Palm Sunday

Today we begin Holy Week. Palm Sunday is the gate. We enter into the most holy week of the year. We need to walk slowly; we are on Holy ground. Put off your shoes and walk on tiptoes. Hit the brakes and try to follow Jesus’ footsteps. We should try to keep to Jesus’ pace, not too slow, and not too fast, not to miss him, not to overtake him; just the right speed. Once a year the Church gives us an opportunity to become closer to Jesus and touch in a special way his humanity, that brings us closer to his divinity. Every year is like a spiral that brings us closer to the centre, one day sucked in by God.

We have covered all the crucifixes with purple cloths. Why? It is not to avoid seeing Jesus on the Cross, but to lift our senses to spiritual things and build within us a longing for Easter Sunday. Even though these are beautiful pieces of art that help us to become closer to Jesus, they are not the real thing, just sparks of God. There is much more up in heaven. No worries, on Good Friday we are going to uncover them.

Today is a day of joy. Jesus enters his holy city amid the shouts of the crowd. In every Mass we use the words the people shouted today when they acclaimed him: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna means “save us”. It was used like the expression: Long live the King. Jesus comes as a king. Today we let Jesus to enter our hearts and we allow him to be the king of our lives. We are shouting for joy, acclaiming him. He is knocking on our door. The handle to open the door of our hearts is always on the side of the door.

Today’s feast is a paradox. What is a paradox? A paradox is something contradictory. It looks one way, but also goes in the opposite direction. Today is a day of joy, but it opens to us the Passion and death of Jesus Christ. It’s the beginning of a horrible week. But no worries. It has a happy ending. Eventually Jesus will rise from the dead. Today the people acclaim him; tomorrow they will condemn him to death. Today they shout Hosanna; tomorrow they shout crucify him. Today they call him King of Israel; tomorrow: We have no King but Caesar. Today they use palms; tomorrow they are going to scourge him. Today they are waving olive branches; tomorrow they are going to place thorns on his head. Today they are placing garments on the floor as a carpet; tomorrow they are going to strip off his garments. Today they give him a donkey to ride; tomorrow the wood of the Cross. We do the same with Jesus. Today we tell him that we love him; tomorrow we leave him alone. Today we promise him many things; tomorrow all our promises remain unfulfilled.

Let us not be afraid and begin the road to Calvary, where so many people stay behind, starting with most of the apostles, some running away, denying him, or betraying him. It is a long and winding road, full of surprises and treacherous potholes. This is why we need to go hand in hand with Mary, not to get lost, not to run backwards, but to manage to go around the landmines that the devil places in our path.

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