Happy, happy day of redemption!

Holy Week is so packed with meanings and insights.

Year in, year out, there are always new discoveries and spiritual blessings that serve as renewed sources of spiritual energy to last till the next church year at the least or to carry through or beyond a lifetime.

This year, we enjoyed tracing the derivatives of the names of the days for Holy Week.

It started when Fr. Andrew Healy called our attention to the American term for Holy Wednesday. "Did you know that we refer to Holy Wednesday as 'spy Wednesday'?", he asked. The label, he explained, seemed to have come from all the spying done leading to the betrayal by Judas leading to Jesus' arrest and crucifixion. According to the website www.catholic.org, Wednesday's Gospel reading about the betrayal of Judas and the events that lead Jesus to the cross are filled with intrigue, suspense and an impending sense of disaster making the label Spy Wednesday very appropriate.

What is so significant about "Spy Wednesday," according to the article, is that it theologically reflects the daily struggles we all endure in order to accept a relationship with the Lord. Jesus is not blind to the events that are revealing themselves as a result of Judas' clandestine negotiations. Judas has turned on Jesus' friendship and love. We, too, in our lives are sometimes turned against Jesus' love through sinful and unloving activities. There is a real message here in Jesus' tranquil resignation to the events that are coming which is Faith in the love and power of the Father.

The article invites us to reflect that Judas' false interrogatory response to Jesus reveals his true self: Betrayer. Just as Jesus sees right through Judas' false piety and friendship, Jesus also sees right through our own appearances when we falsely present ourselves as holy and faithful followers. Our frail human spirit reflects in our sinful acts and lack of faith.

"Holy Wednesday" invites us all not to pursue darkness and evil, but progress on the path of light and life. The Church in its wisdom sees this period of "Holy Wednesday" as a time for personal preparation. Unlike Judas, our preparations should be motivated by the promise of new life in the Paschal Mystery and not a rejection of the "morsel" which Jesus offers to us in friendship and love.

Moving on to Holy Thursday, why is it called Maundy Thursday? This English term is traced to the first word of the Latin phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you " from John (13:34) by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet. There are also those who say that the English name "Maundy Thursday" arose from a medieval custom whereby the English royalty handed out "maundy purses" of alms to the poor before attending Mass on this day.

Why is Good Friday referred to as "good"? The crucifixion and death of our Lord are not exactly what we describe as good. However, the day is referred to as Good Friday in terms of the results of Christ's death ("But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us…For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.")

The origin of the term Good is not clear. Some say it is from "God's Friday" (Gottes Freitag); others maintain that it is from the German Gute Freitag, and not specially English. Sometimes, too, the day was called Long Friday by the Anglo-Saxons.

Yesterday was Holy Saturday, Sabbatum Sanctum in Latin. We call this day Sabado de Gloria, Glorious Saturday. This day is described as the day the Church waits at the Lord's tomb. This is the day when all of us await Christ's glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday.

According to the website www.history.com/topics/history-of-easter, some sources claim the word Easter is derived from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Other accounts trace Easter to the Latin term hebdomada alba, or white week, an ancient reference to Easter week and the white clothing donned by people who were baptized during that time.

Through a translation error, the term later appeared as esostarum in Old High German, which eventually became Easter in English. In Spanish, Easter is known as Pascua; in French, Paques. These words are derived from the Greek and Latin Pascha or Pasch, for Passover. Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection occurred after he went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (or Pesach in Hebrew), the Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites' exodus from slavery in Egypt. Pascha eventually came to mean Easter.

Whatever term is used, we remember the essence of this day of resurrection clearly: Christ died for us so that we may live. Once we were slaves, with Christ's death, now we are saved, we are all restored as children of God! Today we remember, we celebrate, we believe!

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