Fix Your Week

Growing up, my weeks had a typical rhythm.

Mass on Sunday… dread for Monday.

I’d spend Sunday scrambling to finish homework or chores, distracting myself from the reality of another school week beginning. Then the countdown would start—Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday—until that wonderful moment: Friday night. I could stay up late, have fun, and not worry about anything the next day. That was the high point of my week.

Year after year, the cycle repeated. But once a year, it all collided—Holy Week.

That week flipped everything upside down. I was told to be sorrowful on Friday and rejoice on Sunday. The exact opposite of how I lived every other week. It always hit hard, then faded, and I’d go back to my usual rhythm.

Eventually, I tried to do something about it. I began abstaining from meat on Fridays. But I love seafood—and Friday became an excuse for shrimp tacos or going to Red Lobster. Not exactly penance.

Then, one Lent, I saw a painful truth:

I was living a lie.

As a Catholic, Sunday should be my day of joy. The Resurrection. Jesus’ triumph over death. A time to rest and soak in the goodness of God.

But I wasn’t doing that. I was working myself to exhaustion, filled with dread.

And Friday—the day of Christ’s crucifixion, His passion and death for my sins—had become my favorite day.

That realization hit me hard. And it gave me a choice: keep living in that lie, or let the truth change me.

I chose change.

I began treating each week as a mini Holy Week.

• Monday became the beginning of the journey toward the Cross and ultimately the Resurrection.
• Wednesday marked Spy Wednesday, when Judas betrayed Christ. I began abstaining from meat and taking cold showers.
• Thursday—my new second favorite day—reminded me of the Last Supper and the gift of the Eucharist. I started celebrating it: special meals, time with family, and gratitude. (That’s why this newsletter comes out on Thursdays.)
• Friday became a weekly day of penance. Cold showers. Fasting during Lent. Meatless meals. While people wished each other a happy Friday, I chose to reflect on a Good Friday that changed the world.
• Then came Sunday with great excitement. I received my Lord in the Eucharist. I celebrated the Resurrection. I set down my labors and truly rested.

That new rhythm changed everything. It aligned my life with the Church—not just once a year, but every week.

We all live with “common-sense” habits that are actually built on lies. That Friday is for indulgence. That Sunday is for prep and stress. That suffering should always be avoided.

But if we want to be forged, we have to break through those lies.

The truth will set you free.

Your Challenge This Week

Start living your own mini Holy Week.

• On Wednesday and Friday, choose some form of penance:
  • Skip a meal
  • Take a cold shower
  • Go on a run
  • Give up something you enjoy (Choose something that stretches you)
• On Thursday and Sunday, celebrate:
  • Enjoy a treat Thursday evening
  • Rest on Sunday—go to Mass, relax, and avoid unnecessary work

Let your week tell the true story: sorrow that leads to joy. Christ died. Christ rose. We live in that rhythm now.

Anvil: the place of formation.

Arrow: the mission we’re sent on.