PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION

28 MARCH 2010. Praise God! We have arrived at the week that is the center of the Church's calendar, to celebrate the mystery that is the center of our faith! Christ Jesus, true God and true man, the Word made flesh and only Son of God, has been sent by the Father to become sin for our sakes, to take on flesh, to suffer temptation, to endure the agony of the passion, to pass from this world into death, to defeat death and break its bonds upon all of humanity, and to rise from the dead triumphantly for the salvation of all.

The readings for today's mass are found here.

In the entry procession, the distribution of palms, and the long Gospel reading recounting the passion of our Lord, we recall and celebrate the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem on the day before his passion, and the horrible, but necessary, events of the passion.

Before or after mass today consider this point: every slap, every insult, every bruise, ever tear of Christ's flesh, every piercing of Him, every drop of Precious Blood that flowed for our salvation is caused by us today. Us, collectively and individually. Our sin, my sin, insults, slaps, bruises, tears at the flesh of Christ, pierces Him, and causes the Previous Blood to flow.

He thought of each of us and all of us during His passion--not in a nebulous way of thinking about future peoples, but in a personal way. True God, Christ knew each of us by name and thought of each of us, considered us personally, in the gifts that He was offering by His most merciful suffering.

Consider the depth of our Lord's love. Consider His tremendous humility in laying Himself at the mercy of men and suffering as He did for our sakes.

Love the Lord! Thank the Lord! Confess and reconcile yourselves to Christ and the Church! And, prepare yourselves well in this Holy Week for the coming of Christ's salvific resurrection on Easter Sunday.