What to Look for on Good Friday

By |2026-04-03T09:58:14-05:00April 3rd, 2026|Categories: Catholicism, Christianity, Holy Week, Lent|

“Behold the wood of the cross on which hung the salvation of the world.” When we hear the priest proclaim these words at the liturgy later today, perhaps we should also recall the annual proclamation of our optometrists. Gesturing toward yet another set of letters on the wall, he asks: “Now, what do you see here?” [...]

The Brilliant Darkness of a Friday Afternoon

By |2026-04-02T19:24:20-05:00April 2nd, 2026|Categories: Bradley J. Birzer, Christianity, Easter, Friendship, Gospel Reflection, Holy Week, Love, Timeless Essays|

Not only did Jesus manifest Himself as the Logos so long desired in the pagan West on that Friday afternoon, but He also manifested Himself as the Christ, the true and eternal king. In some mysterious way, it was the death on Friday that revealed all of this, not the resurrection on Sunday. As Jesus [...]

I Shall Surely Betray Thee

By |2026-04-02T09:51:17-05:00April 1st, 2026|Categories: Catholicism, Holy Week, Lent|

While we are in this sojourning to our true homeland, we are not fixed immovably in the love of God. Only in heaven, with the blessed, will we see God and his goodness in all of its contours; and once seen, we will desire nothing else. Human love can be fickle; it can sway here [...]

Satan’s Empty Show

By |2026-03-31T09:29:33-05:00March 31st, 2026|Categories: Catholicism, Christianity, Holy Week, Lent|

With eyes that pierce every illusion, Jesus saw us drowning in this stupor of gnawing desires and lies. To snatch our attention out of the swamp, he suffered a death of such torture and abandonment that it shocks us. In college I visited Las Vegas—and I was unimpressed. Sin City markets itself with a swagger [...]

“Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice”: Music for Holy Week

By |2026-04-02T08:33:22-05:00March 30th, 2026|Categories: Audio/Video, Catholicism, Christianity, Dwight Longenecker, Holy Week, Lent, Music, Senior Contributors|

My own continued admiration of Gerald Finzi’s majestic and moving anthem, "Lo, The Full, Final Sacrifice," lies not only in the masterful blend of music and words, but also in the confluence of so many personal memories that touch and move me. Sometimes a piece of music or art brings different aspects of one’s life [...]

The Stones Would Cry Out

By |2026-03-29T15:31:17-05:00March 29th, 2026|Categories: Catholicism, Christianity, Gospel Reflection, Grace, Holy Week, Lent|

Unlike the mute stones surrounding Jesus during that great procession of the first Holy Week, let us hail his arrival with shouts. As Jesus approaches our stony hearts, let us cry out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40). As our Lord [...]

Classical Music for Holy Week & Easter

By |2026-04-02T19:02:18-05:00March 23rd, 2024|Categories: Antonio Vivaldi, Audio/Video, Easter, Hector Berlioz, Holy Week, Joseph Haydn, Lent, Ludwig van Beethoven, Music, Stephen M. Klugewicz, Timeless Essays|

Though Handel's "Messiah" rightly reigns supreme as the king of music for Easter, there are many other seasonal masterpieces that deserve to be heard more often. Here are ten lesser-known classical works that brilliantly depict the dramatic events of Holy Week and Easter Sunday. 1. "Resurrexit" from the Messe Solennelle, by Hector Berlioz (1824) The [...]

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