Sunday, April 17, 2011

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Readings for April 17, 2011, Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion:

Palm/Passion Sunday

By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas
April 17, 2011

By now you must be wondering, what is this Sunday really about? The Sacramentary calls it Passion Sunday while the Lectionary call it Palm Sunday. To confuse you more last Fridays readings find the people wanting to stone Jesus. Today we find Jesus greeted with great excitement with palm branches and "Hosannas" as the Prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. For all these many years we do exactly the same thing on this Sunday by the blessing and waving of palm branches. To honor, to greet and get excited in the present of Jesus here in this assembly.

And suddenly the scene changes to the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all have heard and taken part in. How quickly the hearts of people change, from throwing stones to great rejoicing, to Crucify Him, Crucify Him!

The scene hasn't changed all that much in 2000 years, for Bishop Sheen reflects on the issue of the Church and the world after the Vatican Council: and how the world continues to challenge the Church even in our day. "Come down and we will believe, come down from your belief in the sacredness of life. Come down from your belief that truth is merely what is pleasing. Come down from the Cross of sacrifice and we will believe." Taken from Bishop's book titled, Treasure in Clay.1

None of this is helpful unless we began Holy Week at the Cross, at the heart of the greatest act of Love ever possible: the Divine dying for the imperfect, for sinners, the Perfect mortally wounded for each one of us. Just as the crowd tempted Jesus to come down from His Cross, we too can be tempted to come down from our crosses.

Maybe there is a cross in your life right now and you are tempted to come down and flee from what God is calling you to do. Maybe you are tempted to let go of your vocation or a resolution that you have previously made. We are all nailed to different crosses, and the temptation to take an "easy way out" is quite strong. Yet the only way to live in Christ is by embracing our crosses, embracing our vocations, embracing our call to holiness, and allowing our absolute death to selfishness to bring new life, into ourselves, our families, our Church and into the world for the greater honor and glory of God.
'Thank you' to Deacon Kaas, for letting me post his reflection here.

More reflections:
Somewhat-related posts:

1 "Treasure in Clay:" The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen.

No comments:

Like it? Pin it, Plus it, - - -

Pinterest: My Stuff, and More

Advertisement

Unique, innovative candles


Visit us online:
Spiral Light CandleFind a Retailer
Spiral Light Candle Store

Popular Posts

Label Cloud

1277 abortion ADD ADHD-Inattentive Adoration Chapel Advent Afghanistan Africa America Amoris Laetitia angels animals annulment Annunciation anti-catholicism Antichrist apocalyptic ideas apparitions archaeology architecture Arianism art Asperger syndrome assumptions asteroid astronomy Australia authority balance and moderation baptism being Catholic beliefs bias Bible Bible and Catechism bioethics biology blogs brain Brazil business Canada capital punishment Caritas in Veritate Catechism Catholic Church Catholic counter-culture Catholicism change happens charisms charity Chile China Christianity Christmas citizenship climate change climatology cloning comets common good common sense Communion community compassion confirmation conscience conversion Corpus Christi cosmology creation credibility crime crucifix Crucifixion Cuba culture dance dark night of the soul death depression designer babies despair detachment devotion discipline disease diversity divination Divine Mercy divorce Docetism domestic church dualism duty Easter economics education elections emotions England entertainment environmental issues Epiphany Establishment Clause ethics ethnicity Eucharist eugenics Europe evangelizing evolution exobiology exoplanets exorcism extremophiles faith faith and works family Father's Day Faust Faustus fear of the Lord fiction Final Judgment First Amendment forgiveness Fortnight For Freedom free will freedom fun genetics genocide geoengineering geology getting a grip global Gnosticism God God's will good judgment government gratitude great commission guest post guilt Haiti Halloween happiness hate health Heaven Hell HHS hierarchy history holidays Holy Family Holy See Holy Spirit holy water home schooling hope humility humor hypocrisy idolatry image of God images Immaculate Conception immigrants in the news Incarnation Independence Day India information technology Internet Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jesus John Paul II joy just war justice Kansas Kenya Knights of Columbus knowledge Korea language Last Judgment last things law learning Lent Lenten Chaplet life issues love magi magic Magisterium Manichaeism marriage martyrs Mary Mass materialism media medicine meditation Memorial Day mercy meteor meteorology Mexico Minnesota miracles Missouri moderation modesty Monophysitism Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mother's Day movies music Muslims myth natural law neighbor Nestorianism New Year's Eve New Zealand news Nietzsche obedience Oceania organization original sin paleontology parish Parousia penance penitence Pentecost Philippines physical disability physics pilgrimage politics Pope Pope in Germany 2011 population growth positive law poverty prayer predestination presumption pride priests prophets prostitution Providence Purgatory purpose quantum entanglement quotes reason redemption reflections relics religion religious freedom repentance Resurrection robots Roman Missal Third Edition rosaries rules sacramentals Sacraments Saints salvation schools science secondary causes SETI sex shrines sin slavery social justice solar planets soul South Sudan space aliens space exploration Spain spirituality stem cell research stereotypes stewardship stories storm Sudan suicide Sunday obligation superstition symbols technology temptation terraforming the establishment the human condition tolerance Tradition traffic Transfiguration Transubstantiation travel Trinity trust truth uncertainty United Kingdom universal destination of goods vacation Vatican Vatican II veneration vengeance Veterans Day videos virtue vlog vocations voting war warp drive theory wealth weather wisdom within reason work worship writing

Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.