As we enter into Holy Week on Palm Sunday, we are urged to recollect that this is the time of year we stop to remember and relive the events which brought about our redemption and salvation.
What we commemorate and relive during this Sunday’s Mass and this week is not just Jesus’ dying and rising, but our own dying and rising in Jesus, which will result in our healing, reconciliation, and redemption. Attentive participation in the Holy Week liturgies (including this weekend’s) will certainly deepen our relationship with God, increase our faith, and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus.
Palm Sunday combines contrasting moments – one of glory, the other of suffering: the royal welcome of Jesus into Jerusalem, and the drama of the trial, culminating in His crucifixion, death, and burial.
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At Jesus’ own invitation, we are asked to surrender our lives to Him during this Holy Week. We are asked to welcome Him into all the areas of our lives as our Lord and Savior, singing “Hosanna.”
This weekend, we receive palm branches at Mass. Let us be sure to take them to our homes and put them in a place where we can always see them. After all, the palms remind us that Christ is the King of our households and families, that Christ is the King of our hearts, and that He is the only true answer to our quest for happiness and meaning in our lives.
If we do proclaim Christ as our King, let us be sure to make time for Him in our daily life. Let us re-prioritize and place Christ the King as the primary concern in our lives. Let us be reminded that He is the One with whom we will be spending eternity. It is only when we have done this that we will find true peace and happiness in our confused and complex world … and true peace and happiness in the world to come.
