Week 6 – Holy Week: Witnesses to Hope Lenten Program with Bishop Hying

We are now preparing for the final days of our Lenten celebration with Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and the Sacred Triduum, which all bring us to the joy of Easter Sunday. The readings for Palm Sunday, and for so much of the rest of Holy Week, point to Jesus’ self-emptying love and the gift that He makes of Himself to the Father for our salvation. This simple fact of our faith—that God would become one of us to die for us and to raise us up to new life in Him—is so astonishing that Christians throughout the world pause their normal lives to partake of the liturgies for Holy Week in order to venerate and thank God for the gift of His son offered to us on the Cross.

The death and Resurrection of Christ reminds us that we are invited into new life with Him by dying to our sins and selfishness, and that everything in us that is broken can be transformed. Will we accept this invitation from Jesus to enter into the mystery of His transforming suffering and death? And will we let our “yes” to that invitation be a witness to a world that needs His love and mercy? This week, ponder the self-giving love of Jesus, and consider how He is calling you to imitate His love, for the person that you have been walking with this Lent and for everyone who needs your witness.

You can find a study guide that accompanies this video, as well as materials from previous weeks, at madisondiocese.org/Lent.