Holy Week Reflection Journal

Hi!  Holy Week is the most important time in the Liturgical Calendar. There are so many important stories to be told and lessons to be learned to sustain us throughout the year. Holy Week Reflection Journal includes:

- reflection questions for each day of Holy Week, each one referencing related Bible readings

- title page for students to personalize - journal pages with pictures for each day

I copy the booklet so that the pages are double sided and put them together in a folder. I assign the entire journal as a package at the start of Holy Week. I expect the students to complete one journal entry per day (especially on Easter weekend!). I also invite them to add their own personal flair to each entry in the form of artwork. I have the entire journal due the week after Easter (this also gives them a chance to ‘tidy up’ any entries before they submit!). All you have to do is copy the pages and hand them out! Enjoy! Art Thanks to…

Holy Week Reflection Journal

Palm Sunday On Palm Sunday, Jesus triumphantly returned to Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem were overjoyed to see him and laid palm fronds (branches) on the road in front of him so that he would not have to walk on the dirt. Bible Readings: Luke 19:28-42, Zechariah 9:9, Mark 11:1-10, John 12:12-20, Matthew 21:1-9

The people were truly happy to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem, celebrating his arrival and laying palms in front of him. Reflect on how you celebrate the daily arrival of Jesus in your life. Are there days that you don’t celebrate Him as you should? How can you ‘lay palm fronds’ for Jesus every day?

Monday When Jesus visited the Temple, he was angry to find that people were selling their wares within the walls. He cast them out, calling them robbers and chastising them for not respecting the sacredness of the Temple. Bible Readings: Luke 19:45-20:8, Matthew 21:12-16. Mark 11:15-16, John 2:13-16

Jesus orders the vendors out of the Temple because they are making it unclean with their disrespect. Reflect on your body as a Temple. Is there anything that Jesus might need to ‘clean out’ before He can truly enter? What changes do you need to make to help Him?

Tuesday Jesus tells the people at the Temple a parable about a landlord and his disrespectful tenants, but He is really talking about the lawyers and the priests at the Temple. Bible Readings: Luke 20:9-9, Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33

Sometimes the teachings of Jesus can really challenge us. Reflect on the times Jesus’ Truth have seemed harsh to you or hard to follow. Did you grumble and back away? Did you question Him?

Wednesday Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, makes a bargain with lawyers and the priests to betray Jesus. In return, they agree to pay him. Bible Readings: Luke 20:41-47, 22:1-6, Matthew 22:41-23:7, 26;2-5, Mark 12:35-40, 14:1-11

It is sometimes hard to be a disciple of the truth and the way. Sometimes we want Jesus to do what we want or act the way we feel he should.

Reflect on this and how that led Judas astray. Have you ever felt similar to Judas?

Holy Thursday Jesus eats the Passover meal with his disciples, sharing bread and wine with them in what will become our weekly Communion ritual. He tells them that the wine is his blood and the bread is his flesh and that they should do this in remembrance of Him. Bible Readings: Luke 22:7-45

Jesus’ blood cleanses us from sin and His body feeds us the truth on which we hunger for. When you receive communion are you really doing it in remembrance of Him? How quickly do you go off on you own and not stick with Jesus?

Good Friday Jesus suffers so much for us on this day. He is arrested, humiliated, forced to carry the heavy of His cross and finally crucified. He does all of this for us, to save us from our own sin. Bible Readings: Luke 22:47-23:48

In his song ‘Why?’, Michael Card sings “Why did they nail His feet and hands? His love would have held Him there.” Reflect on the story of Jesus’ last day as a man, thinking about all of the horrible things He went through. How do you honour his sacrifice everyday?

Saturday Jesus is placed in the tomb and a heavy stone is rolled in to seal it. The women leave his body in a tomb and hurry away because their tradition said they had to wait to prepare his funeral until after the Sabbath. Bible Readings: Luke 23:50-56, Mark 15:42-27, Matthew 2:57-61, John 19:38-42

Jesus is placed in the tomb, but we know that soon it will be opened and found empty. Reflect on the many ways that Jesus is always with us, even when it can feel like He is not. How can you remind yourself of His presence in your life on a daily basis?

Easter Sunday He is Risen! Bible Readings: Luke 24: 1-53

Happy Easter! How did you and your family celebrate the Risen Lord today?