(Palm/Passion Sunday)
On Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday we as People, as a Church, have commemorated without fail for over twenty centuries, the triumphal welcome given by the people to Jesus as He enters Jerusalem. His entrance was greeted with joy and celebration, with words such as “Hosanna to the Son of David!”, which acknowledge Him as the long awaited messiah. This event was long prophesied:
“This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zech. 9:9)”
But we all know what happened a few days after this……
Our Liturgy for the Holy Week marks all these, and leads us to the great feast of the Easter Resurrection. You would have received a Holy Week schedule of celebrations and explanations last week. There is a copy on our website too (www.olv.co.nz) and on the back page of this weeks bulletin..
As we commemorate the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem with Palm Sunday, we also start off Holy Week. One of the saddest things for me for Holy Week is that the MOST important celebration that we put the most energy into the preparation, namely the Easter Vigil, is not well attended. It is supposed to be the Feast of Feasts. Within Holy Week, the Sacred Triduum (or Sacred Three days), Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil marks the most intense liturgical celebration for the whole year. Please join us, and encourage others to join us. Better still, join us with an active and conscious participation!
God bless Fr M
P/s During the Passion reading, we pause and kneel for a moment when the narrator reads: …
‘yielded up His spirit”
Leave a Reply