Palm Sunday, the Gateway to Holy Week
Palm Sunday, is first of all, the great memorial to the Lord’s solemn entrance into Jerusalem when he was about to suffer and die. He went voluntarily to his death, with royal freedom.
His death had been divinely decreed as the purchase price of our redemption. This festive entrance into the city began the series of events by which Christ redeemed us with His blood and rose for our justification.
Palm Sunday is a feast in honor of Christ the King.
It marks the first time during His earthly life that He allowed royal homage to be paid to him. In royal fashion he entered the “city of the King”. His Kingship was the main reason why he was convicted and sentenced to die. He was, therefore, a martyr to his royal title.
On this day, the Church throughout the world gives him kingly homage. The Church puts Palm branches in our hands, symbols of our loyalty to him and our willingness to pay him homage. Palm Sunday gives us an opportunity to publicly profess our faith in the King of Kings.
Palm Sunday brings us face to face with suffering, for it introduces us to Christ’s sacred passion, and prepares us for his death on Calvary. We are to share our Master’s burden, a task that becomes possible only if we ourselves are willing to become other Christs’. (Not just Christ-like but other Christs). The liturgy therefore is quite dramatic. Christ is in our midst, and by our actions we proclaim ourselves His disciples. In spirit we accompany him from Mt. Olivet along the road to the city gate of Jerusalem and we sing “Hosanna to the King of David.” This journey then, is the profound meaning of Palm Sunday: Christ, the King of martyrs, enters upon his sacred Passion in union with all the members of his body, the Church.
The Sacred Tridium
The last three days of Holy week called the Sacred Tridium bring to a conclusion our preparation for Easter. These days are already a part of Easter, because there is an inseparable union between the Death and Resurrection of Christ, the two together constitute the Easter mystery. Therefore we pass from Holy week to Easter week with no noticeable break. On Holy Saturday there is a Resurrection and Baptism service, at the Easter Vigil.
These days may be regarded as a unit in themselves, a three-part drama of Christ’s redemptive work. Christians ought to have the opportunity to observe these greatest of memorial days with preparation and calm of soul. These are days on which the most sublime mysteries of our faith are enacted. All Christians should remain as free as possible from unnecessary activity. If possible, try to complete the shopping by Wednesday and make every effort to attend each day’s liturgy. In families, interest in the Holy Week liturgy and zeal to attend the services should be encouraged.
Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday is the day of the Last Supper, at which the principal event was the institution of the Holy Eucharist. In the early part of that day, Jesus sent his two favorite Apostles, Peter and John, from Bethany to Jerusalem, to prepare the Paschal lamb and the table for the first Mass.
Late in the afternoon, Jesus left Bethany, said farewell to His mother, and went to join the Apostles in the Upper Room. After sunset the events narrated in the Gospels occurred in the following order. The Paschal lamb was eaten; Then Jesus washed the Apostle’s feet; He unmasked the traitor. At the end of the meal Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist and He gave his farewell discourse. He offered His great Priestly prayer.
On Holy Thursday forenoon, a “Chrism Mass” is said in each Diocese.
The bishop of each diocese says the Chrism Mass in the forenoon. It is usual for the priests of a diocese to attend the Chrism Mass at which the Bishop consecrates the oils to be used throughout the Diocese for the coming year: Oil of the sick is used in administrating the sacrament of the sick; the Oil of Catechumens is used in administrating Baptism and Holy Orders; the Oil of Chrism, the most sacred of the three, is in a very special way the instrument of the Holy Spirit. At the annual Chrism Mass, the priests recommit themselves to Christ as priests and renew their promise of obedience to the Bishop.
