Faith Formation from Home
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Palm Sunday: Craft Ideas!
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Holy Week Ideas
for the Whole Family
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A unique way to celebrate
Palm Sunday
is to decorate with a branch on your front door! It does not have to be a Palm branch...any type of branch will do!
If you have small children, you could create a "palm branch" by tracing their little hands on green construction paper and forming the cut outs into a wreath.
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Palm Sunday: Readings & Reflections
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Opening Procession
Matthew 21:1-11
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On Palm Sunday, the priest will begin at the back of the church with a reading before processing into the church to the Opening Song.
The reading recalls Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, referring back to an Old Testament prophesy about the Messiah.
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"The Lord God is my help. Therefore, I am not disgraced."
During the hundreds of years in which the Israelite people faced constant persecution, the prophets were used by God to deliver God's messages. The messages they delivered were words of comfort as well as the reminder to turn away from sin and turn back to God with repentant hearts. Sadly, the people did not always listen to the prophets despite the prophets' best efforts!
Reflection:
When was a time that you spoke truth and people rejected you or made fun of you for it? How might you find courage to continue to do what God asks of you each day?
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Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 22
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"My God, my God,
why have you abandoned me?"
This psalm echoes the heart wrenching cries of the Israelite people as they questioned during their time of suffering whether God had abandoned them.
This Psalm strikes a remarkable resemblance to the words Jesus cries out on the cross before he dies:
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"
(
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
). [Mark 15:34]
Reflection:
Was there ever a time when you said a prayer like this, wondering where God was in your life?
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Reading 2
Philippians 2:6-11
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"C
hrist Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
The message in today's letter to the Philippians reflects on the relationship between God the Father and God the Son, focusing on Jesus' role in God's plan.
Reflection:
How can Jesus' total self-sacrifice give us strength when we are faced with challenges?
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Gospel
Matthew 26:14-27:66
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Since there is so much to reflect on in today's Gospel,
let us look at the key moments through pictures and quotes.
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One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him
thirty pieces of silver
, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
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When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said,
“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
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“So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
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Betrayed with a Kiss
& Arrested
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While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests and the elders of the people. His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying,
“The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him.”
Immediately he went over to Jesus and said,
“Hail, Rabbi!”
and he kissed him.
Jesus answered him,
“Friend, do what you have come for.”
Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
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Jesus on Trial
before the Sanhedrin
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The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin
kept trying to obtain
false testimony
against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward.
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And immediately a cock crowed.
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken:
“Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.”
He went out and began to weep bitterly.
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Judas Returns the
Blood Money"
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Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned,
deeply regretted what he had done
. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying,
“I have sinned in betraying innocent blood."
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Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him,
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus said,
“You say so.”
And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer.
Then Pilate said to him,
“Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?”
But he did not answer him one word,
so that
the governor was greatly amazed
.
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Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them,
“Which one do you want me to release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?”
For he knew that it was
out of envy
that they had handed him over.
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While he was still seated on the bench,
his wife sent him a message,
“Have nothing to do with that righteous man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him.”
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Pilate Asks a Second Time
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The chief priests and the elders
persuaded the crowds
to ask for Barabbas
but to destroy Jesus.
The governor said to them in reply,
“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They answered,
"Barabbas!”
Pilate said to them,
“Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?”
They all said,
“Let him be crucified!”
But he said,
“Why? What evil has he done?”
They only shouted the louder,
“Let him be crucified!”
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When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead,
he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd
, saying,
“I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves.”
And the whole people said in reply,
“His blood be upon us and upon our children.”
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Then he released Barabbas to them,
but after he had Jesus
scourged
,
he handed him over to be crucified.
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Soldiers Strip Jesus of
His Clothes
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They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
They
spat upon him
and took the reed and
kept striking him on the head
. And when they had
mocked him
, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.
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Jesus Carries the Cross to Golgotha
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As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named
Simon
; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross.
And when they came to a place called
Golgotha —which means Place of the Skull
—,they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.
After they had crucified him, they divided his garments by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And they placed over his head
the written charge against him:
This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
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Two revolutionaries were crucified with him,
one on his right and the other on his left.
Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,
“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down from the cross!”
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And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”
which means,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Some of the bystanders who heard it said,
“This one is calling for Elijah.”
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And behold, the veil of the sanctuary
was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened,
and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said,
“Truly, this was the Son of God!”
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There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. Among them were
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee
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When it was evening, there came
a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph
, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus;
then Pilate ordered it to be handed over.
Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. But
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
remained sitting there, facing the tomb.
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There are so many feelings that the story of Jesus' suffering and death evoke in us. We might feel sadness, horror, shock, grief, disbelief, anger...It is ok to feel all of these emotions. The pain and suffering that Jesus endured was horrific! We should be filled with great sadness and grief. We might even be questioning God,
"Why would You let this happen?"
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Matthew's Gospel brings to light important moments during Jesus' last days. Particularly, there is a strong theme of betrayal and injustice that is weaved throughout the story details. We see
Judas
, greedily trading Jesus' life for money and callously using an intimate gesture (a kiss) to betray his friend. We observe the calculated and desperate actions of the
Sanhedrin
as they try in vain to bring forward accusers to sentence Jesus for "blasphemy". We watch in great sadness and disbelief as
Peter
fulfills the prophesy Jesus told of Peter denying him 3 times. We anxiously wait as
Pilate
determines Jesus' fate, even after
his wife
pleads for mercy. We listen as the roar of the
crowd
shouts for Jesus' crucifixion...The entire series of events is like a car crash we cannot stop. We ask ourselves:
"Why didn't/couldn't anyone stop this?!"
Jesus' suffering and death serve as an important reminder to us that even suffering has a purpose and that God's plans are far greater than our understanding. During Holy Week, as we prepare for the glory of Easter, may we also find ways to bring truth, justice, forgiveness, and peace to all those around us.
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Catholic Video Reflections
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St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
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stthomasaquinas.com
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