This Palm Sunday, I thought I would share some points for prayer this Holy Week.

 

The overarching theme I propose is the New Evangelization that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI called for as we celebrate the Year of Faith from October 2012 to November 2013.

 

Providentially, one of the first exhortations of Pope Francis in his homily for the Mass with the cardinals was to go back to the roots of our faith, to Christ and his Cross and Resurrection.

 

There are four liturgical celebrations that mark Holy Week. One is Palm Sunday, and the other three liturgies fall under the Sacred Paschal or the Solemn Easter Triduum: the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday and the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening. These are special, grace moments of remembering.

 

Let us consider the Paschal Mystery or the Cross and Resurrection as the content of our prayer and reflection. The process is from the often-sung acclamation at Mass: We remember, we celebrate, we believe.

 

Palm Sunday is the perfect introduction to Holy Week. In the Easter Triduum, we remember and celebrate the Cross and the Resurrection. In the Gospel narratives, Palm Sunday depicts Christ entering Jerusalem triumphant, greeted by palms and cheers, and as the Prince of Peace, riding on the donkey rather than a horse, which would otherwise depict a warrior prince or king.

Triumphant

 

We must note that Christ enters Jerusalem triumphant because Jerusalem is the city of destiny, where Christ is to fulfill the mission for which He was sent. Christ dying on the Cross is His moment of glory, His triumph over death and sin. This becomes complete in the Resurrection—definitive and perfected!

 

The resolve of Christ is emphatically described in Isaiah, today’s first reading (Isaiah 50: 4-7): “I have set my face like flint knowing I shall not be put to shame.”  Christ had his sight set on Jerusalem, knowing it was where destiny and mission called. Not only was he determined, but he was also certain of his victory.

 

Thus the reference to Palm Sunday as Passion Sunday is not just about the suffering in Christ’s passion, but also an allusion to Christ’s intense  desire to fulfill his mission—to die on the Cross, and on the third day be raised from the dead.

 

Let us look at the process —remember, celebrate, believe. Remembering dominates the week. There are two qualities of remembering that must be highlighted.

 

One, in our Judeo-Christian tradition we bring to life the grace of what we remember.

 

Two, as many cultures believe, “only those who remember are the ones capable of projecting themselves into the future” (Heidegger) or “ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa pinaroroonan”—Rizal.

 

The remembering we do in the context of our Christian faith and spirituality leads to gratitude and thus, the celebration. Out of sense of gratitude, we are moved to give back, to offer and to commit. In offering and commitment lies the believing.

 

From this Sunday to Holy Thursday, spend moments of prayer and reflection on the experiences of care and love in your life. If you have not done this exercise yet, try to remember as far back as you can.  Remember also the persons who cared for and loved you. Go through stages or phases in your life journey each day.

 

Tremendous graces

 

Then, on Holy Thursday, begin to synthesize the process of remembering. After the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, spend time at the Altar of Repose praying for all of these persons, thanking them and offering them to God. Bless God for having blessed you with such tremendous graces.

 

On Good Friday, spend the day praying before Christ Crucified using St. Ignatius of Loyola’s meditation and ask: “What have I done for you? What am I doing for you? What more ought I do for you?” Let this be your prayer for the day.

 

End this day at the foot of the Cross, listening to Christ saying, “It is finished.” Mission accomplished!

 

What is your response to this man, “the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me”? “What more ought I do for you?”

 

Continue to pray over this through Black Saturday.

 

On Easter Sunday, begin your day praying with the simple mantra, “The Lord is Risen!” Reflect on Christ’s Resurrection as the fulfillment of the inspiration that started Christ in his ministry, his journey. Christ ends where he started: “This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”  He comes full circle.

 

The grace to pray for as we enter Easter is to experience what the two disciples on the road to Emmaus realized after recognizing it was the Risen Christ who accompanied them in the despair and sorrow after the Cross, “Were not our hearts burning inside us?”

 

We remember. We celebrate. We believe.

 

We believe, living  our faith in “the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.” This is the heart of the New Evangelization.