Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
For someone who is not a Catholic, it will be just another week. Schools will take spring breaks, families will take vacations, businesses will get into top gear preparing for spring and summer, politicians will continue their bickering, insulting and whining, and March madness will be in full swing. But for those of us who are Catholics, it is also Holy Week. For us Catholics, that makes all the difference.
Three things to remember during Holy Week.
1. Remembering by Doing. Catholics are are a people of ‘memory.’ I would not be exaggerating when I say, “we are what we remember.” In fact, ‘we become what we remember.’ Think about it! We began this mass by reading the account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. However, we did not simply read that account but actually re-lived it. It is a “remembering by doing.” Again, as we celebrate this Eucharist we will once again re-live what Jesus did at the Last Supper. In remembering this way, we ‘become’ disciples of Jesus. Holy Week is no different. This week is the holiest of all weeks because we ‘remember’ what Christ did for us. We are invited to ‘remember by doing.’ As we enter into Holy Week, then, may I invite you not merely to recall what Christ has done for us, but rather, to re-live it. I would like to urge you to participate in the Holy Thursday mass of the Lord’s Supper. I am urging you not to miss the Good Friday services. I am urging you to keep Holy Saturday as a day of prayer and expectant hope. Let us remember by doing and become what we do.
2. The story of Jesus is My Story/Our Story. There is yet another reason why Catholics ‘remember by doing’ - because at the end of it all we realize that this is hardly just the story of Jesus. The events of Holy Week are not things that happened to Jesus. Holy Week is as much our story. We Catholics know that Christ’s suffering was actually ours, his pain was really ours and that his cross could have been our destiny. Those for whom Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday makes sense are those for whom the story of Jesus and their story has become ONE. So I invite you this Holy week not to be a mere bystander. Rather, I invite you to live your story through the story of Jesus. Remember, if you live the story of Jesus, then Easter is ours as well.
3. Remembering the Entire Story. I was talking to one of our candidates who is coming into the Church this Easter vigil. One of the questions she asked me was, “How should I prepare for Holy Week? How is the Catholic way different than what I have done in the past?” My answer to her was that, especially in Evangelical Christianity, Easter comes too early. Unlike the Catholics, they do not wait till Easter to sing “alleluia.” Even on Good Friday, they do not hesitate to proclaim the resurrection.” She agreed. She said, there simply is not adequate emphasis on suffering among the evangelicals. However, I think this is not just an Evangelical problem. It is human nature to avoid suffering and focus on the triumphant. Catholicism invites us to embrace the suffering that comes our way by remembering the suffering of Jesus. By remembering to do what Jesus did, we learn pick our own cross with faith and hope; we learn that without the cross there is not resurrection; we learn that suffering is a path to holiness and redemption.
As we leave the church this week, may I request you not to think merely of Easter. I would like to invite each one of you to relive the entire story of Holy Week. It is only when we ‘remember’ the entire story of Jesus that our stories can be complete. I look forward to seeing you on Holy Thursday and Good Friday before I see you on Easter Sunday.
- Fr. Satish Joseph