In the reading for the
Procession with Palms
it is made clear that Jesus knows what is going to happen, the intense suffering and death.
He actively cooperates with God's Plan that will lead to His crucifixion and death - for us!
For now, the people praise Him, recalling the healings and other miracles He performed and believing that He would establish a new Kingdom for the Jews, that they would no longer be persecuted.
In the
First Reading
, Isaiah speaks the Words of God as
Jesus will live them this Holy Week. In these days
when our faith and values are mocked and derided, when the voices of those who want to help are silenced, and when godlessness is praised, remember that Jesus bore these insults and sufferings,
He did not yield to the majority, and so humanity was redeemed.
In
Psalms
, we can probably echo the complaint of the psalmist, feeling abandoned by God when trials weigh heavier than we feel our shoulders can bear. Remember, however, to read to the end -
when the psalmist ends by praising God.
St. Paul
recalls how the second Person of God relinquished wielding His Power when He took on humanity and its suffering.
Recall that this suffering exists because humanity did not heed God's loving wisdom. Jesus' fulfillment of God's Will elevated Him beyond the Garden of Eden to heaven and a more intimate union with God.
Through the
Gospel
we hear of Christ's final days and witness humanity's response to His pure love.
Take time this Sunday to dwell in this Gospel, imagining
how those close to Jesus felt as they lived through these days.
Ask the saints who were present
to expand your understanding and deepen your faith and gratitude.
