Well, I knew today's Mass would be very different with it being Palm Sunday, but I wasn't expected for today. At my parish we started with a simple entrance, where everyone remained in their seats and didn't process in. I prefer the solemn procession where all process into the Church waving Palm branches.
Following this, the lector accidentally read the wrong Gospel account of the Passion for a few minutes. My priest realized this after a few minutes and gave her the correct reading. No one went to the correct Communion line - it was just a mess.
I realized Saturday night how close we truly are to Holy Saturday - it's one week away. This truly special day is the day when most people enter the Catholic faith. For me, two years ago, I experienced this firsthand - it was literally the best day of my life.
I wanted to welcome all of those new Catholics from our St. Blog's community. Could you please let me know of bloggers that will be entering the Church at the Easter Vigil this coming Saturday. I wanted to officially welcome them and create a short paragraph for each of them. I have also asked Owen at Luminous Miseries II to design a special logo for all of you new Catholics welcoming you into the Church. I will post it in a few days if everything goes well. Please feel free to display it on your blogs then.
Today is the Second Sunday of Passiontide (Palm Sunday), the day we commemorate Christ's triumphant ride into Jerusalem. All of this is alluded to in the prophecy of Zacharias 9:9-10 :
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: BEHOLD THY KING will come to thee, the just and saviour: he is poor, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will destroy the chariot out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem, and the bow for war shall be broken: and he shall speak peace to the Gentiles, and his power shall be from sea to sea, and from the rivers even to the end of the earth.
The people welcomed and worshipped Our Lord and Master as rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. But, in just one week the people of Jerusalem and the elders would be the ones who would call out: "Crucify Him."
The Gospel account is as follows:
And having said these things, he went before, going up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania, unto the mount called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples, Saying: Go into the town which is over against you, at your entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied, on which no man ever hath sitten: loose him, and bring him hither.
And if any man shall ask you: Why do you loose him? you shall say thus unto him: Because the Lord hath need of his service. And they that were sent, went their way, and found the colt standing, as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said to them: Why loose you the colt? But they said: Because the Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus. And casting their garments on the colt, they set Jesus thereon.
And as he went, they spread their clothes underneath in the way. And when he was now coming near the descent of mount Olivet, the whole multitude of his disciples began with joy to praise God with a loud voice, for all the mighty works they had seen, Saying: Blessed be the king who cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven, and glory on high! And some of the Pharisees, from amongst the multitude, said to him: Master, rebuke thy disciples. To whom he said: I say to you, that if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.
And when he drew near, seeing the city, he wept over it, saying: If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace; but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side, And beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee: and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation (Luke 19:28-44)
So many prophesies were fulfilled on this Sunday of His Passion. In the Annunciation, Gabriel said to Mary: "The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David, His father; and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever." That day is now at hand.
How beautiful is the love of Our Lord! Not only did He die, but He willingly suffered all the humiliation, pain, beatings, mocking, and anxiety leading up to His death. Today we celebrate His triumphant ride into Jerusalem, where He will complete the Paschal Mystery. But, we are ever mindful that it is because of our sinfulness that the Lamb of God was forced to ride on an ass to the city of His Crucifixion.
For Christ came to die but became victorious over death. He came to suffer but rose again in splendor. We too must follow Him. We must embrace every suffering and pain in our lives. Not only must we accept these sufferings, but we most forgive our attackers. If love is not carved upon our hearts then how can we ever hope to enter Heaven? Jesus Christ was condemned by these men and women who first welcomed Him, and it is only by His forgiveness that we, like them, can hope to enter Heaven. When I pray about Heaven to Our God I do not say "Lord, permit me to enter your Kingdom." I say, "Master, permit me to sit in the farthest corner of your Kingdom that your light still might shine upon me for I am unworthy of anything greater."
We cannot completely understand what must have been the most profound joy for some as He rode in the city. Those following Jesus were even chanting: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the Kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!" This song is sung at every Catholic Mass as we remember the Kingship of the Lord.
For on this day those that were wise saw what the prophets and faithful would have died to witness - our salvation was to be won. For Christ, the Victor over death, was saving His people - the people of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. The entire New Testament leads up to this triumphant day - Christ is saving His people. Our God had come to set us free and institute the New Covenant. How great a day this must have been.
Today at Mass we will hear the Gospel account of the Passion of Our Lord. And we will also receive the Blessed Palms. The Blessing of the Palms, traditionally done with several prayers, is one of the three principal blessings in the Church's Year (the others being Candles on Candlemas and ashes on Ash Wednesday). Palms were not just used in this instance of Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. The early martyrs are depicted in art with palms - symbolic of their own triumph over death.
O Almighty and everlasting God, Who didst cause our Savior to take upon Him our flesh and to undergo the cross, for an example of humility to be imitated by mankind: mercifully grant that we may deserve to possess not only the lesson of His patience but also the fellowship of His Resurrection. Through the same our Lord.
