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SALT LAKE CITY — Members of Utah’s Catholic community are gearing up for what is the most important day of the year for their faith. Holy Week is nearing a close, and spiritual leaders are preparing for Easter Sunday.
The yells of kids like eighth-grader Monroe May fill the Skaggs Catholic Center plaza during Holy Week. He’s described by his teachers as a “teddy bear.” But, he’s playing the part of an abusive guard, mocking Jesus before giving him his cross. May said, “It was hard to get into character. It took a lot of practice.”
He’s participating in the 15th year of the performance of the “Stations of the Cross” at the center. Eighth-grade students reenact every part of Jesus’ final days, from his condemnation to his crucifixion and his resurrection. “It shows that Jesus really did die for us and he was so willing to die for us that he was killed by the people he was sent to save,” May said.
Maria Moynihan is the eighth-grade religion teacher at St. John the Baptist Middle School. She said, “It’s really interesting. You can hear the yells of the soldiers and how they really get into the character they are.” She added, “They are amazing in that they really get it.”
She believes it’s hard enough to get kids that age interested in anything. But, they seem to love this event every Holy Week.
While members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focus more on the resurrection than the crucifixion, Moynihan says it’s important to try to see what Jesus went through before his death. “It’s a journey of faith that [Catholics] take through Holy Week. So, we walk the way of the cross.”
Holy Week continues on Thursday with the mass of the Lord’s Supper, where Catholics commemorate The Last Supper with washing of the feet. On Friday, parishes will offer the “Three Hours’ Service” to honor the final hours of Jesus’ life before his crucifixion. The Easter Vigil happens on Saturday.
“The Easter Vigil, we call that ‘the mother of all vigils.’ If you had to say, it’s the most important liturgy of the whole church year,” said Salt Lake Catholic Diocese Bishop John Wester.
That’s followed by mass on Easter Sunday. Bishop Wester said, really, every Sunday mass throughout the year honors Easter. “People in each parish are just automatically gearing up for this wonderful week. It’s in our blood, it’s in our bones and it’s in our DNA that this is important.”
He says Easter mass services are so popular, many people who aren’t Catholic attend them.
