“Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.” (Mt 21:9). On Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, we are called to join with our Lord, Jesus Christ, as he makes a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and then suffers derision and mockery, scourging and finally crucifixion because he comes to offer a new way of life and claims to be who he truly is – the Son of God. This week is, indeed, what we Christians call it: Holy Week. Throughout this week, we are reminded that God, who is holy, has called us to follow his son as he leads us from a life of sin to a life of holiness. Today, we join our Lord in Jerusalem, where he goes to accomplish his paschal mystery. We hear about his triumphant entry into Jerusalem as well as his humiliating passion and death on the cross. We take home the palm that is blessed at Mass today to drape around our crucifixes, uniting us with the crowd that welcomed Jesus, proclaiming him to be the “Son of David.” The celebrant wears a red chasuble today, symbolic of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. The Gospel, ordinarily proclaimed by a priest or deacon, is today proclaimed through the active participation of the entire congregation. All of this draws us into this most important week, when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is betrayed and abandoned by his followers as he accomplishes the work that his heavenly Father has sent him to do. We, who have come to recognize our sinfulness and Jesus’ saving power during this Lenten Season, are now called to decide whether or not we want to stay with the fickle crowd that one day acclaims Jesus as their savior and king and on another day calls for his death, or with the Christ who is willing to suffer humiliation, abandonment, agony and even death in obedience to the Father’s will and for the good of his people.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the liturgical year last December, this is the year that features The Gospel of Matthew; today’s Gospel reading will be taken from that gospel. Regardless of the gospel from which it is taken, however, no part of the life of Jesus is related with as much detail as his passion and death. This is God’s great saving act, the climax of his saving acts throughout human history. It is the liturgical act, and it calls for our careful attention and active participation. Let me remind you about the definition of the word liturgy; it comes from the Greek word λιτυργειν and means a public act for the benefit of the people. Certainly, our Lord’s offering himself at the Last Supper and on the cross at Calvary is the supreme public act for the benefit of all people, as he offers himself to his heavenly Father for our sins and offers himself to us for our salvation!
There are many opportunities this week to participate in this great liturgical event. On Holy Thursday, the only Masses permitted are the Chrism Mass, which is celebrated at the Cathedral of every (arch)diocese, and the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. I will join with hundreds of other priests and deacons from throughout the Archdiocese at the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul at 10:00am on Thursday to concelebrate the Chrism Mass with Archbishop Pérez. At this Eucharistic celebration, all of us priests will renew our priestly promises and Archbishop Pérez will bless the sacred oils that will be used in every parish throughout the year in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and anointing of the sick. I ask that you keep us clergy – deacons, priests and bishops – in your prayers as we renew our ordination promises.
At 7:00pm, everyone is invited to join in the Mass of the Lord’s Supper here at the parish when we participate in the celebration of the institution of the Eucharist. The church will remain open until 10:00pm for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Our Knights of Columbus will, once again, lead an hour of adoration immediately following Mass.
On Good Friday, we will, once again, have an Ecumenical Good Friday Celebration at noon here in our church, preceded by a procession of the cross from Wayne Presbyterian Church; that begins at 11:45am. We will also have the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at our own church beginning at 3:00pm. It will include veneration of the cross and communion.