Palm Sunday Homily - Pope Francis

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS
PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD
ST PETER'S SQUARE
14 APRIL 2019

Joyful acclamation's at Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, followed by his humiliation. Festive cries followed by brutal torture. This twofold mystery accompanies our entrance into Holy Week each year, as reflected in the two characteristic moments of today’s celebration: the initial procession with palm branches and the solemn reading of the Passion.

Let us enter into this movement, guided by the Holy Spirit, and thus obtain the grace we sought in our opening prayer: to follow in faith our Saviour’s example of humility, to heed his lesson of patient suffering, and thus to merit a share in his victory over the spirit of evil.

Jesus shows us how to face moments of difficulty and the most insidious of temptations by preserving in our hearts a peace that is neither detachment nor superhuman impassivity, but confident abandonment to the Father and to his saving will, which bestows life and mercy. He shows us this kind of abandonment by spurning, at every point in his earthly ministry, the temptation to do things his way and not in complete obedience to the Father. From the experience of his forty days in the desert to the culmination of his Passion, Jesus rejects this temptation by his obedient trust in the Father.

Today, too, by his entrance into Jerusalem, he shows us the way. For in that event, the evil one, the prince of this world, had a card up his sleeve: the card of triumphalism. Yet the Lord responded by holding fast to his own way, the way of humility.

Triumphalism tries to make it to the goal by shortcuts and false compromises. It wants to jump onto the carriage of the winner. It lives off gestures and words that are not forged in the crucible of the cross; it grows by looking askance at others and constantly judging them inferior, wanting, failures... One subtle form of triumphalism is spiritual worldliness, which represents the greatest danger, the most treacherous temptation threatening the Church (De Lubac). Jesus destroyed triumphalism by his Passion.

The Lord truly rejoiced with the people, with those young people who shouted out his name and acclaimed him as King and Messiah. His heart was gladdened to see the enthusiasm and excitement of the poor of Israel. So much so, that, to those Pharisees who asked him to rebuke his disciples for their scandalous acclamations, he replied: “If these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk 19:40). Humility does not mean denying reality: Jesus really is the Messiah, the King.

Yet at the same time the heart of Jesus was moving on another track, on the sacred path known to him and the Father alone: the path that leads from “the form of God” to “the form of a servant”, the path of self-abasement born of obedience “unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8). He knows that true triumph involves making room for God and that the only way to do that is by stripping oneself, by self-emptying. To remain silent, to pray, to accept humiliation. There is no negotiating with the cross: one either embraces it or rejects it. By his self-abasement, Jesus wanted to open up to us the path of faith and to precede us on that path.

The first to follow him on that path was his mother, Mary, the first disciple. The Blessed Virgin and the saints had to suffer in walking the path of faith and obedience to God’s will. Responding with faith to the harsh and painful events of life entails “a particular heaviness of heart (cf. Redemptoris Mater, 17). The night of faith. Yet only from that night do we see the dawn of the resurrection break forth. At the foot of the cross, Mary thought once more of the words that the angel had spoken about her Son: “He will be great… The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:32-33). On Golgotha, Mary faced the complete denial of that promise: her Son was dying on a cross like a criminal. In this way, triumphalism, destroyed by the abasement of Jesus, was likewise destroyed in the heart of his Mother. Both kept silent.

In the footsteps of Mary, countless holy men and women have followed Jesus on the path of humility and obedience. Today, World Youth Day, I would like to mention all those young saints, especially the saints “next door” to us, known only to God; sometimes he likes to surprise us with them. Dear young people, do not be ashamed to show your enthusiasm for Jesus, to shout out that he is alive and that he is your life. Yet at the same time, do not be afraid to follow him on the way of the cross. When you hear that he is asking you to renounce yourselves, to let yourselves be stripped of every security, and to entrust yourselves completely to our Father in heaven, then rejoice and exult! You are on the path of the kingdom of God.

