By Mr. Nwokedi Felix C.

May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be praised both now and forever. Amen.

With great joy I welcome all and sundry to this immense celebration which marks the commencement of the most precious, holy and cherished week in the lives of Christians. Today being the sixth and the last Sunday of Lent and the very Sunday before Easter, We have all gathered to celebrate the Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday is indeed a Christian moveable celebration that falls on Sunday before Easter. Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of the Holy Week has it’s culmination in the message of Easter Sunday- resurrection. Today’s celebration brings to mind an event which occurred over two thousand years ago.

The liturgy of Palm Sunday is of two-fold:

v The commemoration of Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem

v The Mass of the Passion Sunday

The above dual celebrations add luster to the names given to the mystery of faith being celebrated: Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday

While the name Palm Sunday points to the triumphant entry, Passion Sunday connotes the response Jesus will get from the people of Jerusalem, “Crucify him!”

According to the four canonical Gospels, Jesus’ triumphant entry takes place about a week before Resurrection. For this kingly sojourn, Jesus instructs his disciples:

Go off to the village facing you and as soon as you enter it you will find a tethered colt that no one has yet ridden, Untie it and bring it here. (Mk 11:2)

The whole Gospels assert that Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem and the people lay down their cloaks and branches of trees/palm fronds in front of him saying:

Hosanna Filio David, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Rex Israel. Hosanna in excelsis

Put differently in English language the above means:

Hosanna to the son of David, the king of Israel. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. (cf. Mt 21:9; Ps 118:25-26)

The triumphant entry is viewed as the fulfillment of the age long prophecy:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey. (Zech 9:9)

The significance of the donkey points to the Eastern tradition which sees it as an animal of peace against the horse which is the animal of war. Thus, a king that rides on horse is bent on war and the one riding on donkey is peaceful. Therefore, Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem on a donkey symbolized his entry as the Prince of Peace, not as a war-waging king.

In Russia, in bid to commemorate this great event, ‘donkey walk procession’ took place in different cities, but most importantly in Novgorod. The Tsar of Russia humbly leads the procession on foot.

Furthermore, in many places in the Ancient Near East, it was customary to cover in some way, the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour. The Scripture reports that Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, was treated this way:

Then, hurriedly they all took their cloaks and spread them for him on the bare steps; and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “Jehu is king.” (2 Kg 9:13)

Both the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John report that people gave Jesus this form of honour. Spreading garments before a dignity was a symbol of submission. (2kg 9:13) The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in the Jewish tradition, and is treated in other parts of the Bible as such. (e.g Lev 23:40 and Rev. 7:9) Due to this, the scene of the crowd greeting Jesus by waving palms and carpeting his path with them and their cloaks has become symbolic and important. It is on this account that the faithful attend the day’s liturgy with branches of palm fronds for blessing. The Catholic Church considers the blessed palms to be sacramentals.

The vestment for the day is deep scarlet red, the colour of blood indicating the supreme redemptive sacrifice Christ was entering the city to fulfill: His passion and resurrection.

Therefore, let us solemnly and meditatively join the Church as she kicks-off this great celebration that unfolds the overwhelming mystery of our salvation.

PART ONE: COMMEMORATION OF JESUS’ TRIUMPHANT ENTRY

Before the Rev. Fathers Introduction:

Dear friends, the die is cast. The Holy Week has already begun. We are about to commence the first part of the day’s liturgy. The priest will now grace us with his paternal address in order to get us disposed for the celebration of the great mystery for which we have all assembled.

The Blessing of the Palm Fronds:

As said before, the palm frond is a symbol of victory and triumph. Also, it connotes holiness, peace and sanctity. Christ is a victorious and triumphant king. He is also holy, sacred and a Prince of Peace.

The priest will now bless our palm fronds in order to make them worthy to praise and dignify Christ the majestic Lord.

When that is done, the Gospel according to Mark will be read in order to shed light to Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem.

(May we kindly take up our palm fronds for blessing).

