Palm Sunday: A Day of Joy, Repentance and Change of Heart

“Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before he was crucified.”

In the midst of the pandemic, St. Mary of the Perpetual Rosary Parish along with some GKKs within its vicinity celebrated the Palm Sunday Mass. Parishioners and chapel-goers raised their palms up high as the priest blessed them with holy water. The Passion of Jesus Christ was then read wherein the people listened and internalized the love and mercy that our Lord has offered to mankind during His last days here on Earth.

It is widely known to everyone that Palm Sunday has its own symbolic meaning. The Palm branches are recognized as symbols of peace and victory. The use of a donkey instead of a horse is highly symbolic, since it represents the humble arrival of a king in peace, as opposed to arriving on a steed in war.

As we celebrate Palm Sunday, may we start to reflect and assess ourselves, if we are ready to surrender to Him during this Holy Week, and to welcome Him wholeheartedly in our life as our Lord and Savior while singing “Hosanna.” In today’s Divine Liturgy, we receive palm branches and we raised them with great joy to pave way for our Lord. Let us take them in our homes and place them in a spot where we can always see them. These palms represent that Jesus is the King of our lives, homes, families and hearts and that He is the only answer to all of our questions, problems, doubts and sufferings. If we proclaim Jesus as our King then we must always consider Him as our top concern because He is the one whom we are spending eternity with. With Christ as our top priority, we will be able to see true happiness and peace in this cruel and complex world.

Just like the donkey that carried Jesus, we are also called to carry Jesus to the world. But as we start to “carry Jesus” we should also be ready and expect to receive the same welcome that He received on Palm Sunday and at the same time expect to meet the same opposition and trials that He also faced. In this Holy Week, we are called to carry the Word of Jesus Christ towards others who don’t have any knowledge about Him. May we become humble like our Lord so that others may be able to see the universal love, unconditional forgiveness, and sacrifice that Jesus Christ has offered to his people.

Brothers and sisters, the Palm Sunday celebration gave us challenges that we need to ponder on. Are we willing to follow our Lord not just to Church but in our daily lives? Are we willing to entrust ourselves to Him even when the future is unknown, confusing and frightening while still believing that God has a plan for us? Are we willing to serve Him until the day that God’s promise and plan in this world has been fulfilled? With these thoughts in mind, let us take a closer look to this event. Palm Sunday could change our whole life. We are like those who have crucified Jesus but with the Sacrament of Reconciliation we are able to repent, to turn to Jesus again asking for His mercy and forgiveness. “Through his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3), so as believers and followers of Jesus Christ may we not take this important commemoration for granted may we open our hearts to receive the meaning and importance that it holds. (Allyza Hope Tabigue, GKK SoCCom)