CHRISTIANS make much of Holy Week. The crucifix is a symbol of sorrow as Holy Week recalls the last days of the life of Our Lord. It is a week of high drama. It begins on a Sunday with a great demonstration of popularity for Christ. People sing, carry palm branches and hail Christ as leader. But by Friday what a change!

A few weeks ago, I had an enforced rest. My medication instead of making me feel better decided to make me feel worse, so I was put into hospital – a rare experience for me, thank God - while everything was sorted out.

Personally, for this Lent I am reflecting on the Stations of the Cross. The tenth Station – ‘Jesus is stripped of His garments’, has spoken deeply to me. The overall picture of the Way of the Cross, I see, is one of a large jeering crowd, cruel soldiers, a few courageous women

The poor, little house was clean and tidy, and she hung up her apron and went out into the sunlit yard where her little son was kneeling near the ashes where she had earlier baked the day's bread. She went over to him, ruffling his hair affectionately and then looked with a tremor of fear at the endless lines of little crosses he was drawing with the ashes.

Once upon a time I lived in a place where Holy Week was lived and celebrated as the highpoint of the Church's and the Society's year. In the "olden days" I remember attending the Easter Vigil