit is eternal.
The Holy Week is the high point of the year. It begins with the Palm Sunday service which celebrates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and into his destiny. During this service we each receive a new palm cross to keep during the year as a reminder to continue to walk the path of Christ.
There are a number of special services which are only held during the Holy Week. The Office of the Tenebrae is one. It is a dramatic enactment of the play between light and darkness in the Easter story and it is enriched through music and scripture reading.
The Meditation on the Fourteen Stations of the Cross provides us with an opportunity to journey in spirit with Christ on the road to Calvary, and to encounter the different stages of this final initiation.
Good Friday is celebrated with a special agapē meal of hot cross buns and wine. On this day, all who attend are co-celebrants with the priests, and the blessing of peace is passed from one person to another.
On Easter Saturday, the holy oil is blessed by the Meriti and priests. This is the holy oil that will be used for anointing and healing during the coming year.
The Blessing of Fire and the Veneration of the Light is a service in which the altar is ceremonially dressed and the Paschal Candle is blessed in preparation for the dawning of Easter day.
On Easter Sunday, the end of Holy Week, we celebrate with joy the resurrection of Christ, the turning point of evolution, and the victory of light over darkness. We are powerfully reminded of the opportunity he has given us to fulfil our destiny and become redeemers of our humanity and co-creators with the Gods.
There are a number of spiritual resources for private contemplation during the Holy Week available in our online store.