Holy Week has begun. Today is Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday.
Jesus has set His face like flint and He won’t back down. “He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame-Isaiah 50:7
Palm Teach
I was really struck by the distribution of palm branches today at Mass: The palms, it seems to me, are to remind us that the crowd waving palms will be the crowd shouting “crucify him!” What’s more, when the Passion is read it is permitted that the congregation take the role of the crowd and say, “crucify him!”…
During his homily, Father mentioned something I had not given much thought to: palms are blessed objects, sacramentals! He recommended that we make palm crosses and put them wherever we spend much time. They’ll remind us to pray for people and to avoid near occasions of sin. See a palm, remember the crowd…
“…All the disciples left him and fled.”
I want to be with Jesus every day this Week but I can only do that with his grace and through prayer, because as he said (and as Peter can later attest): “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”.
Reading the Passion is a great exercise to help us pray the Passion. Just now I was slowing reading Matthew’s Passion and I ‘saw’ things I never saw before!
Peace.
PS: pray for my cousin who turned 7 today and is devoted to Our Lord’s Passion.