“The tragedy of the Passion brings to fulfilment our own life and the whole of human history. We can’t let Holy Week be just a kind of commemoration. It means contemplating the mystery of Jesus Christ as something which continues to work in our souls.” –Saint Josemaria Escriva
My Dearest Friends in Christ,
Today we have gathered to celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to accomplish His Salvific Mission. Today marks the beginning of the Holy Week. Our celebration today is one of mixed feelings. It is a celebration that began with triumphant songs of kingly praises but culminated in a Sorrowful Passion of betrayal and condemnation. It was not only the Jews but also you and I who betrayed and condemned Him. The same people who sang His kingly praises, turned around to seek His death; what a paradox of human behavior.
We have entered into the holiest of all weeks. It is a week in which the mystery of our salvation was accomplished through the suffering, death, and Resurrection of Christ. It is a week that defines our existence as Christians and gives meaning to our lives as God’s children. We are not simply recounting history or retelling a story that happened two thousand plus years ago. In the present we are living out and consciously participating with Christ in everything He underwent to gain our freedom and salvation. Therefore proper participation in the Holy Week liturgies will deepen our relationship with God, increase our faith and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus.
Let us remember that Holy Week can become “holy” for us only if we actively and consciously take part in the liturgies of this week. This is also the week when we should lighten the burden of Christ’s Passion, as daily experienced by the hungry, the poor, the sick, the homeless, the lonely, through our corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
The readings of today have contrasting moments of glory and suffering, joy and sorrow. Jesus experienced the joy of a kingly and triumphant welcome as well the sorrows of betrayal, and an unjust trial, and condemnation which culminated in His suffering and death. Jesus experienced it because He is truly human. To deny His humanity is to reject His suffering as a truly human experience. We too, daily experience moments of joy and sorrow, but in His sufferings is our strength.
In the first reading from the Third Servant Song of Isaiah 50:4-7, Jesus saw aspects of His own life and mission foreshadowed. The Church refers to the Servant Songs in this time of solemn meditation on the climax of Jesus’ life.
The second reading from Philippians 2:6-11 is an ancient Christian hymn representing a very early Christian understanding of who Jesus is, and of how His Mission saves us from sin and death. This reading reminds us that our Lord willingly surrendered Himself to experience suffering and humiliation for our sake. He did not cling to His Divinity, but became man to redeem humanity. He humbled Himself further in His humanity to be treated as a criminal and embraced suffering and crucifixion for our sake. God has done everything for us. Let’s stop humiliating Him further by our sinful lives.
The Gospel today has two parts. The first part, which is read before the procession with palms, describes the royal reception which Jesus received from His admirers. Jesus permitted such a royal procession for two reasons. First, to reveal to the general public that He was the promised Messiah and then to fulfill the prophecies of Zechariah (9:9) and Zephaniah(3:16-19): “Rejoice, heart and soul, daughter of Zion….”
In the second part of today’s Gospel we listen to Mark’s Passion narrative. In this Passion narrative, we are challenged to examine our own lives in the light of some of the characters in the story, such as: Peter who denied Jesus, Judas who betrayed Jesus, Pilate who acted against his conscience, Herod who ridiculed Jesus, and the leaders of the people who preserved their position by getting rid of Jesus.
Our attitudes are not different from the above-mentioned personalities. Many times in our life, we deny, betray, ridicule, act against our conscience and persevere in our position in justifying evil. Before the beginning of the procession Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Lk 19:41-42), and when the procession was over, He cleansed the Temple (Lk 19:45-46). On the following day, He cursed a barren fig tree. Jesus cursed the fig tree for lying with its leaves. It looked good from the outside, but it had no fruit.
We need to ask ourselves: Does Jesus still weep over my sins? Am I ready to imitate the prodigal son and return to God, our Loving Father, by confessing my sins and making a sincere and honest resolution to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel so as to share in His Resurrection?
Let us welcome Jesus into our hearts and our homes. Today we receive palm branches, let us take them to our homes and put them someplace where we can always see them. Let the palms remind us that Christ is the King of our families, that Christ is the King of our hearts, and that Christ is the only true answer to our quest for happiness and meaning in our lives.
Let the experience of this Holy Week strengthen us in our various difficulties and challenges of life. Suffering and pain are inevitable parts of human experience. No one wants to experience these. Yet, many try to avoid them at all costs. Holy Week reminds us that it is through suffering that we enter into victory. Without the cross, there cannot be a crown. So be a strong child of God in your sufferings. Don’t deny Christ because of your hard experiences. If you remain strong and faithful to Him, someday you will also share in His victory.
Let us offer Christ our donkeys. If someone had not let go of their donkey who knows if Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem would have been as triumphant as it was ?Jesus needs our sacrifices to support the Church and suffering humanity. Our little sacrificial gifts go a long way in relieving the crosses of many who are suffering. Let us be generous and kind. “It may well be that the world is denied miracle after miracle and triumph after triumph because we will not bring to Christ what we have and what we are. If, just as we are, we would lay ourselves on the altar of service of Jesus Christ, there is no saying what Christ could do with us and through us.“
~ William Barclay
Always remember that a Christian without Christ is a contradiction in terms. Such a one betrays the Christian message. Hence, let us become active Christians during this Holy Week and always, enabling others to see in us Jesus’ universal love, unconditional forgiveness, and sacrificial service.
May the experience of the Holy Week renew and restore your faith in God. May you receive the grace to be a better child of God. May it strengthen you in moments of difficulties. May you see beyond your sufferings the victory that lies ahead.
I keep you and your family always in my prayers.
There is nothing as fulfilling and consoling as being innocent and patient in the face of treacherous persecution or accusation. In life or death, God must surely vindicate you. Those who testified against you will turn around to say, “Truly this person is innocent”; just as the soldier acknowledged, “Truly this man is the Son of God”.
