THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Palm Sunday 17 April 2011

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Our Lord has come for both the Israelite and the Gentile. Both the ass that was tethered and her colt that had never been ridden before were taken for Jesus to use. The one and the other represent to us the Israelites who were bound by the law and the Gentiles who were free from the law.

In both cases it is the Apostles that Jesus sent to free the one and bring them both to Him. It does not matter whether we consider the one bound by the Mosaic Law or bound in sin. Both the sinner who is bound in sin and the just man come to Jesus through the Apostles. Whatever state we find ourselves in – the only way to Jesus is through His Apostles. Without the Apostles there is no Church and there are no Sacraments or Sacrifice.

It is upon the backs of sinners and the just that Jesus is taken into the city. All of mankind has brought Jesus to this city where He is to suffer and die. On this day though, it is with great joy and celebration. Jesus is welcomed as the King. There is cause for us all to rejoice as our salvation is at hand. But, there is reason to weep also because we have set in motion by our sins the very necessity of Jesus’ death upon the cross.

The liturgy for this week brings before our eyes very vividly the events leading up to the Crucifixion. Just as the people turned out in Jerusalem for these days so should we make ourselves present, as much as possible, for the Lenten ceremonies that will take place this week. Let us follow Jesus spiritually through this most emotionally wrenching few days, in the hopes that we will increase our love for Him and bravely take up our daily cross to follow Him in this love.

All too often our love for God is as fleeting as we see in these people of Jerusalem. Today we acclaim our undying love welcoming Him as our King and then a little while later we cry out for His blood by our sins. How fickle we truly are. We should be begging God for the grace to persevere in the love of Him.

Now in the midst of the joy and celebration of welcoming our King we should be preparing ourselves with greater acts of penance and mortifications. We should be renewing our acts of: Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition. We need to impress upon our hearts and minds a most vivid and indelible image of Jesus and what it has cost Him to save us from our sins. He came to us when we had no means of helping ourselves or even of hoping for the assistance of anyone. We were completely lost and in His mercy and love He picked us up and placed our sins upon His own shoulders.

It is not enough to have a crucifix hanging on our walls or hidden away in a pocket or a dresser drawer, we must have this image seared into our hearts and minds so that it may never leave there. God thinks of us all the time. He has thought of us from all of eternity. Jesus came to this earth with the thought of us; He went into Jerusalem to suffer and die with the thought of us in His mind. He gave everything for us. He lived and died for us. Considering all this, it is not too much to ask us to always think of Him. It is not too much to ask us to do all for the greater honor and glory of God. It is not too much to ask us to love Him with our whole being. Our reason tells us that we owe at least this much to Him and even much more than we could ever hope to be able to offer Him.

As we take our blessed palms in hand today and recount Our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, let us also recount with our Holy Mother the Church the terrible Passion and death of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The joy and the sadness go hand in hand. Love has its joy then comes the sacrifice and suffering only to be rewarded later on with greater joy and happiness. This was the path taken by Jesus and this is the path He invites us to take with Him. Let us stir up our love for Him today so that we may not shy away tomorrow when there is sadness, pain and suffering to be endured. If we can persevere in this love through all the sufferings with Christ in our daily lives then we will find an eternal happiness with Him in Heaven.