Holy week when does it start

Easter is on Sunday, April 4. April 4, For a timeline of Holy Week click here. Print your own copy for a beautiful daily devotional leading up to Easter. It is the day that we remember and celebrate the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem as Savior and King. As Jesus rode a donkey into the town of Jerusalem a large crowd gathered and laid palm branches and their cloaks across the road, giving Jesus royal treatment.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! We don't know much about what happens on Holy Wednesday. Most likely Jesus and his disciples prepared for Passover, which would occur on Friday.

The term "Spy" refers to Judas and how he betrayed our Lord to the religious leader in exchange for silver coins. By Hope Bolinger. By performing this humble act of service, Jesus demonstrated by example how believers should love one another.

Then, Jesus shared the feast of Passover with his disciples, saying:. As the Lamb of God, Jesus was about to fulfill the meaning of Passover by giving his body to be broken and his blood to be shed in sacrifice, freeing us from sin and death. During this Last Supper , Jesus established the Lord's Supper, or Communion , instructing his followers to continually remember his sacrifice by sharing in the elements of bread and wine Luke Luke's Gospel says that "his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" Luke , ESV.

Late that evening in Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by Judas Iscariot and arrested by the Sanhedrin. He was taken to the home of Caiaphas , the High Priest, where the whole council had gathered to begin making their case against Jesus.

Meanwhile, in the early morning hours, as Jesus' trial was getting underway, Peter denied knowing his Master three times before the rooster crowed. Thursday's events are recorded in Matthew —75, Mark , Luke , and John Good Friday is the most difficult day of Passion Week.

Christ's journey turned treacherous and acutely painful in these final hours leading to his death. According to Scripture, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who had betrayed Jesus, was overcome with remorse and hanged himself early Friday morning.

Meanwhile, before the third hour 9 a. After multiple unlawful trials, he was sentenced to death by crucifixion , one of the most horrible and disgraceful methods of capital punishment known at the time.

Before Christ was led away, soldiers spit on him, tormented and mocked him, and pierced him with a crown of thorns. Then Jesus carried his own cross to Calvary where, again, he was mocked and insulted as Roman soldiers nailed him to the wooden cross. Jesus spoke seven final statements from the cross. His first words were, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

His last words were, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Then, about the ninth hour 3 p. Friday evening, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body down from the cross and lay it in a tomb. Friday's events are recorded in Matthew , Mark , Luke , and John Jesus' body lay in its tomb , where it was guarded by Roman soldiers throughout the day on Saturday, which was the Sabbath. When the Sabbath ended at 6 p.

Nicodemus, like Joseph of Arimathea, was a member of the Sanhedrin, the court that had condemned Jesus Christ to death. For a time, both men had lived as secret followers of Jesus, afraid to make a public profession of faith because of their prominent positions in the Jewish community.

Similarly, both were deeply affected by Christ's death. The next major event in Holy Week is Holy Thursday. On this day, Jesus celebrated the Passover feast with the disciples. We know this feast as the Last Supper. This is the night He was betrayed by Judas and arrested. After supper, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and prayed. From this event comes inspiration for our practice of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, where we are invited to spend one hour in prayer with Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist; Body, Blood, and Divinity.

The next day is Good Friday, and on this day, we commemorate the trial, punishment, and crucifixion of Our Lord. On that morning, Jesus was brought before Annas, a powerful Jewish cleric who condemned Jesus for blasphemy. From there, Jesus was presented to Pilate for trial. Although Pilate found no guilt in Jesus, he agreed to have him crucified to appease the crowd of people and prevent a riot. Christ was stripped, flogged, and crowned with thorns. He was then forced to carry His Cross to the place of His execution.

There, He was nailed to the Cross between two thieves who were likewise crucified. Late that afternoon, seeking to ensure Christ's death, a Roman guard stabbed him in his side with a spear. When Jesus died, an earthquake is said to have occurred as well as a great darkness which covered the land.

Suddenly, many people knew Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus was taken and laid quickly in a borrowed tomb, in accord with Jewish law, which required the dead be buried by sundown before the Sabbath. On Holy Saturday, there is no Mass. Parishes may hold services, but there is no distribution of Communion. On Holy Saturday, we remember that Jesus was descended into hell where He preached the Gospel to those who died before and opened the way to heaven for all those who were worthy. This concludes Holy Week.

The following day is Easter Sunday, the day on which it was discovered the Tomb was empty, and our Lord was resurrected, triumphing over death once and for all time. Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours or Passion of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion Commit to your faith and choose to 'live' Lent.

Join our day challenge to authentically live the Lenten season. Get inspired, don't just observe Lent, live it! In France, the people feasted on foods that would be given up during the forty days of Lent. Meats, eggs, and milk were finished off in one day, giving the holiday its French title of 'Mardi Gras' which means Fat Tuesday Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. What does Maundy mean? Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary.

Christians can learn much about Jesus through the last week of his life. It celebrates God raising his son Jesus from the dead as well as the destruction of the power of sin and death forever. Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter.