By Christina Hermoso
A Catholic Church leader reminds the faithful of the message of Palm Sunday, that is, “to welcome Jesus in our lives.”
“God is always visiting us. He comes to us.” This is the message of Palm Sunday.
A woman makes palm fronds or palapas at Quinta Market in Quiapo Manila.
(ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN) Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. All welcome Him. All rejoice, happy with His coming. Whatever we are in, whoever we are in the society,God comes to us. He wants us to experience Him, have an encounter with Him. And so, let us welcome Jesus in our lives,”said Balanga Bishop Ruperto C.Santos .Christendom marks Palm Sunday tomorrow, the first day of the Holy Week. “To welcome Jesus is to open our hands, waving for Him. Let us not greet Him with a closed fist which is threatening and can hurt, which cannot hold, cannot give nor receive. Let us welcome Jesus with open hands that can help, can share, and serve,” said the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People. The prelate urged to faithful to welcome Jesus with peaceful hearts and to share this peace with others. “Let us welcome Jesus with palms in our hands. Palm signifies victory. Palm connotes peace. Let us welcome Jesus with peaceful hearts, not artificial gestures nor fake news, not with guns nor grease money. Let us offer out fellow Filipinos with a palm of peace to help them overcome sins and not to lead them to shame and scandal. We welcome them to rise up to anew life, and to victory over illegal drugs, crimes, and human trafficking,” Santos said. “This Holy Week, let us welcome Jesus with an open hand and heart as we say to one another, ‘Come in the name of Jesus,’ the bishop said. Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion is considered the world over as a Sunday of the highest rank. As has been the tradition,church goers will wave their palm fronds (palaspas) as the mass celebrant makes his way inside the church in a procession in reenactment of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem astride a donkey, where a huge jubilant crowd crying “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” welcomed the Son of God (Matthew 21:1-9). Priests in red vestments, the color of blood to symbolize the supreme redemptive sacrifices of Christ for mankind, will lead the principal religious ceremonies of the day that include the procession, the blessing of palms, followed by the Eucharistic celebration, and during the mass, the singing of the Passion of Christ, which recalls the final week of Jesus’ earthly journey. The complete narrative of the Lord’s Passion is traditionally read “as a reminder of the complete obedience and submission of Christ to the will of the Father which, through His Holy Cross, brought salvation to the world.” On church altars, branches of “palaspas,” will be placed between the candlesticks instead of flowers. The blessing of palms follows a ritual similar to that of the mass. Used as a sacramental by the faithful, the palm fronds are traditionally brought home and preserved in a prominent place such as in altars, near the door or on window sills in the belief that “the right hand of God will expel all adversities, bless, and protect those who dwell in them who have been redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ.” The palm fronds are brought back to the church a year later to be burned for the Ash Wednesday service. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “The branches of palms signify victory over death and the advent of spiritual victory through Christ. The death and resurrection of Christ bring us closer to eternal life as man becomes one with God and God becomes one again with man.” In different parts of the Christian world, particularly where palms were historically hard to obtain, branches of other bushes and trees were used, including olive, box elder, spruce, and various willows. In Rome, Italy, a large crowd is expected to gather at the Saint Peter’s Square, where Pope Francis is set to bless palm fronds as he leads the procession at 9:30 a.m., to be followed by a holy mass. The faithful usually bring home the blessed olive and palm sprigs, as symbols of peace. The Holy Father is also set to pray the Angelus and give the papal blessing at 12 noon. Meanwhile, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle will lead the Palm Sunday mass at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros at 7 a.m. Some parishes will bless palm fronds early in the day such as at the Quiapo Church in Manila where the faithful are invited to bring their palm fronds as early as 4:30a.m. at the Plaza Miranda for the traditional blessing. This willbe followed by a procession to the church for the holy mass. Twelve men dressed as Christ’s apostles traditionally join the procession.
A woman makes palm fronds or palapas at Quinta Market in Quiapo Manila.(ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN) Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. All welcome Him. All rejoice, happy with His coming. Whatever we are in, whoever we are in the society,God comes to us. He wants us to experience Him, have an encounter with Him. And so, let us welcome Jesus in our lives,”said Balanga Bishop Ruperto C.Santos .Christendom marks Palm Sunday tomorrow, the first day of the Holy Week. “To welcome Jesus is to open our hands, waving for Him. Let us not greet Him with a closed fist which is threatening and can hurt, which cannot hold, cannot give nor receive. Let us welcome Jesus with open hands that can help, can share, and serve,” said the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People. The prelate urged to faithful to welcome Jesus with peaceful hearts and to share this peace with others. “Let us welcome Jesus with palms in our hands. Palm signifies victory. Palm connotes peace. Let us welcome Jesus with peaceful hearts, not artificial gestures nor fake news, not with guns nor grease money. Let us offer out fellow Filipinos with a palm of peace to help them overcome sins and not to lead them to shame and scandal. We welcome them to rise up to anew life, and to victory over illegal drugs, crimes, and human trafficking,” Santos said. “This Holy Week, let us welcome Jesus with an open hand and heart as we say to one another, ‘Come in the name of Jesus,’ the bishop said. Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion is considered the world over as a Sunday of the highest rank. As has been the tradition,church goers will wave their palm fronds (palaspas) as the mass celebrant makes his way inside the church in a procession in reenactment of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem astride a donkey, where a huge jubilant crowd crying “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” welcomed the Son of God (Matthew 21:1-9). Priests in red vestments, the color of blood to symbolize the supreme redemptive sacrifices of Christ for mankind, will lead the principal religious ceremonies of the day that include the procession, the blessing of palms, followed by the Eucharistic celebration, and during the mass, the singing of the Passion of Christ, which recalls the final week of Jesus’ earthly journey. The complete narrative of the Lord’s Passion is traditionally read “as a reminder of the complete obedience and submission of Christ to the will of the Father which, through His Holy Cross, brought salvation to the world.” On church altars, branches of “palaspas,” will be placed between the candlesticks instead of flowers. The blessing of palms follows a ritual similar to that of the mass. Used as a sacramental by the faithful, the palm fronds are traditionally brought home and preserved in a prominent place such as in altars, near the door or on window sills in the belief that “the right hand of God will expel all adversities, bless, and protect those who dwell in them who have been redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ.” The palm fronds are brought back to the church a year later to be burned for the Ash Wednesday service. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “The branches of palms signify victory over death and the advent of spiritual victory through Christ. The death and resurrection of Christ bring us closer to eternal life as man becomes one with God and God becomes one again with man.” In different parts of the Christian world, particularly where palms were historically hard to obtain, branches of other bushes and trees were used, including olive, box elder, spruce, and various willows. In Rome, Italy, a large crowd is expected to gather at the Saint Peter’s Square, where Pope Francis is set to bless palm fronds as he leads the procession at 9:30 a.m., to be followed by a holy mass. The faithful usually bring home the blessed olive and palm sprigs, as symbols of peace. The Holy Father is also set to pray the Angelus and give the papal blessing at 12 noon. Meanwhile, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle will lead the Palm Sunday mass at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros at 7 a.m. Some parishes will bless palm fronds early in the day such as at the Quiapo Church in Manila where the faithful are invited to bring their palm fronds as early as 4:30a.m. at the Plaza Miranda for the traditional blessing. This willbe followed by a procession to the church for the holy mass. Twelve men dressed as Christ’s apostles traditionally join the procession.