Festive acclamation and brutal torture; the silence of Jesus throughout his Passion is profoundly impressive. He also overcomes the temptation to answer back, to act like a “superstar”. In moments of darkness and great tribulation, we need to keep silent, to find the courage not to speak, as long as our silence is meek and not full of anger. The meekness of silence will make us appear even weaker, more humble. Then the devil will take courage and come out into the open. We need to resist him in silence, “holding our position”, but with the same attitude as Jesus. He knows that the battle is between God and the prince of this world, and that what is important is not putting our hand to the sword but remaining firm in faith. It is God’s hour. At the hour that God comes forth to fight, we have to let him take over. Our place of safety will be beneath the mantle of the holy Mother of God. As we wait for the Lord to come and calm the storm (cf. Mt 4:37-41), by our silent witness in prayer we give ourselves and others “an accounting for the hope that is within [us]” (1 Pet 3:15). This will help us to live in the sacred tension between the memory of the promises made, the suffering present in the cross, and the hope of the resurrection.

14th April 2019 - Reflecting on Holy Week with Fr. Frank Duhig

On this week's programme we are joined by a friend of the programme, Fr. Frank Duhig, the parish priest of Newcastle West who leads us on a reflection on Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. We also have our usual reflection on the Sunday Gospel.

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

Reflecting on Holy Week with Fr. Frank Duhig

This week's programme welcomes Fr. Frank Duhig back again. Fr. Frank leads us through the daily liturgical ceremonies of Holy Week and the importance of taking a full part each day. Each day includes Scripture readings that remind us of God's journey with us at all times and situations and of his great love for each of us.

You can listen to the interview excerpted from the main programme podcast HERE.

An infographic Guide to Holy Week is available HERE.

Gospel - Luke 19:28-40

Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village opposite, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat; untie it and bring it here. If any one asks you, 
“Why are you untying it?” you shall say this, “The Lord has need of it.”’

So those who were sent went away and found it as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ And they said, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their garments on the colt they set Jesus upon it.

And as he rode along, they spread their garments on the road. As he was drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ 

And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.’

Reflections on this weeks gospel:

Word on Fire
English Dominicans
Centre for Liturgy
Sunday Reflections

Liturgical odds & ends

Liturgy of the Hours - Psalter Week 2

Holy Week and the Sacred Easter Triduum out rank all saints memorials and commemorations this week so we wont be posting any saints of the week list. The Easter Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday.

The Mass of Chrism will be celebrated on Wednesday, 17th April at 7.30pm in St. John's Cathedral. This is a special gathering to which all are warmly invited. We especially invite families of those who will be baptised or confirmed this year - as the sacred oils for these sacraments will be blessed by 

Lent ends at sunset on Holy Thursday before the Mass of the Lord's Supper. Reminder to people to bring your Trocaire box to church for collection.

Good Friday the traditional collection is taken up for the support of the Holy Places in the Holy Land.

Good Friday is a day of fast and abstinence for Catholics in Ireland.

Previous Reflections on Palm Sunday and Holy Week are available HERE.

Pope Palm Sunday Mass: Sing out loud "Hosanna"

Vatican News: Reflecting on the Liturgy of Palm Sunday, Pope Francis contrasted the joy of the people who celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with the cries of those who want to silence him.

Pope Francis invites us all to see ourselves in the Palm Sunday liturgy. He says that the liturgy “expresses the contradictory feelings that we too, … experience”: love and hatred, self-sacrifice and “washing our hands”, loyalty and betrayal.

Sounds of joy
The Pope says that we can imagine that among those in the crowd who sang and shouted as Jesus entered Jerusalem would have been such people as the prodigal son, the healed leper, “those who had followed Jesus because they felt his compassion for their pain and misery.” Their “outcry is the song and the spontaneous joy of all those left behind and overlooked, who, having been touched by Jesus, can now shout: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ” These people cannot but help to praise the person responsible for restoring their dignity and their hope, making it possible for them to trust again, the Pope says.

Joy suppressed
But there is another group present as well. The joy of those who have been touched by God’s mercy is unbearable and intolerable for others Pope Francis points out. “How hard it is for the comfortable and the self-righteous to understand the joy and the celebration of God’s mercy!”

This prompts another kind of shouting, Pope Francis observes. It comes from those wishing to “twist reality,” “invent stories,” “gain power,” “silence dissonant voices,” “spin facts,” defend themselves, and discredit the defenseless. In the end, “they disfigure the face of Jesus and turn him into a ‘criminal,’ ” Pope Francis says.

“And so the celebration of the people ends up being stifled. Hope is demolished, dreams are killed, joy is suppressed; the heart is shielded and charity grows cold.”

The joy of the young
The conclusion of Pope Francis’ homily was directed to the young. He pleaded with them not to succumb to the attempts of their elders to silence them.

