The life of contemporary modern man is a succession of events that often distance him from the otherworldly perspective of his own existence. In the past, Advent and Lent were times lived with serious concentration.
The Church, Mother and Teacher, has always encouraged the faithful not to dissipate these periods of grace, pointing to them as spiritually valuable moments, necessary for the reinvigoration of our soul which is always at risk in the waves of worldliness.
Prayer, penance, and fasting are seen by contemporary man as archaic practices contrary to human nature, more inclined to pursue all opportunities for empty entertainment.
Here, even here the etymology helps us. Converting and having fun: converging and diverging.
Christian wisdom points to conversion that brings together the ultimate goal of life with its development. The human being is easily prey to dangerous distractions and prone to sin. To walk towards Heaven requires constant exercises of (good) will. The Christian is not a masochist who hates good things! Quite the contrary, he is a realistic man and aware of desiring the good and the peace that follows -- in fact St. Augustine said that peace is "the tranquility of order."
I believe it is necessary to emphasize that the Catholic must be able to say "no" in order to have a much more important "yes" in exchange. It is not just a question of fleeing from illicit things because evil hurts, but also of knowing how to moderate and sometimes renounce permitted and licit things in order to obtain an even greater good.
The word mortification does not dispel fear, but in truth those who experience the fruits of small sacrifices are strengthened humanly and spiritually in view of great victories.
Holy Week is in this perspective the period of maximum concentration of our good efforts to better welcome the grace of the Holy Easter of resurrection.
We don't have to be blind and deaf to reality. In all things in life it takes commitment, discipline and sacrifice in view of an important event. Does the athlete not spare himself in diet and training in view of the competition?
Doesn't the student spend time and energy for an important exam? More simply, don't you go out of your way to be well-dressed and arranged for an appointment you particularly care about? Well, when it comes to ordinary things, legitimate and even good, we are willing to do anything, but when it comes to looking after our extraordinary and otherworldly interests, do we know how to do the same?
Holy Week is a book of infinite wonders of God's love for those of us who have subjected him to the martyrdom of lack of love. All these considerations are incomplete if we do not look beyond the death of the Redeemer.
The Apostles did and they were wrong, because they did not believe His words of eternal life. Only the Blessed Virgin Mary from 3:00 on Good Friday until dawn on Sunday, kept faith in God.

In the whole earth she alone preserved it. And in fact the devil did storm her, but she did not allow herself to be touched by the tempter who intended to make her lose hope.
Let us trust the Lord Jesus Christ who knows the way out of every tomb.
Let us give our hand with confidence to our heavenly Mother who has given us with her "Fiat" the Incarnation of the One who has prepared for every man a place in heaven to enjoy the eternal Blessed Easter.