Hosanna! Welcome to Holy Week Day-by-Day. For today only we are having a crossover episode with the regular Fiat Sanctum Sunday Sanctification readers. If you're a regular subscriber to Fiat Sanctum and want to continue receiving these daily agendas through Holy Week then sign up for Holy Week Day-by-Day 🥰 If you love this series then please forward it along to a friend so they can subscribe, as well!

What to Expect During Holy Week Day-by-Day

Holy Week is my absolute favorite time in the liturgical year. I didn't truly uncover its transformative power until well into adulthood. I always attended Palm Sunday mass, occasionally went to Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, and then obviously went to Easter Sunday mass. It was powerful in its own right, but once I started learning more about the unique services and prayers of the rest of Holy Week I wanted to experience more. I attended my first Holy Thursday mass in 2016 and I've been hooked ever since. It's actually the moment that set me on fire for becoming a Secular Franciscan (and I eventually became a professed member five years later). We lived in Zaragoza, Spain last year, and Semana Santa (Holy Week in Spanish) is a huge deal. I grew even more deeply in my faith and practice of Holy Week, and I'm bursting with excitement to share that with you all.

Each day of Holy Week Day-by-Day will feature a brief overview and a daily agenda will comprehensive checklists, prayers, and links. Every day will be different and customized for the specific nature and traditions of its place in Holy Week. Without further ado, let's get started with Day 1: Palm Sunday.

Lectio Divina: Palm Sunday

Read and meditate on a selection from today's Office of Readings, from a sermon by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop. The full text can be found in the Daily Agenda.

Family Activity: At-Home Palm Procession

Palm Sunday is the celebration of Christ’s triumph as King of Israel. Grab some “palms” from your yard (we use pine tree branches, since we live in Maine. See cute toddler picture from 2020, when we had to celebrate Palm Sunday at Home), make your own palms out of construction paper, or use your palms from Mass to have a procession! Kids LOVE getting to use those deadly weapons after mass.

• - Children can take turns playing Jesus and the members of the crowd. As “Jesus” walks through the crowd gently wave the palms up and down.

- Read Matthew 21:1-11 aloud.

- Have your family process around your home, yard, or living room.

- Remind your little saints that palms symbolize victory—Christ’s victory over death on Easter Sunday.

- Be sure to joyfully exclaim “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

This activity is taken from Catholic Family Crate's free Holy Week Kit. I HIGHLY recommend it, we've used it for four years and counting!

Music: Crown Him With Many Crowns

This week's music comes from my Holy Week playlist: Silence and Stillness. Today's music selection is Crown Him With Many Crowns by Fernando Ortega. You can play this during your family palm procession or even while you're doing the dishes!

Ambience: Mount of Olives with Church Bells Ringing in the Spring

This is unfortunately a very short video, but it's very powerful to connect with the exact place that Jesus was on Palm Sunday. From the description: "These beautiful olive trees on the Mount of Olives slope at the place known as Palm Sunday Road, just before the Garden of Gethsemane and the Kidron Valley, with church bells ringing over the old city of Jerusalem and the Eastern gate and the Temple Mount." What could be more perfect for today? Play this to set the scene for yourself before your prayer time.

We clearly need someone with 3D animation skills to create some specific Holy Week ASMR ambience videos for us 😉

That's it for today. As for me, I'm off to my first Semana Santa procession here in Spain! Check my Instagram Stories for updates throughout the day.

Fiat Sanctum (Let it Be Holy),

Shauna'h