“Dear young people, the joy that Jesus awakens in you is a source of anger and irritation to some, since a joyful young person is hard to manipulate,” he says.

Pope Francis recalls the words of Jesus to the Pharisees who wanted to silence his disciples. To “Teacher, rebuke your disciples,” Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk 19:39-40).

Pope Francis begs young people to choose to sing Hosanna and not to keep quiet: “Please, make that choice, before the stones themselves cry out.”

**********************

Below is the Vatican-provided translation of Pope Francis’ prepared Palm Sunday homily, which was given this morning in St. Peter’s Square.

25th March 2018 - Sharing a faith journey - Gerard Hanley - Palm Sunday

On this weeks programme John is joined by Gerard Hanley from the Emmanuel Community who reflects on his faith journey. We have our regular Sunday gospel reflection (reflecting on the Lords Entrance into Jerusalem) and some thoughts for Holy Week as well as some other liturgical odds and ends.

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

A Journey to Faith

On this weeks programme we are joined by Geraldine Creaton and Gerard Hanley from the Emmanuel Community.

Gerard shares with us his journey to faith and the challenges he has faced over the years through which faith has helped him to over come.

You can listen to the interview with Gerard excerpted from the main programme HERE.

Gospel
Procession - Mark 11: 1-10
Reading of the Passion - Mark 14: 1- 15;47

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Reflections on the Gospel readings of this Sunday:

Word on Fire - The Return of the King
Sunday Reflections 
English Dominicans - The Hour of the Son of Man
Centre for Liturgy

Liturgical odds and ends

Holy Week and the Sacred Easter Triduum out rank all saints memorials and commemorations this week so we wont be posting any saints of the week list. The Easter Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday.

When does Lent end? Lent ends at sunset on Holy Thursday before the Mass of the Lord's Supper.

The Mass of Chrism - Limericks Chrism Mass is in St Johns Cathedral at 7pm on Wednesday, March 28th 

Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper is celebrated in parishes around the world to commemorate the first Mass, the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. Reminder to people to bring your Trócaire box to church for collection.

Good Friday - No Masses are celebrated any where around the world on Good Friday. The main liturgical event is the Commemoration of the Lords Passion usually held at 3pm. The traditional collection is taken up for the support of the Holy Places in the Holy Land. Good Friday is a day of fast and abstinence for Catholics in Ireland.

Why do we celebrate the Easter Vigil after dark ... why is the darkness a big deal!?!?

The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil takes place at night. It should not begin before nightfall; it should end before daybreak on Sunday. This rule is to be taken according to its strictest sense. The Easter Vigil does not correspond to the usual Saturday evening

anticipated Mass, and its character is unique in the cycle of the liturgical year. It ought to take place at night.

The Church notes that the kinds of objections raised to holding the Paschal Vigil at night are not raised when it comes to midnight Masses at Christmas or other gatherings of various kinds! To light a fire and candles and speak of “this holy night,” and “Christ the Morning Star,” while there is still light on the western horizon is literally to make an incorrect statement at the most important liturgy of the church year - that does us, or our liturgy, no justice!

The intention of the Missale Romanum is clear: the Easter Vigil is to take place in darkness, “after nightfall;” that is, after the time in the evening when daylight is last visible. 

Sunset in Limerick on Saturday March 21st is at 8:07pm, and sunrise on Easter Sunday morning is at 7:07am.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel

From a sermon by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop

from the Office of Readings - Palm Sunday

Let us go together to meet Christ on the Mount of Olives. Today he returns from Bethany and proceeds of his own free will toward his holy and blessed passion, to consummate the mystery of our salvation. He who came down from heaven to raise us from the depths of sin, to raise us with himself, we are told in Scripture, above every sovereignty, authority and power, and every other name that can be named, now comes of his own free will to make his journey to Jerusalem. He comes without pomp or ostentation. As the psalmist says: He will not dispute or raise his voice to make it heard in the streets. He will be meek and humble, and he will make his entry in simplicity.

Let us run to accompany him as he hastens toward his passion, and imitate those who met him then, not by covering his path with garments, olive branches or palms, but by doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before him by being humble and by trying to live as he would wish. Then we shall be able to receive the Word at his coming, and God, whom no limits can contain, will be within us.

