Today in Passion Week
Meditations, Reflections, Prayers

Palm Sunday

Introduction:

Since the beginning of Lent until now we have prepared our hearts by penance and charitable works. Today we gather together to herald with the whole Church the beginning of the celebration of our Lord's Paschal Mystery, that is to say, of his Passion and Resurrection. For it was to accomplish this mystery that he entered his own city of Jerusalem. Therefore, with all faith and devotion, let us commemorate the Lord's entry into the city for our salvation, following in his footsteps, so that, being made by his grace partakers of the cross, we may have a share also in his Resurrection and in his life.

Today: Bethphage: A Donkey for Jesus

Palm Sunday - Passion Sunday
The Sunday before Easter is observed by virtually all Christians -- Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox -- as Palm Sunday. For all Church traditions the feast has a bittersweet taste. ...

Bible Reading:

Opening Prayer:

Almighty ever-living God,
who as an example of humility for the human race to follow
caused our savior to take flesh and submit to the Cross,
graciously grant that we may head his lesson of patient suffering and so merit a share in his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

The Readings: (Alternate)
Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14 - 23:56

Daily Meditation:

For a closer union with Jesus
in his humility, in his suffering.
This Sunday we hold palm branches in our hands,
and wave them to greet our Lord's entry into the city of our salvation.
Last year's palms were burned to form the ashes
that marked our foreheads to begin this Lenten journey.
We can place these palm branches - perhaps from each member of the family -
in a special place in our home
(maybe cutting a small piece and putting it some place where I work).

Each day this week they can represent our celebration of his love for me.
That symbol can say so many words -
all that I am about to celebrate and accept as love for me,
and all the entry into Jerusalem experiences in my life.

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory!
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!

Palm Sunday Reflection
by Laurence Freeman OSB

The curtain lifts again and we begin to recount ritually and relive interiorly the great events that took place over a few days a long time ago. The world did not stop when they happened. Only symbolically did the sun darken and the veil of temple split. Peoples’ commercial and emotional lives carried on as usual through the short tragic drama of the humiliation and extinction of a powerless pawn in the politics of the world. A short show-trial, public torture to keep the crowds satisfied, another execution of a religious (or political) activist who flared briefly in popular imagination and then lost their favour and sunk between the bigger waves of public affairs and personal concerns.

His close friends ran away, disappointed and maybe angry with him, to save themselves. He was left to die with only his mother, one disciple he loved and a few loyal women at the foot of his cross.

And here we are in 2012 telling the story again from the slightly disjointed but unforgettable accounts written down several decades afterwards. We do not have his own words except in translation. He put nothing in writing himself. We don’t know what he liked for breakfast or exactly who he thought he was. He is more present than any other historical or fictional figure and yet when you look at him closely he becomes transparent and disappears. If we meet him we are changed but we cannot get a grip on him.

These inconsistencies and paradoxes that so irritate the rational mind, when it operates in isolation, are the medium of a great transmission.

Children who like a story and those who recognise the value of a great work art are happy to repeat it indefinitely. In this story the repetition itself is an act of faith that strengthens faith and so clarifies vision.

It is more powerful if we act theatrically in the telling rather than sitting like a passive audience. In this story there are no mere observers.

We have a limited number of chances in one life to replay the drama and penetrate its meaning. Not knowing how many is a part of the process that connects us with the one who suffered and died but did not stay dead.

Intercessions:

As Christ entered Jerusalem he was greeted as King and Messiah,
Let us adore him, and joyfully praise him:
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna to you, Son of David, King of the ages,
-hosanna to you, victor over death and the powers of darkness.
You went up to Jerusalem to suffer and so enter into your glory,
-lead your Church into the paschal feast of heaven.
You made your cross the tree of life,
- give its fruit to those reborn in baptism.
Savior of mankind, you came to save sinners,
- bring into your kingdom all who have faith, hope, and love.

Closing Prayer:

Loving God,
I am just beginning to realize how much you love me.
Your son, Jesus was humble and obedient.
He fulfilled your will for him by becoming human and suffering with us.
I ask you for the desire to become more humble
so that my own life might also bear witness to you.
I want to use the small sufferings I have in this world to give you glory.

Please, Lord, guide my mind with your truth.
Strengthen my life by the example of Jesus.
Help me to be with Jesus in this week
as he demonstrates again his total love for me.
He died so that I would no longer be separated from you.
Help me to feel how close you are and to live in union with you.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

Sources:
Creighton University Online Ministries - Praying Lent
The World Community for Christian Meditation (www.wccm.org)
Lectionary of the Syriac Orthodox Church

MW Journal Issue 67 - Holy Week Special - 1 (40th Fri/Lazarus Sat/Palm Sunday)

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