9th April 2017 - Palm Sunday 2017 - Journeying through the Stations of the Cross

On this weeks programme, to mark the beginning of Holy Week. Sr Phyllis Moynihan joins us to reflect on the Stations of the Cross. We have a brief reflection on the journey through the liturgies of Holy Week as well as some notices.

As Holy Week out ranks all other celebrations, we dont have any celestial guides or saints of the week commemorated this week.

You can listen to the podcast of this weeks full programme HERE.

Hosanna to the King of Kings!! 

Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday as it is also called, begins Holy Week. This week is the “holy of holies” of the Christian Church Year. For today we begin our observance of the last days of our Lord’s early sojourn, “for us and for our salvation,” as He enters in the very heart of darkness, sin and death itself. The triumph of the humble King who enters Jerusalem, humble and riding on a donkey, is marked on Sunday with a triumph: shouting crowds and exuberant shouts of welcome and celebration, but in only five days, the shouts of welcome turn to shouts of anger, hate and a call for his death. “O, Dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken?” as the old Lutheran hymn puts it. 

Let us then fix our hearts and minds on prayerful watching and waiting during these days, as we again are led by the Holy Spirit to see in our hearts, and our minds, the evil sinful nature and the thoughts, words and deeds, which put our Lord on the Cross. And repenting of them, despairing of ourselves, we turn once more to Christ the Crucified One, on whom is placed the sins of the world: your sins, my sins. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”

(Procession Gospel - Matthew 21:1-11)

When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem
and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, 
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 
"Go into the village opposite you, 
and immediately you will find an ass tethered,
and a colt with her.
Untie them and bring them here to me.
And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, 
'The master has need of them.'
Then he will send them at once."


This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet 
might be fulfilled:
Say to daughter Zion,
"Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."


The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.  They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, 
and he sat upon them.

The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, 
while others cut branches from the trees 
and strewed them on the road.The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
"Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest."
And when he entered Jerusalem 
the whole city was shaken and asked, "Who is this?"
And the crowds replied, 
"This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."


Reflections on the gospel:

Sunday Reflections
Centre for Liturgy
English Dominicans

The Stations of the Cross

This week we reflect on the Stations of the Cross. The Way of the Cross is the journey through the Passion and Death of Jesus through out the first Holy Week in the city of Jerusalem. To this day Christians of all denominations will walk the ancient streets of the Old City retracing that journey from the Mount of Olives to Calvary.

You can listen to the podcast of the Stations of the Cross excerpted from the main programme HERE.