Sunday, April 13, 2025
The “crowd” and their reactions in Palm Sunday’s readings exhibit profound contrasts. They begin by celebrating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. They pay homage by spreading their coats on the road ahead of Jesus riding a colt. In a moment of great hope and expectation, they praise God aloud and joyfully hail Jesus as the King who had been sent by God to bring them deliverance and restore their nation. Later, we enter into a solemn remembrance of Jesus’s Passion with the crowd shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
The readings during the liturgy for Palm Sunday and Easter Vigil are the longest in the liturgical year. Their length highlights the profound significance of those days for Christians. The readings for Palm Sunday immerse us in the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice and prepare us for Holy Week. And the ones for the Easter Vigil, the greatest and holiest of all Church solemnities, retell salvation history with stories from the creation in Genesis to the Resurrection of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel.
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, when the foretelling of Christ’s regal triumph and the proclamation of His Passion are joined. Holy Week continues with the Easter Triduum, which means “three days” in Latin: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. It reaches its high point on Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil and concludes with Vespers on Easter Sunday. On Holy Thursday, we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. Good Friday is a day of solemn reflection on Jesus’ condemnation and Crucifixion when out of love for humanity, He made a gift of His life to the Father for the salvation of the world. Holy Saturday is a day of waiting in hope until we celebrate the proclamation of Jesus’ resurrection and victory over death at the Easter Vigil. While chronologically three days, the Triduum is liturgically celebrated as one continuous day, which is Christ’s Paschal Mystery at the center of our Christian faith.
Holy Week is a time to deepen our understanding and experience of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. We participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be restored to God’s grace and to draw closer to Him. We recall Christ’s love for us to the point of giving His life and desire to follow Him more closely. We engage in stillness, intense prayer, and deep meditation on the events of Jesus’ Passion, death, and resurrection. During the Triduum, we attend special liturgies to relive these events.
Let us pray words of St. Richard of Chichester, later adapted for the song “Day by Day” in the musical Godspell: “Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits thou hast given me, for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, day by day. Amen.”
Reflect. Renew. Rejoice. Wishing you a blessed Holy Week!
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.