My dear friends in Christ,
Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before He was crucified. There is both great joy and terrible sorrow associated with this day, the Sunday that begins Holy Week, the Sunday that portends the Crucifixion of Our Lord. It is a time of despair, perplexity and contradiction. The very people who applaud Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem that morning, shouting “Hosanna” and the words of adoration will, within a week, be crying, “Crucify Him.” They will go from acclaiming Him as the new King of Israel to urging His life be traded in favor of a convicted criminal; they will first praise Him and then mock Him. Even friends entering Jerusalem at His side will desert Jesus. All this discord will take place during one week beginning on what we call Palm Sunday. Today you will receive palm fronds at the end of Mass. Palm branches are widely recognized as a symbol peace and victory, hence their preferred use on Palm Sunday. The use of a donkey instead of a horse is highly symbolic, it represents the humble arrival of someone in peace. Entering into Holy Week allows us to remember and participate in the Passion of Jesus Christ. We enter into the summit of the Liturgical Year which is the Easter Triduum. May the unfolding of Christ’s Paschal Mystery bring you into the Glory of His Resurrection!
May God bless you all,
Father John