Catholics celebrate Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord one week before Easter. The emotional liturgy on that day reflects both the joyful and sorrowful aspects of Jesus Paschal Mystery.
Also called Passion Sunday, the day marks the beginning of Holy Week, the holiest week of the year.
Palm branches are blessed and distributed. A solemn procession takes place accompanied by a first Gospel reading about Jesus making his triumphant entry into Jerusalem and being welcomed by people crying out for help by yelling, “Hosanna!”
A reading from the Old Testament foreshadows events told in the Gospels. Then a reading from a New Testament letter emphasizes that Jesus is truly God and willingly sacrificed Himself.
A second Gospel reading, one from the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, or Luke includes the events of the Last Supper, Jesus’ agony in the garden, his betrayal and arrest, and his Crucifixion and Death which mark the inauguration of a new Passover.
As a reminder that Jesus’ Passion and Death is the price that He paid for their sins, Catholics participate out loud in the second Gospel, reciting the lines of those same people who welcomed him but are now saying, “Crucify Him!”
The liturgical color of Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord is red, which represents the blood of redemption that Jesus shed on the Cross.
Reenacting Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem:
A sign of victory for a humble King:
God responds to our cry for help:
The Jews were expecting a certain type of Messiah:
As He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of his disciples. He said, “Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone should ask you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will answer, ‘The Master has need of it.’” So those who had been sent went off and found everything just as He had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying this colt?” They answered, “The Master has need of it.” So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount. As He rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; and now as He was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. They proclaimed: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest.”
Luke 19: 29-38
Hearing Jesus’ words and actions at the climax of his life:
Participating in his suffering, death, and resurrection:
Following Jesus even when it is hard:
Palm and olive branches waved to give that fateful hour a festive appearance. A triumph, in short, a humble triumph, but one that wanted to be like the spark of the messianic fire that was about to explode. An external manifestation, improvised and superficial, but which revealed something unstoppable and made one think of some imminent profound upheaval. Jesus Himself let it be understood, and wanted the explosion of popular enthusiasm to have no restraint; and even more He showed that the hour was full of mysterious meaning, when, arriving at the mighty walls of the holy city, He began to weep, prophesying its not distant ruin. But before the city, the ruin would, after a few days, strike down Him, Jesus, who well knew what torment awaited Him, the Cross.
Pope Paul VI, Homily, 7 April 1968
We are not merely spectators in this divine mystery:
The living reality of the Passion and Death of the Lord:
How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to make Him king, He chooses the time and prepares the details for his messianic entry into the city of “his father David”. Acclaimed as Son of David, as the One who brings salvation (Hosanna means “Save!” or “Give salvation!”), the “King of glory” enters his City “riding on an ass”. Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that bears witness to the truth. And so the subjects of his kingdom on that day are children and God’s poor, who acclaim Him as had the angels when they announced him to the shepherds. Their acclamation, “Blessed be He who comes in the name of the Lord”, is taken up by the Church in the “Sanctus” of the Eucharistic liturgy that introduces the memorial of the Lord’s Passover.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 559
Palm Sunday in Jerusalem:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Lives of obedience, silence, and humility:
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