After the Blessing of the Palm Fronds and Before the Gospel:

In this reading, Luke (19: 28-40) projects Christ as a Royal Figure and Prince of Peace riding on a donkey. Our Lord also proves his supernatural authority over all creatures. Thus, he instructs his disciples to get the donkey and should only tell the owner that “the Master needs it and will send it back later.” After the reading, the priest may give a brief homily out of his free will.

Procession to the Church:

We shall now glamorously and with pomp proceed to Jerusalem with Christ the Lord. This will bring the first part of today’s celebration to a halt.

This is the order of the procession:

1. The Thurifer

2. The Cross bearer flanked by the acolytes

3. Priests and other ministers

4. The Congregation

The priest will now invite us to proceed in the peace of Christ.

PART TWO: THE MASS OF THE PASSION SUNDAY

We have now entered the second division of today’s liturgical celebration: the Holy Mass. The priest having saluted and adorned the altar by kissing and incensing it, will now say the Opening prayer technically known as the Collect. After that, all will seat down and listen to the readings. The Mass will then continue as usual.

First Reading: Is 50: 4-7

This reading from the prophecy of Isaiah 50: 4-7 expresses Isaiah’s unflinching conviction and confidence in the protective hands of the Lord. He recognizes the blessings of being a disciple bestowed on him by God. May we listen carefully to this.

Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11    

St. Paul in this letter to Philipian Christians has brought to our notice that humility is the bedrock of all virtues. Imagine, “Christ Jesus, being in the form of God did not count equality with God something to be grasped.” Therefore, in total obedience may we work out our salvation in fear and trembling.

The Gospel: The Passion (Luke 22:14-23;56)

In the passion narrative, St. Luke brings to us, a well articulated history of our salvation. Here, we shall recall the public life of Jesus Christ which centres on his passion, crucifixion, death and resurrection. The same people who shouted hosanna will now clamour, “crucify him, crucify him.” May we never be tired of listening.

Credo:

Before the celebration of the liturgy of the Eucharist starts, let us recall the main truths of our faith and express our assent and response to the Scriptural readings and homily we have heard through the profession of faith. May we stand for the credo.

The Prayer of the Faithful:

Let us now express our priestly function which we received at Baptism by praying for all mankind. The ministerial priest will introduce, we shall join him while he concludes later.

Offertory:

It is now time for offertory. “Have you come to the temple without an offering, the Law requires that you bring one.” (Sir 35:4)

Have you forgotten that the “offering of a righteous man adorns the altar and a pleasant smell rises to the Lord. (Sir 35:6) David submits in 2Sm 24:24 that he will not offer to the Lord his God a sacrifice that costs him nothing. What of you? Thus, glorify the Lord generously for he loves a cheerful giver.

Communion:

Beloved friends, the food for our spiritual nourishment which Christ established for our salvation is ready. Though the grace from the Holy Mass is gratuitously given to all present in this sacrifice, the reception of the Holy Communion is strictly for Catholics in the state of grace. A traditional aphorism states that “buru rie naani gi abughi ezigbo ihe.” Thus, may the worthy communicants proceed to the altar for this spiritual gala.

Conclusion:

(After the post-communion prayer the commentator says) Having come to the end of today’s liturgy, may we listen to the following:

Ø May we regard the already blessed palm fronds as sacramentals. Let the fronds be our symbol of victory and triumph which will open the doors of paradise for us. May we take them home and keep them at the icon corners of our homes to serve as an evidence of blessing.

Ø Again, the activities of Easter Triduum (i.e. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) are never optional for any genuine and practicing Catholic

i. Holy Thursday: The Mass of the Lord’s Supper at ……..

ii. Good Friday: Stations of the Cross at ……

                         The celebration of the Lord’s passion at …….

iii. Holy Saturday: The vigil Mass of resurrection at ………

iv. Easter Sunday:         The Holy Mass at ……….

Finally, may we be reminded that the Holy Week has already begun. We must hasten our penitential preparations for Easter through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial. May God bless us as we die to rise with him on the day of resurrection.