Though it is the most sacred time of year for Christians, Holy Week can be challenging for families. Unlike Christmas, there’s no school vacation.  Parents may be juggling homework, sports and music lessons along with church services. 

            Looking ahead at your calendar and making plans now can help.

With the Easter Triduum the church offers a powerful way of moving through this climax of the church year.  It begins with Holy Thursday Mass and continues through Good Friday service and Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday Eve. 

Experiencing these celebrations with my family and parish community is the height of the liturgical year for me. Sometimes, however, it is difficult if not impossible to attend all the Holy Week services, especially with toddlers, or rebellious teens. 

Here are some simple celebrations you can do at home.

Holy Thursday: Gather together and read aloud John 13:1-15. Explain in Jesus’ time there were no sidewalks or paved streets.  People wore sandals and their feet got dirty and smelly from dust and mud. Only a servant or slave would wash someone else’s feet.  When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, it shocked them, running counter to everything they knew.  Have your family wash each other’s feet as a sign you will try to serve one another in love like Jesus.

Good Friday: Gather and light a number of candles, perhaps a dozen. Begin with prayer and then one by one speak aloud the sin in your family and in the world.  For example: Times we have been unkind to one another, times we have been untruthful, violence, poverty, and racism…” With each sin, blow out a candle until it is dark. [If youngsters are afraid of the dark, keep one dim light on in the background.]  Read aloud Luke 23:27 and John 19:25, 38-40. Explain how, even though they may have been afraid, these women and Nicodemus stood with Jesus in the darkness.  Talk about ways in which we can do that.

Holy Saturday: Boil eggs and prepare mugs of dye for coloring them. Drop an egg in the dye and remove it immediately.  Ask the children why it’s still white. Even little ones can probably guess.  Return the egg to the dye. While the youngsters wait, perhaps stirring the egg in the cup, explain how this day is one of waiting.  We wait for Jesus to rise from the dead.  Read aloud Matthew 20:17-24. Talk about how the disciples were not waiting on this day after Jesus’ crucifixion. They didn’t understand Jesus would rise.  What difference did the resurrection make in the lives of Jesus’ disciples? Will it make a difference in our lives?  Enjoy the beauty of the colored eggs, a small symbol of the wonderful change Easter brings to our world.

            By planning ahead and making time to attend the Triduum or to gather at home to mark the days of Holy Week you can help your family enter more fully into the Easter experience.