Holy Week Is Upon Us

Hope you all had a very Blessed Palm Sunday!!  Holy Week is officially upon us.  Now is a great time to refocus and recenter ourselves on what Lent and Easter are truly all about.

Seven Churches Visitation on Holy Thursday

Altar of Repose at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church in Down Neck Newark

It’s an ancient tradition to visit Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament on the Altar of Repose at seven churches on the evening of Holy Thursday following the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.  The tradition is believed to have started in Rome, Italy.  The faithful would make a pilgrimage to the seven Roman basilicas: St. John Lateran (San Giovanni Laterano), St. Peter’s Basilica (San Pietro), St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore), St. Paul Outside the Walls (San Paolo fuori le mura), St. Sebastian (San Sebastiano), St. Lawrence Outside the Walls (San Lorenzo fuori le mura), Santa Croce in Jerusalem (Santa Croce in Gerusalemme).  They would pray and spend some time “keeping watch” at each church.