Sunday, April 1, 2012

Palm Sunday

            Today on Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, the Church celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem as he is praised by crowds waving palm branches as they would greet someone who has achieved a political or military victory, yet he is the suffering Servant, the Prince of Peace. Blessed Sacrament parishioners and visitors filled the church for the 5:00 p.m. Vigil Mass on Saturday, March 31. In the First Reading from Isaiah, we can recognize Jesus as the servant of the Lord who has opened his ears completely to God’s will, Fr. Killian noted in the homily.
           The Gospel reading from Saint Mark highlights how Jesus knew everything that would happen to him, yet he remains undeterred out of love for God the Father and he is confident God is with him. Out of love, humility and obedience, Jesus embraces his Passion in order to bring about the salvation of the world and to show that he loves the Father and has come to do the Father’s will.

"Jesus' entry into Jerusalem manifested the coming of the kingdom that the King-Messiah was going to accomplish by the Passover of his Death and Resurrection. It is with the celebration of that entry on Palm Sunday that the Church's liturgy solemnly opens Holy Week" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 560).

            May we in our lives follow Christ’s model of humility and obedience, trusting in God’s providential plan for our lives, always open to the will of God.

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