Holy Week is the heart of the Christian liturgical year. It begins on Palm Sunday and culminates in the Paschal Triduum: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It's a precious time to immerse yourself in the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection. As a family, it becomes a powerful time for communion, shared prayer and passing on the faith. Each day can be experienced at home in a simple but profound way, adapted to the age of the children, creating a climate conducive to recollection and Easter joy.
Preparing the heart of the home
Even before Holy Week begins, it's a good idea to create a space dedicated to prayer: a small table with a cross, a candle, an open Bible, an icon or a picture of Jesus. Each day, a new element can be placed there in connection with the stages of the week (twigs, a loaf of bread, a napkin, a cardboard crown of thorns, a stone, etc.).
It's also useful to plan together a family "roadmap" for living each day in a prayerful way, however briefly. This shared programme creates unity in the family and gives everyone a role to play, including the youngest.
Palm Sunday: welcoming Jesus with joy
This day marks Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The day can begin with a family reading of the Gospel of Jesus' entry on a donkey. Each child can make a paper branch if they were unable to attend Mass. We can then organise a little procession around the house or garden singing "Hosanna!"
This is also an opportunity to explain the contrast between the joyful acclamation of the people and the Passion that is to follow, and to talk with the children about our own sometimes changing "Hosanna"
Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: refocusing on the essentials
These days are good for little family meditations on the Gospel of the day. We can read a short passage and leave a moment of silence or sharing. For the children, a manual activity can accompany each reading: a drawing of Jesus in the Temple, a Bible jigsaw, a Last Supper craft...
We can also experience a moment of forgiveness as a family: asking each other for forgiveness to prepare our hearts to welcome the risen Jesus. This is a powerful and profoundly Christian act.
Holy Thursday: celebrating giving and service
Holy Thursday commemorates Jesus' last meal with his disciples, the institution of the Eucharist and the washing of feet. At home, a special meal can be organised, by candlelight, in a solemn atmosphere. Before the meal, a parent can read the story of the Last Supper in the Gospel.
A beautiful way to imitate Christ is to make a concrete gesture of service: parents can wash the children's feet and vice versa. This gesture makes a deep impression on hearts and teaches a sense of service and humble love.
Good Friday: entering into the mystery of the Cross
A day of silence, fasting and prayer, Good Friday is the summit of self-denial. We can spend a time of silence as a family, turning off the screens and gathering in front of a cross. A Way of the Cross adapted for children can be suggested, reading each station and simply meditating on it.
A moment of prayer can also be experienced at 3pm, the hour of Christ's death. We can recite together an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and thank Jesus for his love up to the Cross.
Holy Saturday: living in silence and hope
Holy Saturday is a day of waiting. Jesus lies in the tomb, everything seems finished, and yet the light approaches. It is a day to learn to hope. We can experience a moment of prayer in silence, listening to a gentle song, lighting a candle, talking about what waiting means.
Children can prepare the house for Easter: decorate a cross with flowers, paint eggs, bake a festive cake. They can also write a prayer of hope to slip into the family Bible.
Easter Sunday: celebrating the joy of the Resurrection
On Easter morning, joy bursts forth! We can start the day by lighting a large candle and proclaiming, "Christ is risen! He is truly risen!". A song of joy, a reading from the Gospel of the Resurrection and a prayer can mark this moment.
The egg hunt, if there is one, can be preceded by a time of thanksgiving. The family meal becomes a real Easter banquet. Everyone can be invited to share a word of hope for the coming year.
A living transmission of the faith
To experience Holy Week as a family is to offer children a concrete experience of the Christian faith. Gestures, silences, words and symbols leave a much greater mark on them than a long speech. It forges deep bonds, between family members but also with Christ himself.
Even with few resources, every family can enter into this mystery of love, and make this week a journey of faith, communion and light.
