April 9, 2017 — Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
IS 50: 4-7; PS 22: 8-9, 17-20, 23-24; PHIL 2: 6-11; MT 26;14-27:66
Most of us know today as Palm Sunday, although officially in the Church it is called Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, and to many Church leaders it is simply Passion Sunday, which comes from the Latin name for it, Dominica Passionis. We have reflected on this day previously how the liturgy begins with great joy and becomes more and more somber with the reading of the Passion.
During the procession of the palms Jesus arrives in Jerusalem to great tumult and rejoicing as the people cry out “Hosanna… blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest.” As the Mass progresses we get an overview of what is to occur during this holiest of weeks, including the institution of the Eucharist, the passion and death of the Lord, the prediction of His Resurrection, and then His Resurrection itself.
Imagine the confusion of the Twelve Apostles. Jesus has been spending time with them in the recent weeks prior to the Passion trying to get them to understand that His time of suffering was near and approaching, and that is the reason He must go to Jerusalem. And here is the crowd welcoming and praising and laughing and celebrating His presence.
We are not much different in many ways, but now is the time for us to really embrace and understand the sacrifice the Lord made for each of us, and the incredible gift He has given us. In the coming days it is our final chance to truly rededicate ourselves to being His disciple.