In his humility Christ entered the dark regions of our fallen world and he is glad that he became so humble for our sake, glad that he came and lived among us and shared in our nature in order to raise us up again to himself. And even though we are told that he has now ascended above the highest heavens—the proof, surely, of his power and godhead—his love for man will never rest until he has raised our earthbound nature from glory to glory, and made it one with his own in heaven.

So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him. Now that the crimson stains of our sins have been washed away in the saving waters of baptism and we have become white as pure wool, let us present the conqueror of death, not with mere branches of palms but with the real rewards of his victory. Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches as we join today in the children’s holy song: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel.

Original Text	Translation
Lauda Jerusalem Dominum, Lauda Deum tuum Sion, Quoniam confortavit seras portarum tuarum. Benedixit filiis tuis in te Qui posuit fines tuos pacem, Et adipe frumenti satiat te; Qui emittit eloquium suum terrae, Velociter currit sermo eius; Qui dat nivem sicut lanam, Nebulam sicut cinerem spargit, Mittit cristallum suam sicut buccellas, Ante faciem frigoris eius quis sustinebit; Emittet verbum suum et liquefaciet ea, Flabit spiritus eius et fluent aquae. Qui annuntiat verbum suum Jacob, Iustitias et iudicia Israel. Non fecit taliter omni nationi Et iudicia sua non manifestavit eis. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto Sicut erat in principio Et nunc et semper Et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. for he has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you. He secures peace in your borders and fills you with the finest of wheat. He sends forth his commandment upon earth: his word runs swiftly. He bestows snow like wool, he spreads hoar-frost like ashes, he dispatches his ice like morsels: when he produces cold, who can endure? He sends forth his word and melts them; he causes his wind to blow and water flows. He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and judgments to Israel. He has not done the same for any other nations, nor made known his judgments to them. Glory to the Father and Son and Holy Ghost as it was in the beginning, is now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.

In Holy Week, "Jesus Doesn't Ask Us To Contemplate Him on Internet Videos"

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION

ST PETER'S SQUARE

9 APRIL 2017

Today’s celebration can be said to be bittersweet. It is joyful and sorrowful at the same time. We celebrate the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem to the cries of his disciples who acclaim him as king. Yet we also solemnly proclaim the Gospel account of his Passion. In this poignant contrast, our hearts experience in some small measure what Jesus himself must have felt in his own heart that day, as he rejoiced with his friends and wept over Jerusalem.

For thirty-two years now, the joyful aspect of this Sunday has been enriched by the enthusiasm of young people, thanks to the celebration of World Youth Day. This year, it is being celebrated at the diocesan level, but here in Saint Peter’s Square it will be marked by the deeply moving and evocative moment when the WYD cross is passed from the young people of Kraków to those of Panama.

The Gospel we heard before the procession (cf. Mt 21:1-11) describes Jesus as he comes down from the Mount of Olives on the back of a colt that had never been ridden. It recounts the enthusiasm of the disciples who acclaim the Master with cries of joy, and we can picture in our minds the excitement of the children and young people of the city who joined in the excitement. Jesus himself sees in this joyful welcome an inexorable force willed by God. To the scandalized Pharisees he responds: “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would shout out” (Lk 19:40).

Yet Jesus who, in fulfilment of the Scriptures, enters the holy city in this way is no misguided purveyor of illusions, no new age prophet, no imposter. Rather, he is clearly a Messiah who comes in the guise of a servant, the servant of God and of man, and goes to his passion. He is the great “patient”, who suffers all the pain of humanity.

So as we joyfully acclaim our King, let us also think of the sufferings that he will have to endure in this week. Let us think of the slanders and insults, the snares and betrayals, the abandonment to an unjust judgment, the blows, the lashes and the crown of thorns… And lastly, the way of the cross leading to the crucifixion.

He had spoken clearly of this to his disciples: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). Jesus never promised honour and success. The Gospels make this clear. He had always warned his friends that this was to be his path, and that the final victory would be achieved through the passion and the cross. All this holds true for us too. Let us ask for the grace to follow Jesus faithfully, not in words but in deeds. Let us also ask for the patience to carry our own cross, not to refuse it or set it aside, but rather, in looking to him, to take it up and to carry it daily.

