Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion (B)
The Passion of Jesus according to Mark “And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last.”
April 1, 2012
How deeply do I realize that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, loves me and gave himself for me? (Gal. 22:20) The final week of Lent offers us an opportunity to bring our hearts and minds into harmony with Christ. As you attend the Church ceremonies which dramatize the last agonizing moments of Jesus’ life, listen to the passion story in a spirit of prayer and embrace its message. There is no point in comforting ourselves with the thought that a group of Jews 2,000 years ago crucified Christ. Each of us had a hand in his death because the face of Christ is marred and scarred by the injury we inflict on our fellowmen. If we are honest, we can see shades of ourselves in the people who put Jesus to death. Peter and Judas, Pilate and the soldiers should make us reflect on the treachery and the evil that reside within all us. No one can follow Jesus through the liturgy of Holy Week without this truth deeply dawning anew in our hearts. However, the undeniable truth is that God loves each one of us with a love that cost his death on the cross.
As we remember, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, with confidence we place our requests before our heavenly Father:
“ALMIGHTY FATHER, IN YOUR INFINITE WISDOM AND LOVE, YOU HAVE SAVED THE WORLD THROUGH THE CROSS OF CHRIST, YOUR SON. MAY WE ALWAYS REMAIN FAITHFUL WITNESSES TO THAT CROSS IN OUR DAILY LIVES. THIS IS OUR PRAYER THROUGH JESUS CHRIST YOUR SON OUR LORD, AMEN.”
