This is the Week

This is it!! This is the best. Week. EVER.

No, Seriously. If you're Catholic, that is how it should feel.
Not every year in my life has it felt this way, and honestly, last year it was sort of like, "Oh yeah, holy week..." because I was busy helping a friend move from New Jersey to Nebraska. However, there was Holy Thursday Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City that was very awesome. But besides that, last year was sort of "eh" in terms of how I feel Holy Week should be celebrated.

I think the problem I face is I was born in a different country. Mexico REALLY does Holy Week up nice. But it also might get very commercialized that way, like Christmas does. I wouldn't know, as I don't know many people from Mexico that I can ask.

On the one hand I wish more people would be as excited about Holy Week as I am and have been (initially if not the whole way through) for the past few years. (I came back to the church in 2011, some day I'll talk about it on here.) It is so exhilarating to wake up on Palm Sunday and think, here it is! This is it! This is THE WEEK! It would be great to be surrounded by people feeling the exact same thing at mass, instead of most likely thinking, "Oh no! I forgot it was THIS Sunday. I won't get out of here for an hour and half!" And if not thinking that, probably just standing there thinking whatever they normally think about during mass. Groceries or dinner, perhaps.

If we were surrounded by people being excited about Palm Sunday, it would be so catching and amazing and... everyone would get that excited. Even the ones who are thinking they're going to be late for their golf outing. It would be like going to a sporting event you don't care one iota about and being ridiculously excited about the outcome just because EVERYONE AROUND YOU IS!
That totally happens, btw.

On the other hand, I like being excited about it when other people don't seem to be. Not because I feel superior to them (though I might for a bit and then I squash it because that is pride and not cool - and now something I'll have to talk about in confession!), but because I know in my heart it is authentic excitement for our Lord and what He has done for us. It's like a secret that I hold dear, a private happiness that the Lord has given to me.

It may seem odd to some that I'm so *excited* about Holy Week, the week that our Lord was betrayed, handed over to be beaten brutally, tormented, tortured, and finally crucified like some horrible criminal. I hope you know, however, that it is not this that I'm excited about. Not completely. If our Lord hadn't gone through all these things for us, we would not be saved. He conquered death.

God Wins.

So this happiness and excitement of this week is sort of like running a race and you're at the last lap. This is the worst lap ever, though - you fall, everyone has lapped you a billion times, you think you should give up, the spectators are laughing at you, and the announcers are even wondering why you're trying. But you keep going, and when you cross the finish line, you look around and realize that everyone is looking at you with confusion. Some are awed, some are joyous. They didn't believe it could be done, but somehow - you won.

And THAT is why this week is the best week, EVER.