Jesus says one thing from the Cross, one thing alone: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Why did all this take place? It was done for our sake, to serve us. So that when we have our back to the wall, when we find ourselves at a dead end, with no light and no way of escape, when it seems that God himself is not responding, we should remember that we are not alone. Jesus experienced total abandonment in a situation he had never before experienced in order to be one with us in everything. He did it for me, for you, for all of us; he did it to say to us: “Do not be afraid, you are not alone. I experienced all your desolation in order to be ever close to you”. That is the extent to which Jesus served us: he descended into the abyss of our most bitter sufferings, culminating in betrayal and abandonment. Today, in the face of the many false securities that have crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: “Courage, open your heart to my love. You will feel the consolation of God who sustains you”.
– Pope Francis
Collect for Palm Sunday
Almighty ever-living God, who as an example of humility for the human race to follow caused our Saviour to take flesh and submit to the Cross, graciously grant that we may heed 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, God, for ever and ever.
Collecta
Quæsumus, Domine Deus noster, ut in illa caritate qua Filius tuus diligens mundum morti se tradidit, inveniamur ipsi, te opitulante, alacriter ambulantes. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
Gospel for the Procession:
When they drew near to Jerusalem
and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,
‘Go into the village facing you,
and immediately you will find an ass tied,
and a colt with her: untie them and bring them to me.
If anyone says anything to you, you shall say,
“The Lord has need of them,”
and he will send them immediately.’
This took place to fulfil
what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
‘Tell the daughter of Sion,
Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of an ass.’
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them;
they brought the ass and the colt,
and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon.
Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road,
and others cut branches from the trees
and spread them on the road.
And the crowds that went before him
and that followed him shouted,
‘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,
all the city was stirred, saying, ‘Who is this?’
And the crowds said,
‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.’
Gospel From Today’s Mass
The symbols in the following passion narrative represent:
N Narrator J Jesus O Other single speaker C Crowd, or more than one speaker
N One of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said:
O What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you?
N They paid him thirty silver pieces, and from that moment he looked for an opportunity to betray him.
Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say,
C Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?
N He replied:
J Go to so-and-so in the city and say to him, ‘The Master says: My time is near. It is at your house that I am keeping Passover with my disciples.’
N The disciples did what Jesus told them and prepared the Passover.
When the evening came he was at table with the twelve disciples. And while they were eating he said:
J I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me.
N They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn,
C Not I, Lord, surely?
N He answered:
J Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me, will betray me. The Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born!
N Judas, who was to betray him, asked in his turn,
O Not I, Rabbi, surely?
N Jesus answered:
J They are your own words.
N Now as they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said:
J Take it and eat; this is my body.
N Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to
them saying:
J Drink all of you from this, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. From now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in the kingdom of my Father.
N After psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives. Then
Jesus said to them,
J You will all lose faith in me this night, for the scripture says: I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after my resurrection I shall go before you to Galilee.
N At this, Peter said:
O Though all lose faith in you, I will never lose faith.
N Jesus answered him,
J I tell you solemnly, this very night, before the cock crows, you will have disowned me three times.
N Peter said to him,
O Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.
N And all the disciples said the same.
Then Jesus came with them to a small estate called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,
J Stay here while I go over there to pray.
N He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him. And sadness came over him, and great distress. Then he said to them:
J My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and keep awake with me.
N And going on a little further he fell on his face and prayed:
J My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it.
N He came back to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter:
J So you had not the strength to keep awake with me one hour? You should be awake, and praying not to be put to the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
N Again, a second time, he went away and prayed:
J My Father, if this cup cannot pass by without my drinking it, your will be done!
N And he came again back and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy. Leaving them there, he went away again and prayed for the third time, repeating the same words. Then he came back to the disciples and said to them,
J You can sleep on now and take your rest. Now the hour has come when the Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up! Let us go! My betrayer is already close at hand.
N He was still speaking when Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared, and with him a large number of men armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people Now the traitor had arranged a sign with them. He had said:
O ‘The one I kiss, he is the man. Take him in charge.’
N So he went straight up to Jesus and said:
O Greetings, Rabbi,
N and kissed him. Jesus said to him,
J My friend, do what you are here for.
N Then they came forward, seized Jesus and took him in charge. At that, one of the followers of Jesus grasped his sword and drew it; he struck out at the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear. Jesus then said:
J Put your sword back, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father who would promptly send more than twelve legions of angels to my defence? But then, how would the scriptures be fulfilled that say this is the way it must be?
