Walking Through Holy Week by Karen May
Most of us can’t walk the streets of Jerusalem, but every year, we are given the chance to walk with Jesus from His Palm Sunday entrance to the Cross. How much more meaningful would your Easter be if you could sit at the Last Supper, pray in the garden of Gethsemane, and touch the cross before you stood at the empty tomb?
Contrary to popular opinion, the Masses of Holy Week are not tedious, long, and boring. The Masses of Holy Week allow us to be participants in the greatest story ever told.
Walk with Karen May as she guides you through the events each day, making each one real and personal.
This six chapter book allows for personal or group study. Each chapter contains Scripture from each Mass, reflection questions, and explanations of items, actions, and events from Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday, with an additional chapter devoted to the Stations of the Cross – a traditional practice of Lent.
Done on a weekly basis or simply daily study during Holy Week, Walking Through Holy Week will deepen the readers understanding and personal connection with the events of Holy Week.
This book is deeply meaningful for any Christian looking to deepen their faith, and a powerful tool for people entering the Catholic Church at Easter.
About the Author
I’m Karen: a Christian writer, spiritual director, speaker and leader of Women’s Groups. Let me help you hear the whispers of God in your life.
In faith, hope, and love we can draw near to Him who knows us. In faith I study scripture, in hope I give testimony, in love I connect person to person on their spiritual journey, and everyday I reflect on His grace in my life.
“How often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22)
This verse can be so challenging. As I raise my fourth teenage daughter, this verse is one that I need to hear often, remembering that offense is part of the teenage DNA. Do you have someone you need to forgive? Some offense or hurt that you have been carrying and just don’t know how to put down? Let me share some of the ways I have learned to forgive in the process of raising moody teens.
1) Stop looking in
When we dwell on our pain, it keeps us from moving forward with our lives and towards forgiveness. Honor your feelings and then look beyond them.
2) Start looking out
I’ve heard it said, “People hurt others as much as they are hurting.” See where the other person may have been hurt, embarrassed, insecure, or afraid and how it could explain their actions.
3) Ask God to bless the other person.
I had someone who was constantly hurtful in my life, and I was having a hard time forgiving her. After confessing my struggle, I was told to ask God to bless her. I did, but I will admit I prayed grudgingly. As I continued to pray, God made it clear to me that she was actually a very unhappy person in dire need of the blessing I was praying for. (Refer to Step Two) Suddenly, I wanted her to be blessed beyond measure, and I wanted to be a part of the process.
4) Realize that forgiveness is for you, not about you.
Forgiveness does not make the other person admit or believe that they were wrong. It does not mean that a broken relationship will be healed. Instead, forgiveness means that you will be released from the weight of the offense and the energy of the anger and hurt that you have been carrying.
5) Give grace
None of us is perfect. When you hold someone to that standard, they will always fail you. Expect mistakes and forgive as you would like to be forgiven.
Give yourself grace, too. You may not be able to completely forgive right away, or you might forgive and then pick it right back up again. If that happens, return to step one. When Jesus said we have to forgive seventy-seven times, he didn’t necessarily mean that there would be seventy-seven offenses. It may be that it takes us that many times for it to stick.
My Review
5 stars
I am one of those people that believe in God but I also don’t know that much about the bible. I do know about Jesus’ trial, the crucifixion, and resurrection, I saw the movie. I also know there is more to the story and that I really need to sit down and learn. So when I was asked to review this book I jumped at the chance. This would be a great way to learn more about Holy Week, even if I didn’t know what that was.
Walking Through Holy Week broke the week and explained it to me and showed me there was so much more to Easter than what I knew. It breaks down the masses for each day, gives you scripture, and then asks you questions to think about what you just read. Really place yourself into the scripture and understand it in your way. I love how it drew me into each section and made me question myself, my feeling, and understanding.
I am writing this review the day before Easter for an amazing book that should have been posted a week earlier. But it has taken me this long to formulate what I wanted to say about this book. The book is written for Catholic mass but being Christian it helped to broaden my understanding.
If you have ever wanted to know more about Holy Week I strongly recommend getting a copy of Walking Through Holy Week. It is an engrossing and enlightening book that will help broaden your understanding of such an important time of year and worship.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
I would like to thank PR by the Book for the opportunity to read and share this book.
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