This Jesus, who accepts the hosannas of the crowd, knows full well that they will soon be followed by the cry: “Crucify him!” He does not ask us to contemplate him only in pictures and photographs, or in the videos that circulate on the internet. No. He is present in our many brothers and sisters who today endure sufferings like his own: they suffer from slave labour, from family tragedies, from diseases… They suffer from wars and terrorism, from interests that are armed and ready to strike. Women and men who are cheated, violated in their dignity, discarded… Jesus is in them, in each of them, and, with marred features and broken voice, he asks to be looked in the eye, to be acknowledged, to be loved.

It is not some other Jesus, but the same Jesus who entered Jerusalem amid the waving of palm branches. It is the same Jesus who was nailed to the cross and died between two criminals. We have no other Lord but him: Jesus, the humble King of justice, mercy and peace.

Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel

From a sermon by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop

from the Office of Readings - Palm Sunday

Let us go together to meet Christ on the Mount of Olives. Today he returns from Bethany and proceeds of his own free will toward his holy and blessed passion, to consummate the mystery of our salvation. He who came down from heaven to raise us from the depths of sin, to raise us with himself, we are told in Scripture, above every sovereignty, authority and power, and every other name that can be named, now comes of his own free will to make his journey to Jerusalem. He comes without pomp or ostentation. As the psalmist says: He will not dispute or raise his voice to make it heard in the streets. He will be meek and humble, and he will make his entry in simplicity.

Let us run to accompany him as he hastens toward his passion, and imitate those who met him then, not by covering his path with garments, olive branches or palms, but by doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before him by being humble and by trying to live as he would wish. Then we shall be able to receive the Word at his coming, and God, whom no limits can contain, will be within us.

In his humility Christ entered the dark regions of our fallen world and he is glad that he became so humble for our sake, glad that he came and lived among us and shared in our nature in order to raise us up again to himself. And even though we are told that he has now ascended above the highest heavens—the proof, surely, of his power and godhead—his love for man will never rest until he has raised our earthbound nature from glory to glory, and made it one with his own in heaven.

So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him. Now that the crimson stains of our sins have been washed away in the saving waters of baptism and we have become white as pure wool, let us present the conqueror of death, not with mere branches of palms but with the real rewards of his victory. Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches as we join today in the children’s holy song: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel.

Original Text	Translation
Lauda Jerusalem Dominum, Lauda Deum tuum Sion, Quoniam confortavit seras portarum tuarum. Benedixit filiis tuis in te Qui posuit fines tuos pacem, Et adipe frumenti satiat te; Qui emittit eloquium suum terrae, Velociter currit sermo eius; Qui dat nivem sicut lanam, Nebulam sicut cinerem spargit, Mittit cristallum suam sicut buccellas, Ante faciem frigoris eius quis sustinebit; Emittet verbum suum et liquefaciet ea, Flabit spiritus eius et fluent aquae. Qui annuntiat verbum suum Jacob, Iustitias et iudicia Israel. Non fecit taliter omni nationi Et iudicia sua non manifestavit eis. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto Sicut erat in principio Et nunc et semper Et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. for he has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you. He secures peace in your borders and fills you with the finest of wheat. He sends forth his commandment upon earth: his word runs swiftly. He bestows snow like wool, he spreads hoar-frost like ashes, he dispatches his ice like morsels: when he produces cold, who can endure? He sends forth his word and melts them; he causes his wind to blow and water flows. He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and judgments to Israel. He has not done the same for any other nations, nor made known his judgments to them. Glory to the Father and Son and Holy Ghost as it was in the beginning, is now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.

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.

"By Humbling Himself, Jesus Invites Us To Walk On His Path" - Homily of Pope Francis for Palm Sunday

From Vatican Radio:

Listen to Christopher Wells report for Vatican Radio here.

Pope Francis on Sunday presided at the Procession and Mass for Palm Sunday, as the Church enters into the celebration of Holy Week. Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem one week before His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. 

Pope Francis' homily focused on the redemptive Passion of Jesus, who emptied Himself, dying on the Cross for our sake. Even "at the height of His annihilation, He reveals the true face of God, which is mercy."

"If the mystery of evil is unfathomable," the Pope continued, "then the reality of Love poured out through Him is infinite, reaching even to the tomb and to hell.  He takes upon Himself all our pain that He may redeem it, bringing light to darkness, life to death, love to hatred."
God's way of acting, Pope Francis said, may seem very different from our own; nonetheless, we are called to "we are called to choose His way: the way of service, of giving, of forgetfulness of ourselves." Jesus, he concluded, "invites us to walk on his path. Let us turn our faces to Him, let us ask for the grace to understand something of the mystery of His obliteration for our sake; and then, in silence, let us contemplate the mystery of this Week."

