Dear Friends,

Happy Palm Sunday! Yes, even as we give our attention to Jesus beginning the procession to His death, we have reason to celebrate and be happy. The prophet Zechariah (9:9) assures us that joy is appropriate. “Exult greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! Behold: your King is coming to you, a just Savior is He, humble, and riding on a donkey.”

Jesus comes in peace on a donkey, a humble animal who takes on suffering for the people he serves. Jesus comes to seek and to save all who are lost. He comes to atone for our sins. Jesus rejects opportunities to seek His own freedom so that He can fulfill His Father’s plan. Jesus knows the future. He proceeds toward it in peace. Pope Benedict XVI echoes this truth: “Jesus is not building on violence; he is not instigating a military revolt against Rome. His power is of another kind: it is in God’s poverty, God’s peace, that he identifies the only power that can redeem.” (Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 2)

The pilgrims who came to Jerusalem share in the enthusiasm of the disciples. They spread their garments before Him in the tradition of enthroning an Israelite king. They take palm branches, a Jewish symbol of peace and eternal life and cry out verses from Psalm 118, a Messianic proclamation: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” The people, unified, praise God joyfully in hope that the Messiah has arrived and that God’s kingship over Israel will be reestablished. May we do the same.

Palm Sunday opens Holy Week with a solemn recitation of Jesus’ Passion, recited again on Good Friday. Voices shout, “Let Him be crucified!” While this might pain us, we do well to take comfort in the inestimable value of His redemptive suffering. God, our Father, sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, Who, in turn, gave Himself fully and obediently for the forgiveness of our sins so that we might live eternally in Heaven. His suffering redeems us. His suffering calls us to join our sufferings with His.

Friends, as you approach the altar to receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, offer Him your sufferings; leave them on the altar, and go forth renewed in His redemptive love.

In Christ,
Fr.Jim