In asking “Has Your Experience of Holy Week Changed Over the Years?” would you be surprised to look back and see that it has? As we begin Holy Week I propose a way of concretizing your journey through this very special week in the year.

Vincent, Louise, Frederick, Catherine, etc. Take your pick from the long list of those who have gone before us and influenced us. Look at the events of this week as they would have looked at these events.

The Jesuits have a fancy name for a style of prayerfully entering into an aspect of Jesus’ life. “Composition of Place!” Basically, it means imagining yourself in a scene from one of the Gospels. Imagine you were there. Imagine being one of the bystanders. Or imagine that you were one of the main persons included in the story – Jesus, Peter, Pilate, etc.

What I am suggesting for those of us who have been influenced by Vincent, Louise, Frederick, Catherine, etc. is a variation.  Imagine yourself as one of these heroes and heroines who has gone before us. But keep in mind that each of them would have experienced Holy Week differently according to what period of life they were in.

By way of example let me suggest that imagining ourselves as Vincent at different points of his life might lead to quite different insights depending upon which Vincent we imagined. The Vincent of childhood… the Vincent at the time he was looking for a comfortable life… the Vincent who was waking up to the needs of the marginalized… the Vincent who is nearing the end of his life of service, etc.

Doing something like this for whoever has been most influential in our lives will probably help us see how our experience of Holy Week has changed. It may also reveal to us surprising insights into this very special week.