Holy Week and Shared Values

by Sonja Harris on April 7, 2023 at 3:07 PM

What exactly are our "shared values?"

We hear a lot of politians use these words to gain favor with voters. But do these politicians really share our values?

As a Catholic, I believe that my values are misunderstood by the Left and, at times, by some on the Right. But make no mistake, I work hard to follow Jesus Christ and His teachings. I use the words "work hard" because I'm a flawed human being. Every day I wake up and say "may I do everything for the greater honor and glory of God." And every night I ask for forgiveness for my shortcomings. I know that it’s not likely that I will be canonized a saint.

Holy Week brings me closer to realizing just how much Almighty God loves us in that he gave His only Son to be crucified for our salvation. Through this sacrifice, He saved mankind.

Visiting the Holy Land in 2017, which is slowing becoming a fading memory, I want to recollect witnessing the journey our Lord took before he was nailed to the cross. Entering the Sacred Pit that Jesus was lowered into while waiting for his death was a reminder of the isolation and darkness He endured for us. Psalm 88 verse 7 “You plunge me into the bottom of the pit, into the darkness of the abyss.”

We touched a two foot column that was part of the pillar where Jesus was scourged. I can't even begin to imagine the pain and suffering he went through.

John 19:1-3

*Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly.

We walked the Way of the Cross through old Jerusalem and I wondered what Jesus’s thoughts were as he carried the heavy cross to Calvary amidst the pain and humiliation he was enduring.

Matthew 27:22

Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”

These are the thoughts that flash through my head when I listen to the many in our present society that don't even know Jesus or worse deny Him. Understand that we live at a time when Christian persecution is rampant. Jesus was very aware of the human failings that led to his Crucifixion. He knew that Judas Iscariot was going to betray him. Our Lord said of Judas "It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” Matthew 26: 14-25

Jesus also predicted that before the rooster would crow two times that Simone Peter would deny him three times. Then Jesus said to him, “Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.” Mark 14:30

Holy Week is a time of reflection. A time to listen to our innermost voice that knows what is right from wrong. But it’s difficult to decipher in a society where there is so much confusion and chaos. A society where we are constantly being told what our shared values are... that aren't.

Even our clergy in some respects have failed its parishioners. The hierarchy seem to be more interested in political issues than spiritual leadership. We must, ‘Therefore, put on the armor of God that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:13-17