N It was at this time that Jesus said to the crowds:
J Am I a brigand, that you had to set out to capture me with swords and clubs? I sat teaching in the Temple day after day and you never laid hands on me.
N Now all this happened to fulfil the prophecies in scripture. Then all the disciples deserted him and ran away.
The men who had arrested Jesus led him off to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. Peter followed him at a distance, and when he reached the high priest’s palace, he went in and sat down with the attendants to see what the end would be.
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus, however false, on which they might pass the deathsentence. But they could not find any, though several lying witnesses came forward. Eventually two stepped forward and made a statement,
O This man said: ‘I have power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up.’
N The high priest then stood up and said to him:
O Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?
N But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him:
O I put you on oath by the living God to tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.
N Jesus answered:
J The words are your own. Moreover, I tell you that from this time onward you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.
N At this, the high priest tore his clothes and said:
O He has blasphemed. What need of witnesses have we now? There! You have just heard the blasphemy. What is your opinion?
N They answered:
C He deserves to die
N Then they spat in his face and hit him with their fists; others said as they struck him:
C Play the prophet, Christ! Who hit you then?
N Meanwhile Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came up to him and said:
O You too were with Jesus the Galilean.
N But he denied it in front of them all, saying:
O I do not know what you are talking about.
N When he went out to the gateway another servant-girl saw him and said to the people there:
O This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.
N And again, with an oath, he denied it,
O I do not know the man.
N A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter:
C You are one of them for sure! Why, your accent gives you away.
N Then he started calling down curses on himself and swearing:
O I do not know the man.
N At that moment the cock crew, and Peter remembered what Jesus had said, ‘Before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.
When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people met in council to bring about the death of Jesus. They had him bound, and led him away to hand him over to Pilate, the governor. When he found that Jesus had been condemned, Judas his betrayer was filled with remorse and took the thirty pieces of silver back to the chief priests and elders, saying:
O I have sinned. I have betrayed innocent blood.
N They replied:
C What is that to us? That is your concern.
N And flinging down the silver pieces in the sanctuary he made off, and went and hanged himself. The chief priests picked up the silver pieces and said:
C It is against the Law to put this into the treasury; it is blood money.
N So they discussed the matter and bought the potter’s field with it as a graveyard for foreigners, and this is why the field is called the Field of Blood today. The words of the prophet Jeremiah were then fulfilled: And they took the thirty silver pieces, the sum at which the precious One was priced by children ofIsrael, and they gave them for the potter’s field, just as the Lord directed me.
Jesus, then, was brought before the governor, and the governor put to him this question:
O Are you the king of the Jews?
N Jesus replied:
J It is you who say it.
N But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he refused to answer at all. Pilate then said to him:
O Do you not hear how many charges they have brought against you?
N But to the governor’s complete amazement, he offered no reply to any of the charges.
At festival time it was the governor’s practice to release a prisoner for the people, anyone they chose. Now there was at that time a notorious prisoner whose name was Barabbas. So when the crowd gathered, Pilate said to them,
O Which do you want me to release for you: Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?
N For Pilate knew it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. Now as he was seated in the chair of judgement, his wife sent him a message,
O Have nothing to do with that man; I have been upset all day by a dream
I had about him.
N The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. So when the governor spoke and asked them:
O Which of the two do you want me to release for you?
N They said:
C Barabbas.
N Pilate said to them:
O What am I to do with Jesus who is called Christ?
N They all said:
C Let him be crucified!
N Pilate asked:
O Why? What harm has he done?
N But they shouted all the louder,
C Let him be crucified!
N Then Pilate saw that he was making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said:
O I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your concern.
N And the people, to a man, shouted back:
C His blood be on us and on our children!
N Then he released Barabbas for them. He ordered Jesus to be first scourged and then handed over to be crucified.
The governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them into the Praetorium and collected the whole cohort round him. Then they stripped him and made him wear a scarlet cloak, and having twisted some thorns into a crown they put this on his head and placed a reed in his right hand. To make fun of him they knelt to him saying:
C Hail, king of the Jews!
N And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head with it. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him.
On their way out, they came across a man from Cyrene, Simon by name, and enlisted him to carry his cross. When they had reach a place called Golgotha, that is, the place of the skull, they gave him wine to drink. When they had finished crucifying him they shared out his clothing by casting lots, and then sat down and stayed there keeping guard over him. Above his head was placed the charge against him; it read: ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ At the same time two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said:
C So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself! If you are God’s son, come down from the cross!
