An Evaluation of “Como Celebrar la Semana Santa” in Light of Dahm’s Parish Ministry in a Hispanic Community

The Como Celebrar la Semana Santa, or How to Celebrate Holy Week resource can be found at TheCatholicCompany.com. The purpose of this resource is to provide information to Spanish speaking Catholics about the various practices that take place during Holy Week. The pamphlet contains informational articles about things such as what to do with a blessed palm frond and an explanation of the oils that are blessed at the Chrism Mass. In addition, the pamphlet also includes some material of an inspirational nature by drawing a connection between Jesus’ and the reader’s Lenten journey.

Dahm’s book, Parish Ministry in a Hispanic Community, published by Paulist Press, was the reading for this week. Dahm describes the way that the St. Pius V Parish has adapted their ministry to be meaningful to the growing community of Hispanic immigrants. He describes the different ways that the various ministries at the parish have been changed in order to accommodate the needs of the Hispanic community. The parish has taken measures to preserve and celebrate the Hispanic culture, form communities, and encourage its members to take pride in and responsibility for their neighborhood.

The resource is intended to inform the average Catholic about some of the traditions and rituals of Holy Week. It also attempts to tie into the reader’s faith by providing some ways in which she can connect to Jesus. While this activity is written in Spanish, it is simply a translated version of the same pamphlet that is published for English speaking Catholics. It does not make any attempt to incorporate the rich Hispanic traditions and customs of Holy Week. Therefore, this pamphlet, while informative, does nothing to promote Hispanic culture, which as Dahm points out, is vital for the health of the Hispanic Catholic community. Because of this, I do not fully endorse this pamphlet. I believe that it could be improved if a truly Spanish version, which incorporated the Hispanic culture, was published. Even though this resource is intended for a Spanish speaking audience, it does nothing to promote the Hispanic culture. Simply publishing existing materials in Spanish does not make them appropriate for use with the Hispanic Catholic community.