Keeping watch
Welcome to Holy Week
Hi friends, and happy Holy Week!
Holy Week is my favorite week of the year. The liturgies, the depth of prayer, the beauty of sitting with the Lord in His darkest moments, and rejoicing with Him in His resurrection... I’m so excited to step into the liturgies that this week brings.
I was praying through the readings of Holy Thursday, and wanted to share those reflections with you all today.
Holy Thursday is rich with meaning and profound moments: Jesus breaks bread with His disciples, offering His Body and Blood in the institution of the Eucharist. He kneels to wash their feet, modelling humility and service. In these final hours, He imparts some of His most important teachings, including the calls to servant leadership, surrender, and prayer. I’d like to reflect on these three invitations from the Lord on this holy night:
1. The Call to Servant Leadership
"Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
At the Last Supper, Jesus kneels to wash the feet of His disciples, an act of profound humility and love. He then invites them—and us—to follow His example of servant leadership.
How can we better serve those around us this Holy Week? How can we embody His love in our everyday actions?
---
2. The Call to Surrender
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.”
After dinner, Jesus withdraws to the garden, where He faces one of the most agonizing moments of His ministry. Fully God and fully man, He wrestles with the weight of what is to come, even sweating blood in His anguish. Yet, in this moment of deep struggle, He offers us the perfect example of surrender to the Father’s will.
Where am I resisting God’s will in my life? How can I let go of control and trust Him more fully?
---
3. The Call to Prayer
"He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.’ …When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, ‘So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?’”
In His sorrow, Jesus invites His closest friends to stay with Him, to watch and pray. Yet, He finds them asleep, and His heart aches. Tonight, churches around the world will remain open late, inviting us to “keep watch” with the Lord during these moments of His passion.
One of my favorite Holy Thursday traditions is the “Seven Churches” pilgrimage, which began in Rome and involves visiting multiple churches to pray and spend time with the Lord late into the night. (Here’s the link to the program in Washington, DC, though I’ll be following the Seven Churches in Sydney this year – you can google “Seven Churches” and your city to see which churches are participating.) The altars are decorated like gardens, and there’s nothing I love more than praying in a dark, candlelit church.
Whether through this tradition or in the quiet of your own heart, can we spend one hour with the Lord tonight, meditating on His passion and preparing to receive Him more fully this Easter?
---
A Final Reflection: Resting with the Lord
My relationship with Jesus changed profoundly after reading the book, Consoling the Heart of Jesus. I had never before considered that I might actually be able to console Jesus, to love Him in a personal way as He walks through His passion. It’s so easy to run to Jesus and beg for things: “Lord, please heal my family member. Lord, I need a job. God, why is this happening to me?” But this book taught me how important it is for us to come to Him and simply love Him, and how much He loves to receive this from us.
Even cooler, because Jesus exists outside of time, we have the incredible opportunity to sit with Him and love Him at the very moment of His passion. Of course, He desires our petitions and loves us in our suffering — but He also delights in our presence, especially in these days when He gives everything for us.
That’s my final invitation this weekend: for us to all take a moment to sit with Jesus – in the garden, on the road to Calvary, at the foot of the cross – in His suffering and console Him as He so often consoles and provides for us.
I hope you have a blessed Holy Week and a very happy Easter!!
In Christ,
Jane
What I’m loving lately
Aimless beach days
My brother Matthew was here this weekend, and on Sunday after mass we spent the day wandering beaches from Bondi down to Bronte. We jumped in the ocean, read on the beach, played some pickup volleyball, and enjoyed a sunset spritz. I love being here and running around the warm beaches so, so much - and it was so fun to do it with him!
Feeling loved
I never feel more loved than when I feel truly heard - and I felt so dang heard and loved last week when Trader Joe’s released new mini tote bags and an army of people reached out to let me know they had picked one up for me <3. My dad got in line for me at 6am!! Even a former manager I work with bought me one. I felt so, so loved (and also praying that I talk about Jesus as much as I clearly talk about these bags…). And now I can sell the bags on the black market and pay for a weekend trip to Fiji :)
St. Josemaria Escriva’s Stations of the Cross
These are my favorite stations of the cross and I recommend praying with them on Good Friday as we remember our Lord’s passion. Every time I pray them, I come away with something new.
Prayer intentions
For a special intention
In gratitude for my community (all of you) and your witness to God’s goodness in my life
For you!!