Solemn Holy Week rituals conclude with Easter Vigil tonight

LAST Sunday or Palm Sunday marked the beginning of the holiest week in Christendom.

Christians everywhere have been on their knees celebrating solemn Holy Week services, liturgies, and rituals related to the passion of Jesus Christ – ahead of Holy Saturday tonight and Easter Sunday tomorrow. 

Palm Sunday signaled the entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, where palm branches were placed in his path to welcome him, and his followers also waved their palms in the air shouting hosanna to welcome him.  

The day also marked the beginning of the final week of the Lent season which commenced with Ash Wednesday on February 22 – where the Christian faithful embarked on a 40-day period of fasting, praying, and abstaining from the pleasures of life.

Like everywhere else, Catholics in Sarawak thronged churches throughout the week to celebrate auspicious days of the week such as Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday – the day Jesus shared his Last Supper with his disciples and washed their feet, emphasising the importance of servant-leadership.

During the Last Supper, Jesus also instituted the sacraments of the holy Eucharist and the holy priesthood.

Over at the St Michael’s Church at the Teng Bukap Catholic Church, near Kota Padawan, Franciscan Friar Fr David Aw led his flock in a Eucharistic celebration that was steeped in the quaint rigmarole of rituals fitting the occasion – among which was the solemn transferring of the Blessed Sacrament to the side altar (repose) and the washing of the feet.

Another feature of Holy Thursday is the stripping of the altar where all ornaments and linens are removed after the Eucharistic service. This is a Roman custom of the ancient rite to symbolically refer to the humiliation that Jesus suffered at the hands of his tormentors. This is done after the end of the Holy Thursday eucharistic celebration. 

Nearby at the St Ann’s Catholic Church, another Franciscan Friar Fr Don Don Ramerez led his parishioners in the celebration of the Good Friday service yesterday.     

The service celebrated to commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus on the cross was divided into three parts – the Liturgy of the Word, The Veneration of the Cross, and lastly the distribution of Holy Communion. 

During the veneration of the cross, parishioners stepped forward to bow down before the cross held by a prayer leader as a mark of respect to Jesus their Lord and Saviour. In previous years, Catholics stooped forward to kiss the cross, but this practice was stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has continued in order to prevent cross-infection.

Earlier, before the commencement of the mass, parishioners took part in another solemn exercise known as the Via Dolorosa, or the Way of the Cross.  Consisting of 14 stations, the Via Dolorosa traces the processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem where Roman soldiers forced Jesus to carry his cross up Calvary Hill and on which they crucified him.

In solidarity with Muslims, others

Similar rituals and a eucharistic celebration were held at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg in Kuching, where the Archbishop of Kuching Rt Rev Simon Poh delivered the service to a packed church in English. 

Earlier in a communique to local media, the prelate said: “Jesus was forgiving those who had crucified him and teaching his disciples to do likewise.

“God is love! Christians are called to love others as Jesus has loved them. I believe that when we truly forgive and love one another, we will build a harmonious society.

“By moving from tolerance to mutual acceptance and respect, we can all ensure the harmony and unity among all races, cultures, and religions in Sarawak and bring blessings to our nation, Malaysia, and beyond,” he said.

Poh also said Good Friday is also a day of fasting and abstinence from meat for Catholics. “In solidarity, I take this opportunity to give my good wishes to our Muslim brothers and sisters who are fasting now during Ramadan.”   

At the St Thomas Anglican Cathedral on Jalan McDougall in Kuching, Good Friday services including the celebration of mass and the Stations of the Cross (Via Dolorosa) were held yesterday and led by Canon Precentor Revd Roannie Woodward Cannidy. Also joining in was the cathedral’s Dean, Revd Kho Tong Meng.

Tonight churches everywhere will conclude the Holy Week events with the Easter Vigil which commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurrection and victory over death to save the world prior to Easter Sunday tomorrow. – The Vibes, April 8, 2023