The Most Important Week of the Year

This week is such an important week in the life of every human being. They (every human being) may not think so, but this week is the week that determined life or death for us.

That’s a defining true statement, even if you don’t believe in God.

God exists even if you do not believe in Him.

These next three days – The Triduum – is a period of time that traces the final days of Jesus’ life, His death and His Resurrection from the dead. These are Holy days where each day is marked with a particular liturgy.

Following the scriptures, starting with Holy Thursday night – The Last Supper, which is the First Eucharist, then Good Friday – Jesus’ Crucifixion and proceeding to Easter Saturday and its completion on Easter Sunday- Christ’s Resurrection from the dead.

Donald Senior C.P. stated:

“This Passion of Jesus is both an historical event rooted in the past AND a living dynamic memory that gives meaning to the present.”

What stands out for me as I contemplate this statement and Jesus’ sacrifice, Jesus’ torture and His death for me is that these 3 days define my eternal future. This Jesus gave me His life so that I would truly live. I have been given an opportunity to choose an eternal life with God the Father.

For Christians Jesus is not simply a heroic figure confined to past history. This Passion of Jesus lives on in our Faith and experience of the Christian community. In the Passion of Jesus is the ultimate meaning of human existence.

 The Church teaches us that we were created to know, love and serve God so that we may have eternal joy with Him.

Sin shattered this relationship leaving us broken and in need of restoration. We could not do this ourselves, so God chose to send His Son to live with us so as to teach us the New Kingdom ways, then to die on the cross and so take all our sins upon himself.

But it did not stop there.

Jesus then rose from the dead and He conquered the Death that was upon us. This death sentence was no longer over each of our lives.

Oh, such a mystery but one that defines each and everyone’s future.

All I can say is Thank You God for loving us so much to sacrifice your Son.

 Thank you, Jesus, for saying Yes to the Father.

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for breathing life into us and coming and filling us with yourself.

My heart is in gratitude mode towards Our Three in One God.

These next three days cause me to seriously contemplate all these feelings and thoughts and what my response is to all of this.

Do you seriously think of your response? How this all affects you?

For we all should have a response. Or do you never contemplate this Gift that Jesus Gave to us?

As Paul wrote to the Ephesians

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:1-14 NRSV

By His Grace we have been chosen, predestined, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, lavished with grace and sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Then Paul states in Philippians

“I am confident that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. “

Philippians 1:6

Our God who keeps giving to us.

Oh what a God we serve!

Happy Easter, He is Risen !

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Have you ever thought about the gravity that this week has in human history?

When you really think about it how does it change you?

What will you do this week to say thank you to God for sending His son, Jesus?