As we enter the holiest week of the Christian liturgical year, prayers, poems, and devotionals can help us connect more deeply with the story of the last days of Jesus’s life. Below are a few recommendations to help you find meaningful resources for yourself and your context.
Three Prayers for Holy Week
May We Walk With You, Even To The Cross
Jesus, when you rode into Jerusalem the people waved palms with shouts of acclamation. Grant that when the shouting dies we may still walk beside you even to a cross; for the glory of your holy name. Amen.
~ A New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 581
Gather Us Again to Hear
Holy God, lover of our souls, we come before you as people created by and for love: Gather us in this time to hear again your word of love, to renew our trust in its breadth and depth. In the sacrifice of your love for us, may we find renewal and be your love in the world. Amen.
~ Daily Prayer for All Seasons, p. 92
All Creation Together Sighed, “This is a great loss.”
Jesus said, “It is completed.” Bowing his head, he gave up his life. ~John 19:30
When Jesus died that day on the cross all creation together sighed, “This is a great loss.” Time grew empty and the afternoon dark as the light of the world had not even a spark. The women stood by at a distance in tears wondering what would become of their fears. Fear not, the angels soon will say. Jesus’s death has given us the way. Amen.
~ Common Prayer for Children and Families, p. 62
More Prayers & Devotions for Holy Week
Online Prayers
- God of Sorrows: A Lenten Prayer by Cole Arthur Riley, author of This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us
- Handouts for Observing Liturgical Seasons at Home by Jennifer McNally and Anna V. Ostenso Moore, includes handouts with prayers for Palm Sunday at Home, Maundy Thursday at Home, and Good Friday at Home
- Prayers for Holy Week & Easter by Jan Richardson, author of Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons
Books
- Between Midnight and Dawn: A Literary Guide to Prayer for Lent, Holy Week, and Eastertide by Sarah Arthur
- Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter, a collection of writings
- Kneeling in Jerusalem by Ann Weems
- Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book, includes section of passion tide prayers
- Sounding the Seasons: Seventy Sonnets for Christian Year by Malcolm Guite
- The Ordering of Love: The New and Collected Poems of Madeleine L’Engle, includes a section related to Holy Week
- The Seven Last Words from the Cross and Three Hours: Sermons for Good Friday by Fleming Rutledge
- Witness at the Cross by Amy-Jill Levine
This article contains Amazon affiliate links that benefit Lifelong Learning at Virginia Theological Seminary.
Photo by Frantisek Duris on Unsplash.
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