Walking with Jesus through Holy Week
A Holy Week Devotional & Prayer Guide to Stay Rooted in Christ
There’s so much to be done this week.
Choir practices to attend, Easter eggs to be made, Easter lunch to be planned. I still need to check the boys’ suits and our gowns. I’m hoping there’s no last-minute running around.
And yet, amid all the planning, I’ve felt an intense pull to slow down. To actually live these days. To walk with Jesus — intentionally and quietly — through this Holy Week.
So I’ve come up with a simple Holy Week prayer plan. One I know I can stick to even on a busy day. One that will take me just five minutes each morning. And yet, it will gently draw my attention back to Jesus, through the day.
Finding Jesus in One Little Verse
During Lent, our Alleluias fall silent, saved up to burst forth on Easter morning.
In place of the Alleluia, we sing a brief refrain of praise (the Lenten Acclamation), paired with a short verse. It’s easy to miss this verse. But it holds the heart of the day’s gospel, and it reveals a little about the person of Jesus to us.
That one verse will be my prayer for each day of this week, as I let it sink into my heart through the day. It’s really simple yet intimate. And I’d love for you to join me in this heartfelt Holy Week devotion.
Monday of Holy Week: Jesus, the Compassionate King
Verse before Gospel
Hail to you, our King!
You alone have had compassion on our sins.
Reflection & Prayer
Nothing is hidden from you, my Jesus. You know my heart through and through.
Yet, you respond to my sins with mercy and compassion. Not condemnation.
Jesus, my King,
Help me to come before you as I am,
without fear.
Teach me to trust in your mercy,
to rest in your forgiveness,
and to start again.
Amen.
Tuesday of Holy Week: Jesus, the Obedient Son
Verse before Gospel
Hail to you, our King!
Obedient to the Father
Reflection & Prayer
You knew exactly what you were saying yes to, Jesus. Oh how dreadful the anticipation of all that pain was! It caused you such agony just to think of it. Yet, despite it all, you obeyed your Father. You chose to do His will and You entrusted yourself to Him completely.
Jesus, loving Son of the Father,
Help me to see the Father as you do.
Even when I can’t see the road ahead,
help me trust in His provision
and unconditional love for me.
Teach me to come to Him
just like a child.
Amen.
Wednesday of Holy Week: Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart
Verse before Gospel
Hail to you, our King!
You were led to your crucifixion
as a meek lamb is led to the slaughter.
Reflection & Prayer
The God of all the universe, through whom all things were made. That is you, my Jesus. Yet, you submitted yourself silently to torture and death. For me.
Jesus, my Savior,
What can I say to you?
How can I thank you for loving me so much
that you silently accepted a punishment that wasn’t yours.
Today, I ask you to soften my heart.
Help me cultivate a gentle heart,
teach me to be patient and kind-hearted
especially when I am provoked.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Make my heart like unto thine.
Amen.
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Maundy Thursday: Jesus, Fount of Unconditional Love
Verse before Gospel
I give you a new commandment:
Love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord.
Reflection & Prayer
To love like you loved me, seems impossible, Lord. I often find it difficult to sacrifice small comforts for the sake of another. Yet, you challenge me to sacrifice all I have, to give without restraint or complaint.
Jesus, my King,
How can I love as you did?
Help me start with whatever I can offer
the little sacrifices that my little heart can muster.
Teach me to be speak with kindness
when all I want is to retort,
to do an extra chore even though I’m tired,
to be patient when I want to explode.
Slowly, gently, teach me how to love.
Change my heart and soften it so it carries more of you
and less of me.
Amen.
Good Friday: Jesus, Lamb of God, Name above All Names
Verse before Gospel
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Christ was humbler yet,
even to accepting death, death on a cross.
But God raised him high
and gave him the name which is above all names.
Reflection & Prayer
You became the meek Lamb for me, Jesus, and accepted the most shameful, barbaric death. I cannot comprehend your obedience, humility, and sacrifice. I cannot fathom the depths of your love. I can only praise your name and thank you every day of my life.
Jesus, my crucified Lord,
today more than any other day,
I thank you for the gift of salvation you purchased for me.
I give you my heart, little though it may be.
I ask for your forgiveness
for every sin of mine that drove those nails deeper.
Oh Holy Lamb of God,
your name is above all others,
glorious, mighty, and greatly to be praised.
Help me carry your crucified body in my heart
today and every day,
so that I never forget this gift of salvation
that you bought for me at so great a price.
Amen.
Holy Saturday: Jesus, Our Silent Hope
Verse before Gospel
There is no Eucharistic celebration today, no Gospel, no verse before it. The Church waits in silence for its Savior to rise.
“Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it [in] clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock.
Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed.”
Matthew 27: 59-60, NABRE
Reflection & Prayer
The cross is empty, Jesus. And our hearts are heavy as we think of what you bore for us. Yet, hope flickers within this silence. We know you will rise.
Jesus, you are my Hope even in deepest silence.
As you rest in the tomb,
help me hold your sacrifice close to my heart
in silence today.
When I am faced with doubt and despair,
let me remember the silent hope of Holy Saturday
Help me know that all my tomorrows
are in your hands,
the hands of my risen Savior,
the One on whom I can depend
even when all the world is quiet and dark.
Amen.
The Hope of Easter Morning
In the morning, the stone will be rolled away. The tomb will be empty. Jesus will rise, having crushed sin and death.
He has won the victory for us. He has opened heaven for us.
As we stand at the threshold of Easter, the invitation is simple: to prepare not just our homes but our hearts.
To carry Him within us.
To hold close each day the love that led Him to the cross and the power that raised Him from the grave.
To live as people who know the end of the story — and are changed by it.
In faith,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Velany is a Catholic wife and mother, a catechist, and a writer who delights in seeing God at work in the ordinary rhythms of life. An editor by profession, she holds degrees in English from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and the University of Mumbai.
Read the backstory to learn why she started Smallest of Seeds.
