Observing Holy Week: Bishop explains days of sacrifice and redemption

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — Beyond the baskets, chocolate and the promise of spring flowers, have you ever thought about what Easter really means?

For over two thousand years it’s been the defining holiday of Christians worldwide…and millions have undergone a journey all to prepare for this Sunday.

Suffering and redemption define the Easter season as a spiritual pilgrimage for Christians…and this week marks the home stretch.

A weeklong observance of the life of Jesus has already begun, with Palm Sunday remembering His entrance into Jerusalem.

Tomorrow is Holy Thursday, commemorating the Last Supper with Jesus’s disciples.

Then follows Good Friday, a solemn remembrance of the crucifixion, and ending finally with Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, when Christians believe Jesus’s resurrection saved us from our sins.

The end of the season of Lent marks 40 days of sacrifice among the faithful, which Bishop Mark Brennan says comes down to one phrase: no pain, no gain.

“The pain of giving up something is compensated for by the gain you receive afterwards. You know, Jesus on the cross. Pain, talk about pain and death, and then His resurrection. The gain.”

Bishop Mark Brennan, Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

Easter is also the time when candidates for baptism and confirmation are brought into the Catholic faith.

The Easter Vigil mass begins with the lighting of a fire that begins outside of the church itself.

Bishop Brennan says that light will spread to candles throughout each parish, symbolizing the resurrection and the weight that will soon be lifted from all of our shoulders.

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