Today's Stational Church is at the Basilica of St. John before the Latin Gate
The Station on this eve of Palm Sunday is of a comparatively late origin—formerly, the Pope spent a part of the day distributing alms to the poor, and rested in preparation for Holy Week.
St. John's before the Latin Gate was chosen as a stational church. Near the place where the Appian Way branches off, forming the Latin Way to the left, it was built on the spot where St. John was, by order of Domitian, plunged into a cauldron of boiling oil. St. John, who with Mary shared the privilege of standing near the Cross, also joined his sacrifice to that of Christ when he gladly accepted martyrdom in the boiling oil.May St. John teach us the spirit of active, soulful participation in the very mysteries in which he did partake in with great faith, reverence and love. The mystery of the Lord's Table, the mystery of the Lord's Cross and the mystery of the Lord's Triumph.
Let us pray: May the people prosper, who are devoted to Thee by the affection of pious devotion, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that instructed by the holy rites, they may be made more pleasing to Thy majesty, and more, may they abound in excellent gifts. Through Christ, Our Lord.Amen.
For more information on the miracle here that saved the life of St. John, please see Lives of the Saints and scroll down. For more information, the Liturgy of the Hours today, and the source of the above photo, see this link.
Today is an extremely busy day for me, so I will not be posting until this afternoon at the earliest. I have a few important things to do today, so I would appreciate all of your prayers.
I wanted to share these words of inspiration for today:
Blessed Mother Teresa: "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."
For love of us unutterable, Jesus Christ died. He died with nails piercing his hands and feet. He died with a crown of thorns on His Sacred Head. He died after He was mocked, beaten, and bruised. His Body bled and He suffered all of this pain for you. And not just that, but if you were the only person that had ever lived, He would have died for you just the same.
Please join me this Friday in the Stations of the Cross as we remember the Lord's love. You can pray them online.
Prayer:
Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus, I cast myself on my knees in Your sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul, I pray and beg You to impress upon my heat lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm desire of amendment, while with deep affection and grief of soul I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate Your five most precious Wounds; having before my eyes that which David spoke in prophecy: "They pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones."
We beginning journeying toward the end of Lent and today's station is at the Basilica of St. Stephen on Mt. Ceolius
This Lenten Station takes us back to a sacred area, which still preserves its aura of mystery. This area was sacred to the pagans, who had, on the nearby Palatine Hill, the black rock of the Magna Mater and who had there the sacred land, on which the "profane" outsiders were forbidden to set foot. It was sacred also to the Christians, who even today venerate it as the place, which gave martyrdom and glory to saints.
St. Stephen on Mt. Ceolius, or St. Stephen Rotondo as the Romans call it because of its circular plan, is among the most ancient of the round churches with its altar in the center and thus visible from all sides. It was built between 400 and 450 and was consecrated by Pope Simplicius.St. Stephen was the first martyr—or witness—of Christ. While dying, he beheld the Savior at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
Thus, it was fitting to assemble in this basilica at this holy time, consecrated to the memory of the Savior's Passion, which prepares us to celebrate His triumph at Easter.
Let us pray: Pour forth Thy grace into our hearts, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that we who refrain from sin by self-denial, may be rather afflicted in time than condemned to eternal punishment. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Today's Stational Church is the Church of St. Apollinaris
There are actually two stational churches indicated for today. The first Lenten Station was established by Pope Gregory II (715-731) in the Church of St. Apollinaris and the second established by Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) with apostolic privilege in the Church of St. Mary the New in the Roman Forum as a closing for a Holy Year of Redemption.
A week from today we shall begin the Pascal Mysteries. The truer the sorrow for our sins and the greater the realization of the need of God's grace, the more fruitful will be the efficacy of these Pascal Mysteries.
Let us pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the dignity of human nature wounded by excess, may be reformed by the practice of self-denial. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
O good and dearest Jesus, I kneel before your face. With all my heart I ask you to place in my heart more faith, hope and charity. Give me a true sorrow for my sins and a strong will to do better With great sorrow and grief I look upon your five wounds and think about them. Before my eyes are the words that the prophet David said of you, O good Jesus: "They have pierced my hands and feet They have numbered all my bones."
Prayer Source: Holy Lent by Eileen O'Callaghan, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1975
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Matthew is a Third Order Dominican from Chicago and an expert on Catholicism, with an emphasis on Traditional Fasting. He has written for "A Catholic Life" since 2005. Matthew is a Certified Catechist and is a speaker available to address your next parish or Catholic conference gathering. Matthew spends his leisure time traveling, teaching, writing, and enjoying Catholic culture. He is also a writer for "Catholic Family News" and "The Fatima Center." Please contact Matthew directly regarding advertising requests for A Catholic Life or in regard to speaking engagements.
