Palm Sunday April 2, 2023

Readings: Isaiah 50.4-7,Philippians 2.6-11, Mathew 26.14-27.66

We enter today into this Holy Week, and in the Gospel passage that we just heard, we relive the last days and final hours of our Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly life. The Gospel is written so that we become “witnesses.” We become part of the story. So, today we go with our Lord up to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. We have a seat at the table as he celebrates his last supper, and we witness the drama of his betrayal. We try to keep watch with him in the garden, and we are there when the mob comes to arrest him. We witness the mockery of his trial, the cruelty of the soldiers, the falling away of his closest disciples. And finally, we walk alongside our Lord, with Mary our Blessed Mother, as he carries his cross and is crucified.

So as we begin this Holy Week, let’s ask for the grace to enter into these mysteries in a deep and personal way. Let us truly accompany Jesus and Mary our Blessed Mother on this final journey. As we walk this path with Jesus and Mary, we remember that everything that happens in these final moments of our Lord’s earthly life — happens according to God’s plan of salvation.

And we know the “end of the story.” Our Gospel today ends with our Lord suffering and dying on the cross, feeling abandoned and alone. Everything appears to be lost — but it’s not! And we know that. The victory is already won. God wins in the end! St. Paul tells us today in the second reading: “Christ Jesus …  humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him.”

                                                                                                             Fr. Terry