It is a bit sad to think that for many people, Holy Week represents a time to travel, a vacation or simply an excuse to get away from work. Are we really aware of what this celebration represents? Remembering the passion and death of Jesus will allow us to reflect on it in a unique way, thinking about and treasuring every moment of the resurrection and the divine gift that He gave us on the Cross.
Perhaps it is the right time to approach our Heavenly Father through prayer, making offerings, and even emulating the preparation that our Savior had made for His sacrifice. "All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look, to the humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my word.” Isaiah 66:2.
One of the messages we can feel in this Holy Week is that Jesus saved us from our sins when He made His sacrifice on the cross.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17.
That gift that God gives us, allowing us to know the savior among us and learning through faith that He had to die and be reborn, is the most important privilege: paying for our sins once and for all.
Maybe you may be thinking of a way or how to return the Glory and blessings we have received but we must remember that “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22
Remembering and being grateful in prayer that this action which was performed by our Heavenly Father, is a chance to learn from His son Jesus and to feel that our path has been enlightened for all eternity.
“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14
In his condition as Almighty, the Lord sent His son Jesus Christ to Earth, in a manner recognizable by all of us, suffering on the cross to be able to pay for all our sins. This sacrifice demands a perfect heart and as a reward, that blood brimming with Glory will allow us to be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is like this, we walk God's paths every day, we live in a world full of contradictions, of morals and even situations that constantly test us as the Lord's sons and daughters. Falling and stumbling on our path, represents a chance to get up thanks to the power of our Father and since we fall repeatedly, we know that our God will always be there to guide us.
Do you still want to make a sacrifice to feel closer to the Lord? Accept it into your life completely, receive the Savior as a King, as your Guide and the Father that will allow you to realize yourself in eternity. “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” 1 John 3:1-2.
“ I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6. I
That is why we must remember that whenever we leave our body we should not be afraid. Banish that feeling of terror, since the promise of resurrection in the Holy Spirit is set in our hearts, and resides as a guarantee of trust in the Faith and in the hope of being able to feel the Father among us again.
“In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory. I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.” Ephesians 1:13-16.
So remember that in this Holy Week you will feel very close to our Heavenly Father by sending Him your prayers and opening your heart so that you may feel free from your sins.