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HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS
PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD
ST PETER'S SQUARE
20 MARCH 2016
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (cf. Lk 19:38), the crowd of Jerusalem exclaimed joyfully as they welcomed Jesus. We have made that enthusiasm our own: by waving our olive and palm branches we have expressed our praise and our joy, our desire to receive Jesus who comes to us. Just as he entered Jerusalem, so he desires to enter our cities and our lives. As he did in the Gospel, riding on a donkey, so too he comes to us in humility; he comes “in the name of the Lord”. Through the power of his divine love he forgives our sins and reconciles us to the Father and with ourselves.

Jesus is pleased with the crowd’s showing their affection for him. When the Pharisees ask him to silence the children and the others who are acclaiming him, he responds: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk 19:40). Nothing could dampen their enthusiasm for Jesus’ entry. May nothing prevent us from finding in him the source of our joy, true joy, which abides and brings peace; for it is Jesus alone who saves us from the snares of sin, death, fear and sadness.

20th March 2016 - Palm Sunday and Holy Week

On this week's programme John, Ann and Shane are joined by Geraldine Creaton from the Emmanuel Community. The focus of our programme this week is to spend a little time reflecting on Palm Sunday and Holy Week. You can listen to the full programme HERE.

Palm Sunday and Holy Week

Geraldine shared her experience of being in the Holy Land for Holy Week and she spoke of how if you are in Galilee you go up to Jerusalem, which is the same with our journey with Jesus. When we are journeying with Jesus, we are ascending, going higher with our hopes and dreams.  Holy Week is precisely that a holy week: a solemn, thought-provoking, precious week that invites us to reflect upon the great mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The liturgy of Palm Sunday begins with the Gospel account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem (cf. Luke 19:28-40) where the people cried out 'Hosanna' to Jesus. We do the same at every Mass. We use the same prayer of praise and intercession during the 'Holy, holy' prayer at Mass. Geraldine reminds us that when we call on Jesus, He does come to us, most especially when we receive Him in the Eucharist.

Shane shared with us how Holy Week is 'adult week' for Catholics, whereas Christmas is often seen as a time for children. Holy Week is not just something that engages the intellect, it also engages the senses: the smell of palms and incense, the silence of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the light of the Risen Christ that banishes the darkness during the Easter Vigil. 

Shane also reminded us about some traditional prayer devotions we can try during Holy Week to enter more deeply into this great mystery: the Stations of the Cross, meditating on the seven last words or the wounds of Christ. The excerpted section on Palm Sunday and Holy Week is HERE.

Gospel - Luke 19:28-40 (The Procession Gospel)

CHRIST’S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM BY HIPPOLYTE FLANDRIN

Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Now when he was near Bethphage and Bethany, close by the Mount of Olives as it is called, he sent two of the disciples, telling them, ‘Go off to the village opposite, and as you enter it you will find a tethered colt that no one has yet ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” you are to say this, “The Master needs it”.’ The messengers went off and found everything just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owner said, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ and they answered, ‘The Master needs it’.

So they took the colt to Jesus, and throwing their garments over its back they helped Jesus on to it. As he moved off, people spread their cloaks in the road, and now, as he was approaching the downward slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole group of disciples joyfully began to praise God at the top of their voices for all the miracles they had seen. They cried out:

‘Blessings on the King who comes,

in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven

and glory in the highest heavens!’

Some Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Master, check your disciples’, but he answered, ‘I tell you, if these keep silence the stones will cry out’.

Reflections on this week's Gospel:

Word on Fire

English Dominicans

Sunday Reflections

Liturgical Odds and Ends

Liturgy of the Hours - Psalter Week 2

Holy Week takes precedence over the commemoration of individual saints so the feasts of St. Enda, Abbott (Monday, March 21st 2016) and St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, Bishop (Wednesday, March 23rd 2016), are not celebrated this year.

March 24th 2016 - Holy Thursday (Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper)

March 25th 2016 - Good Friday (Celebration of the Lord's Passion)

March 26th 2016 - Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil)