Palm Sunday

It is strange to begin Holy Week knowing that most people will be following the Liturgies from home. Churches are closed, but Holy Week is a special time and begins today with Jesus arriving in Jerusalem. Because there will be no procession this year, the Mass begins with this antiphon: "Six days before the Passover, when the Lord came into the city of Jerusalem, the children ran to meet him; in their hands they carried palm branches and with a loud voice cried out: Hosanna in the highest!"

The contrast with the welcome Jesus receives as he enters Jerusalem this week with the way He will be treated is so great that I wonder how we can be so fickle - some of these same people would be in the crowd later crying our "Crucify him!'

The Passion of Our Lord according to Matthew is the Gospel and sets the tone for what we call Holy Week as we follow Jesus through His last days before He dies on the Cross. He himself said that the greatest love a man can have is to give his life for his friends. 
Let us enter into this Holy Week with the firm resolve to stay with Jesus as He spends these days showing His love for us.