2023 Holy Week at the Basilica

Posted on April 13, 2023

Holy Week 2023 began with Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. Click on the following podcast to listen to a homily from Sunday Mass:

April 5, Tenebrae:

The Tenebrae service — which is Latin for “darkness and featured the chanting of psalms and readings from the Old and New Testaments — was a beautiful evening of meditative prayer and music, centering on the Passion and Death of our Lord. It featured the wonderful Basilica Schola Cantorum, which is led by our music director, David Elliott.

April 6, Holy Thursday:

Holy Thursday celebrated the institution of the Eucharist as the true body and blood of Jesus Christ and the institution of the sacrament of the priesthood. During the Last Supper, Jesus offers Himself as the Passover sacrifice, the sacrificial lamb, and teaches that every ordained priest is to follow the same sacrifice in the exact same way. Christ also bids farewell to His followers and prophesizes that one of them will betray Him and hand Him over to the Roman soldiers. During the Holy Thursday Mass, there is an emphasis on the humility of service, and the need for cleansing with water, a symbol of baptism. Also emphasized are the critical importance of the Eucharist and the sacrifice of Christ’s Body, which we now find present in the consecrated Host. At the conclusion of the Mass, the faithful were invited to continue Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Lyceum Auditorium until Midnight, just as the disciples were invited to stay up with the Lord during His agony in the garden before His betrayal by Judas.

April 7, Friday of the Passion of the Lord:

Today is when we remember Jesus’ final hours on earth. He is interrogated, scourged and carries His cross to Calvary. There, He is nailed to the cross and dies. His body is taken from the cross and laid in the tomb.

April 8, Blessing of the Easter Foods:

April 8, Easter Vigil:

The Easter Vigil begins with the Liturgy of Light. The Basilica is darkened and a fire is prepared outside where the Paschal Candle is lit and carried inside, representing Jesus as the Light of the World.

April 9, Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord:

Click below to watch Alex Solsma, a Diocese of Arlington seminarian who returned to the Basilica during Holy Week, as he reflects on being back at the parish where he served as director of communications and evangelization for several years: