Catholic All Week

The liturgies for Holy Week are filled with beautiful Catholic traditions that reach back thousands of years. Good Friday is the only day of the year when the Church does not celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Instead, the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord consists of hearing the Passion reading from the Gospel of John, solemn intercessions, adoration of the cross and Holy Communion from hosts consecrated on Holy Thursday. Here is more about the tradition of adoration – or veneration – of the holy cross.

Where did it start?

We have St. Helena, the mother of Roman emperor Constantine the Great, to indirectly thank for this tradition. She journeyed to Jerusalem in the fourth century to find the sites associated with Christ’s passion, with the primary goal of finding the true cross. What made this task more challenging was that over the centuries, the Romans had built over the places where Jesus was tried, sentenced and crucified. Helena excavated many sites before finding three crosses. According to legend, she touched a woman who was near death with parts of each of the crosses, and one – the true cross – healed her completely. Helena split that cross, leaving part in Jerusalem and taking part to Constantinople. Later, she took several pieces to Rome, where they were enshrined in the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.

How do you adore the cross?

During the service, the priest unveils the cross that was previously shrouded. Alternately, a priest or a deacon can receive the unveiled cross and carry it in procession into the sanctuary. From there, worshipers are encouraged to come up individually, genuflect and kiss the cross as they recall Christ’s passion and sacrifice.

Can you adore the cross at home?

While it can’t replace the communal experience of seeing the faithful approach and adore the cross, during COVID many Catholic entities created ways for the faithful to adore the cross at home. If you can’t get to church on Good Friday (which is not a Holy Day of obligation), you can still follow practices such as these from the Diocese of Corpus Christi that were adapted from The Catholic Company to give people a part of the experience at home. Begin by placing your most beautiful crucifix in a place of honor and light some candles by it. Kneel before the crucifix and spend time in prayer by thanking Jesus for his sacrifice, making an act of contrition, and saying The Prayer Before the Crucifix. Finally, kiss the crucifix.

Catholic All Week

For the Jubilee Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope, dioceses across the world have been charged with designating local pilgrimage sites for those who can’t get to Rome. Three local sites – all listed on the National Register of Historic Places – have been designated in the Diocese of Charlotte: St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville; Mary, Help of Christians Basilica at Belmont Abbey in Belmont; and St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. Before you venture out to one of them, how should you prepare for a pilgrimage? Will Peterson, founder and president of Modern Catholic Pilgrim, recently suggested several ways Catholics can deepen their local pilgrimage experience.

Discernment and intention

With three local sites – and more in neighboring dioceses - how do you determine where you want to go? Take the time to research – and pray over – potential sites and see where you feel called to go. Then, either individually or as a family, determine your intention for making the journey. That intention could be anything from praying for the universal Church or the diocese to a family need or one inspired by the life of the patron saint of the site. You also can ask family members and friends for their intentions, write them down and carry them with you to the site. Doing so is a wonderful way to teach children the importance of praying with and for others.

Walk the talk

Traditionally, pilgrims walked as they made a pilgrimage. While part of this stemmed from the predominant method of traveling before modern transportation, there was a spiritual component to the long and potentially challenging journey of reaching the holy site. While walking may not be an option in today’s world, you can map out a walk as part of your pilgrimage. Get the family involved and plan a walk around the Belmont Abbey campus, take a tour of St. Lawrence Basilica, or walk around St. Patrick’s campus and the neighboring park to find a quiet moment in Dilworth.

Take time to pray

Prayer is at the heart of any spiritual journey, but how do you pray in a different way on a pilgrimage? Peterson recommends reflecting on Christ as a pilgrim, beginning with Psalm 84 before you set out and praying Psalm 122 at your destination. The Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have posted Jubilee prayers on their websites. Ideally, you’d make time to go to confession and Mass as part of the pilgrimage as well.

Catholic All Week

It’s been said that everyone is at least a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), but how much do you know about the saint behind this celebration and how you can carry the luck o’ the Irish forward past the day itself?

Who was St. Patrick

Patricus – the future Saint Patrick - was born around 390 in Cambria, England, the son of a deacon and grandson of a priest. When he was 14 or 16, he was captured by pirates and enslaved as a shepherd in Ireland, where he used his time in the fields to pray. After six years he escaped or was freed and made a 200-mile journey to a port, where he convinced some sailors to take him home to England. He trained for the priesthood, was ordained a bishop and then returned to Ireland. He made many missionary journeys and played a key role in converting what had been a country of pagans into a bastion of Christianity. Because of his stand against the Druids, he is often invoked against snakes and witchcraft. He died in 461 and is buried in County Down, Ireland.

Why do we wear shamrocks?

As he worked to explain the key concepts of Christianity to Celts across Ireland, Patrick used simple examples his audience could understand. Most famously, he was said to have picked a three-leafed clover and used it to explain the idea of the Holy Trinity – that God is one being in three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The leaves represent these three distinct persons while the stem visually depicts how they are united into one. You can get shamrocks at local garden centers this time of year to serve as a visual reminder that God is always with us.

What is his famous prayer?

There are many beautiful Irish blessings and prayers, but Saint Patrick’s Breastplate – or the “Lorica of St. Patrick” – is among the most enduring. Saint Patrick was said to have written it for protection on his missionary journeys, which is perhaps why its verse structure has been compared to Druid poetry. Cecil Frances Alexander translated the words into English in 1889 and set them to a traditional Irish melody. The prayer of protection includes these well-known verses along with many other memorable ones:
“Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me”