Today, palm or passion Sunday, we begin the observance of Holy Week. You will notice that in the Gospel readings for the daily Mass the past couple of weeks, Jesus started to declare who he was and what he came to accomplish, i.e., his mission.
The euphoria won’t last. Like the adulation of the crowds during the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, the euphoria over the election of Pope Francis might not last once he poses the “unsettling questions” raised against the Church on sexual morality and other “difficult” issues confronting modern society, a Church historian said yesterday.
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.
Pope Francis, celebrating his first Palm Sunday in Vatican City as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, called for personal conversion to check greed and social iniquity “that hit the weakest” and the poor.
It will soon be Holy Week. The heat in Manila has people thinking of an escape to cooler climes. I wonder who will brave the traffic and trek up to Baguio. It is crazy to be on the road on that last week of Lent. Friends of mine tried it last year, and it took almost 10 hours to get to Kennon.
The raising of Lazarus, this Sunday’s Gospel, is the final miracle in the Gospel of John. After this, Christ journeys to Jerusalem. This is the final Sunday of Lent, and next Sunday we start Holy Week with Passion or Palm Sunday.
Today it starts. Holy Week. It is Palm Sunday. We remember the joyous story in the Bible of Jesus’ triumphal...
Christians worldwide began to observe Holy Week on Sunday with the celebration of Palm Sunday, the remembrance of Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem before His suffering and death almost 2,000 years ago.
MANTRA for the week: “I always have a choice... I choose to be happy.”
Palm Sunday. Holy Week starts today. Easter is almost upon us. The exodus has begun.