N The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him in the same way, saying:
C He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He put his trust in God; now let God rescue him if he wants him. For he did say, ‘I am the son of God.’
N Even the robbers who were crucified with him taunted him in the same way.
From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice:
J Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
N That is: ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood there heard this, they said:
C The man is calling on Elijah,
N and one of them quickly ran to get a sponge which he dipped in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink. The rest of them said:
C Wait! See if Elijah will come to save him.
N But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.
All kneel and pause a moment.
N At that, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked; the rocks were split; the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy men rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the Holy City and appeared to a number of people.
Meanwhile the centurion, together with the others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said:
C In truth this was a son of God.
N And many women were there, watching from a distance, the same women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and looked after him. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
When it was evening, there came a rich man of Arimathaea called Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate thereupon ordered it to be handed over. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud and put it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. Now Mary of Magdala and the other Mary were there, sitting Next day, that is, when Preparation Day was over, the chief priests and the Pharisees went in a body to Pilate and said to him,
C Your Excellency, we recall that this impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I shall rise again.’ Therefore give the order to
have the sepulchre kept secure until the third day, for fear his disciples come and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ This last piece of fraud would be worse than what went before.
N Pilate said to them:
O You may have your guards. Go and make all as secure as you know how.
N So they went and made the sepulchre secure, putting seals on the stone and mounting a guard. opposite the sepulchre.
Palm Sunday Reflection
Written by Fr Philip G Bochanski, CO in A Blessed Lent.
The colt, the donkey’s foal that figures so prominently in the first of the two Gospels for Palm Sunday, is almost as famous as its rider. Like him, it figures in Old Testament prophecies: Matthew and John both point explicitly to Zechariah 9:9 – “Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion! Shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king is approaching, he is vindicated and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Those who shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David” may have been thinking of the passage in the First Book of Kings (1:32-34) that tells how David gave instructions that his son Solomon should be seated on David’s own mule, and process to the place where he would be anointed king. Centuries before either of these passages, moreover, was the blessing of Jacob for his son, Judah. “The sceptre shall not pass from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet … He tethers his donkey to the vine, to its stock the foal of his she-donkey” (Gn 49:10-11).
So, the Palm Sunday donkey was certainly significant – foretold in prophecies, commandeered by the Master, it was already in a special category. Then it entered Jerusalem amid shouts of triumph. It walked on soft cloaks, amid waving branches and an adoring throng. It must have been quite an experience for its first time carrying someone on its back.
But suppose, in the midst of this excitement, the donkey were to raise its head, to look around and begin to nod in acknowledgement of the adulation of the crowd. What a fool it would be, and how foolish it would appear to them! Their praises were not for the donkey, but for the One whom it was bearing. The job of the animal was simply to carry Jesus on his way, not to draw attention to itself.
Our calling as Christians is to bear Jesus in our hearts, and thus to bring him to others. In these days of Holy Week we need to be ever more aware of this vocation of ours, and strive to live by it. No matter how jaded the world becomes, it still watches the Church during Holy Week. Despite its penchant for telling bad news, there will still be coverage in the media of these most solemn liturgies. There is no question that the eyes of the world are upon us; but for what purpose?
Many people may be looking for another reason to reject Christ and his Church. We must not give them one. Others are questioning, seeking a way to find out who God is and how to respond to him. If we bear Christ faithfully, we can lead others to know him better. But always this means showing people Jesus, leading them to him and not to ourselves. This requires bearing also the daily crosses of detachment and humility.
We can find strength to bear these burdens because the eyes of someone else are on us. The Prayer over the People doesn’t make specific petitions today, except that the Lord would look on this, his family, recalling what Christ his Son did for us. In that look of love we find that we are known and loved by him, and we find courage and grace to love him and to seek his will.
A medieval legend draws our eyes to the dark stripes of hair that appear on a donkey’s back: one down the spine, another across the shoulders. It encourages us to see this cross as a gift from the Lord, to recall the day that its ancestor willingly bore the Son of David to the place where he would take up his cross for us. We also are marked by the cross of Christ, singled out with the responsibility of bearing him to others. The knowledge that he is with us, and that he has called us, empowers us to lay down our lives in humility, and to lead others to him.