Re-live the sights and sounds from Holy Week in the the Diocese of Brooklyn.
-Palm Sunday
-The Chrism Mass
-Holy Thursday
-The Way of the Cross
-Good Friday
-The Easter Vigil
-Easter Mass
Take 90 seconds and see how Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated Holy Week in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan’s homily from Easter Sunday Mass 4/17/22
Reverend Christopher R. Heanue’s homily from Easter Sunday Mass 4/17/22
A special look at Holy Week 2022 with an Easter Message from Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn
Easter Sunday
“Yes, Christ my hope is arisen; to Galilee he goes before you.”
Taken from the Sequence Victimae Pashali Laudes
Holy Saturday: Easter Vigil in the Holy Night
“I have seen the Lord!”
Diocese of Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph. The bishop also washed the feet of parishioners from the Prospect Heights parish.
Children from St. Dominic and St. Athanasius in Bensonhurst took to the streets for the way of the cross.
Pope Francis will once again lead the way of the cross at the Colosseum in Rome.
Currents News Staff
Christians believe that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago.
Yet while images of Christ on the cross are omnipresent in Christian churches, little is known about how Jesus was crucified, and the society that put him there.
A new book, “The Cross and the Whip,” by Alessia Muliere, reexamines public punishments in ancient Roman society, and contextualize Christ’s passion for modern audiences.
“It was a society that attributed a different value to human life based on a person’s legal standing,” said Alessia.
Above all, they wanted to suppress people who were uncomfortable for the state, who were considered monsters in some way, and non-Romans fell into this category. Jesus was not Roman, and that’s why this [punishment] happened to him.
Historian Alessia Muliere says that while crucifixion was a known practice during the time of the Roman empire, details about Christ’s crucifixion are scarce due to a lack of icons and images of Jesus in the years following His death.
“It’s difficult to find visual sources,” she said. “We only have them after the fifth century after Christ. This could be out of respect for the figure of Christ, before there was almost a fear of producing these kinds of images.
As a result, she says it is possible Jesus was crucified like this, on a T-structure rather than on the traditional image of a cross, and with nails inserted in His wrists rather than the hands, as was more commonly practiced.
Alessia adds that during his procession to Calvary, Jesus likely only carried a portion of the cross on which he was hung.
“They would came hung, basically tied, to the patibulum, the horizontal log that formed part of the cross structure,” Alessia said, “they would be undressed, and continuously beaten along the way that lead them to the place of the punishment.”
Although much is lost from ancient Jerusalem, historians like Alessia say they are encouraged by recent archeological findings in the Holy Land, and maintain there is still much left to be discovered about the world in which Jesus lived and died.
Currents News Staff
Tradition holds that Jesus climbed these stairs, dubbed the “Scala Santa,” before coming face-to-face with Pontius Pilate.
Each year, thousands go up these 28 steps on their knees. Now, the flow of pilgrims is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels after Italy loosened its restrictions.
“Of course, it is a difficult moment for everyone,” said rector Father Leonello Leidi, “but we have noticed that in the people that came to the Scala Santa, there was this desire to contemplate the Passion of Christ up close, and to be present in that moment of pain and pray in it.”
The rector of the Scala Santa says that among the groups that visit the stairs are schools, who bring their students.
“It’s very beautiful to see groups of students that come to Rome on pilgrimage,” Father Leidi said. “They climb the Scala Santa as a challenge to bring themselves closer to Jesus’ passion.”
But the pilgrims are not limited to students, Emilia Mangas comes from Spain, and is a widow. It is her first time coming to the Scala Santa. She says she followed the tradition and climbed them on her knees.
“I felt very close to God,” said Emilia, “to everything that goes on during Holy Week. I was looking at the sky and thinking of my husband, that everything will end, this war, this pandemic, and that we can all live in peace right where we are.”
Many others like Emilia come to these stairs during Holy Week, and some groups of pilgrims see it as an essential stop in Rome. Yet tourists aren’t the only ones that climb them on their knees, popes such as Pope Pius IX did so in 1853.
Currents News Staff and Paula Katinas
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — The time-honored ritual of recreating the act of Jesus Christ washing the feet of his disciples during the Last Supper was the highlight of the Holy Thursday Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph on April 14. Bishop Robert Brennan got on his hands and knees on the altar to perform the service for 12 members of the congregation.
Twelve people were chosen for the privilege because that is the number of disciples whose feet Jesus washed. The recipients at Thursday’s Mass included all age groups, from children to senior citizens. After completing his task, Bishop Brennan dried each person’s feet, smiled and said “God bless you.”
The ritual is significant, he said, because it commemorates Jesus’ love for the disciples and serves as an inspiration for Catholics to follow the Lord’s calling to love one another as He loves them. “This is a glorious night,” Bishop Brennan said. “It’s also a night about friendship.”
The Holy Thursday Mass, formally known as the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, is the first event in the Easter Triduum, which includes the Easter Vigil on Saturday and culminates on Easter Sunday.
Kesna Guerrier, whose feet were washed by Bishop Brennan, has taken part in the ritual in previous years. “It is always a wonderful feeling. You feel different, like you’re being taken out of your everyday experience,” she said.
Guerrier, who attends Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph every Sunday, said having her feet washed brings her closer to her faith.
Jacques Pardovany, a parishioner of the co-cathedral, stepped forward when the church asked for volunteers. “I’ve been a Catholic all my life and it’s important to me to do this,” he said. The last time he participated in the foot washing was four years ago, he explained, adding: “I wanted to do it again.”
Erica Figaro, a parishioner of St. Teresa of Avila Church, was a first-timer. “It’s a big moment for me. I’m excited,” she said prior to the Mass. Figaro was looking forward to another big night in the Easter Triduum. She will be baptized into the Catholic faith at the Easter Vigil on Saturday.
Another highlight of the Mass came when Bishop Brennan covered the Blessed Sacrament in a humeral veil and carried it throughout the co-cathedral in a solemn procession along with members of the clergy, altar servers and seminarians.
The Blessed Sacrament was placed in the tabernacle on the altar of repose and many of the faithful stayed behind after the Mass so that they could approach the altar and pray. Co-Cathedral Rector Father Christopher Heanue announced that the church would stay open until midnight.