The Palm Branch, the Needle on Our Compass


About 2,000 years ago, Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds honoring a king waving palms and laying their mantles on the ground to protect Jesus from the dirt in the city streets.  But Jesus knew this would be his last entrance into Jerusalem.  He was walking into the hands of his executioners.  Armed with faith in the Father and the courage of the Holy Spirit, he entered the city where he would be scorned, insulted, brought to trial with false charges and eventually he would be killed.

On Thursday of that week Jesus borrowed an upper room where he was to eat the Passover meal with his friends, the apostles.  It was at the meal that he gave the Apostles the power to do as he had done, change bread and wine into his body and blood.

He gave this gift to his apostles, not only for their benefit, but for the benefit of all who would listen to the preaching of the Good News that the man executed on Friday walked out of his tomb on Sunday morning.

For the first 200 years or so after the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, many believers were executed in the cruelest forms, because they refused to deny the truth that they knew about Jesus the Christ.  These martyrs were not morose men and women who wanted to die and who deliberately sought death.  Like Jesus, they loved their friends, family, and home.  But like Jesus, they could not deny the truth, even if it cost them their lives.

Today, millions of Christians around the world celebrate Palm Sunday, the day when Jesus made his triumphant entry into the city of execution. Unfortunately, many people regard it as a special day of the year when they received blessed palm branches.  Churches are packed with people who would normally miss Sunday Mass.  On this Sunday, they get something for free and fulfill a cultural and family tradition.

We have forgotten that Jesus did not enter Jerusalem to be honored with palms and “hosannas”.  The palms were icing on the cake.  Jesus entered Jerusalem to suffer and give his life to redeem mankind.   He was willing to put up with false accusations, disrespect, scourging, a crown of thorns penetrating his head, and finally nails trespassing through his hands and feet.

Palm Sunday should remind us of Jesus’ obedience to the father, of his humility, his dignity, and his love for mankind.  These were the forces that led him to the cross, not the political power of the high priests and the Romans.

Today, many of us respond with drama, vitriol and even violence when someone says or does something disrespectful.  The common excuse is, “I’m not Jesus.”

True enough, none of us are Jesus.  But Jesus says to us, “Take up your cross and follow me.”  He makes this imperative several times in the Gospels.  Yet, many of us recoil from the slightest offense, an illness, an unwanted pregnancy, poor health, and anything that could potentially inconvenience us or cause pain.  Just as the martyrs did not seek death, nor did Jesus, the voice of God the Father must be heard and obeyed.  We’re not commanded to be doormats, to seek to get sick, or to take an aggressive stand when we believe that we’re being humiliated.

We are called to be like Christ, to speak the truth when others try to hurt us or hurt another person; but we are not called to punish the world for its sins, cruelty, or foolishness.  That’s not the man that we see entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Jesus simply spoke the truth and took the consequences for preaching the truth.

For those of us who attend mass on Palm Sunday, the question is, are we willing to speak the truth with dignity and respect?  Are we willing to accept pain and suffering that is a natural part of life, without reneging, bullying others under the pretext of suffering, or casting doubt on God?  Are we willing to keep silent, as Jesus did when he faced the Sanhedrin, realizing that there was nothing he could say that would change their mind and their arrogance?  Are we willing to respond to others as Christ responded to the questions asked by Pontius Pilate, with dignity, honesty, respectfully and frankness, without argumentation or vitriol?

Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week.  The week is holy because Christ’s words and actions were not driven by sin, desire to get revenge, an urge to punish the world, or an effort to hide his true mission.  His humility, living the truth and his love for those who sinned as well as those who were holy never wavered.  In the face of pain and death he says to the Father, “Not my will be done, but yours.”

On this great day of the liturgical year, we must think about how we respond to natural events that may be painful, how we respond to those who are rude or even cruel, how we respond to those who surround us when we’re sick or dying.  Palm Sunday is the beginning of a week where we remember Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.  Palms should be the needle of the compass to guides our lives.  Holy Week is made holy by Christ’s passion and death.  Those of us who act contrary to Christ’s actions, soil that which is holy.

Let us never forget that Christ gives us the Holy Spirit who strengthens us with the necessary grace to face any difficulty.  But we must be willing to do as Christ did. Seek opportunities for silence and avoid the distractions of the world, to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding us to make every week of the year, holy.

Published in: on April 14, 2019 at 9:15 PM  Leave a Comment  

To bear with one’s neighbor as Christ does


As we approach Holy Week it’s important to examine our conscience and to ask ourselves, “Have I looked at mothers and fathers who submit to abortion with kindness or with aversion?”

God gives us rights from the moment of conception

Abortion is a heinous crime that cries out to God for vengeance.  While it is true that the unborn child is the innocent

victim whose life is taken during the early stages of human development, one must ask, what of the mothers and fathers who agreed to abort their unborn child?  Are they aware of the gravity of their choice?  If so, do they mourn the death of their unborn child?  Do they hide their grief and their guilt so as not to be judged by others?

Saint Francis of Assisi wrote in one of his admonitions,

“ Blessed is the man who bears with his neighbor according to the frailty of his nature,” (admonitions of St. Francis).

To be aware of the deep-seated guilt in the conscience of the post abortion parent, instead of judgment and indignation, requires spiritual sacrifice and often the courage of the crucified Christ who forgave rather than condemned. This kind of courage requires sacrifice and strength to go against our natural temptation to lash out at such people.

Why does Saint Francis say that we’re blessed if we bear with [our] neighbor’s human frailty? If we look at the story of the woman caught in adultery, we will find the answer to this question.

Jesus asks her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared.

“Go now and leave your life of sin,” (John 8:10-11)

Kindness toward the post abortive parent, along with encouragement to avoid this and other sins, is to do as Christ does.  That is how we become blessed.  Along with blessings that God may bestow on us for such mercy and kindness,  to behave toward the sinner as Christ did draws us closer into his blessed nature.

Infra-red photo of the hurricane

Men and women who struggle with the guilt of abortion are carrying a cross, but they’re not moving in a forward direction.  Each day is another walk around the same circle of grief, shame, and guilt.  People of faith have a moral duty to point those who carry such a cross in the right direction.  This is a spiritual work of mercy.

We must remember Christ’s words, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me,” Luke 9:23.

We cannot erase a chapter from another person’s history book, nor should we want to do so.  However, we can point the sinner toward Christ.  We have a duty to counsel the sinner to carry the cross that that’s a consequence of abortion and turn it into a holy life, denying themselves of self-pity, instead following Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Holy Mass, and daily prayer.

Those who treat their neighbor as they would want to be treated are truly blessed.  Christ’s love and mercy shines through us.

Published in: on April 8, 2019 at 8:12 PM  Leave a Comment