The Catholic Church will begin Holy Week 2023 with the celebration of Palm Sunday this Sunday 2 April. This Sunday we commemorate Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
We Catholics are called to participate in this celebration, the meaning and practices of which are explained in the Vatican document ” Circular Letter on the Preparation and Celebration of Easter Feasts, Letter of Easter Feasts “, published in 1998, and in the book “Jesus of Nazareth: from the entry into Jerusalem to the resurrection” by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Based on this information, below we share 9 facts that every Catholic should know about Palm Sunday:
1. This Day is Called “Palm Sunday” or “Passion Sunday”
The first name comes from the fact that it commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem when the crowd received him with palm leaves (Jn 12,13).
The second name is due to the story of the Passion that is read on this day. Because otherwise, this evangelical passage would not be read on a Sunday, since the next reading will deal with the Resurrection.
According to the 1988 Vatican document “Circular Letter on the Preparation and Celebration of the Paschal Feasts” (Charter of Paschal Feasts), Palm Sunday “comprises both the harbinger of the royal triumph of Christ and the announcement of the Passion”.
2. A Procession Takes Place before the Mass
The procession can take place only once, before the Mass with the largest attendance. It can be done on Saturday or Sunday.
“The entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, since ancient times, is commemorated with a procession, in which Christians celebrate the event, imitating the acclamations and gestures made by the Hebrew children when they went out to meet the Lord, singing the fervent ‘Hosanna ‘”, details the Letter of paschal festivities.
3. You can Carry Palms or other Types of Plants in the Procession
It is not necessary to use palm leaves in the procession. Other types of local plants such as olive, willow, fir or other trees can also be used.
According to the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: “The faithful like to keep in their homes, and sometimes in the workplace, olive branches or other trees, which have been blessed and carried in the procession.”
4. The Faithful must be Instructed about the Celebration
According to the same Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, “the faithful must be instructed about the meaning of this celebration so that they can grasp its meaning.”
“It must be remembered in time that the important thing is participation in the procession and not only in obtaining palm or olive leaves”, which must not be kept “as amulets, nor for therapeutic or magical reasons to dispel evil spirits or to avoid the damage they cause in the fields or in the homes”, indicates the text.
5. Jesus Claims the Right of Kings in the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
Pope Benedict XVI explains in his book “Jesus of Nazareth: from the entry into Jerusalem to the resurrection” that Jesus Christ claimed the right of kings, known throughout antiquity, to demand particular modes of transportation.
The use of an animal (the donkey) that no one had yet sat on is one more indicator of the right of royalty. Jesus wanted his way of him and his actions of him to be understood in terms of the Old Testament promises fulfilled in his person of him.
“At the same time, through this anchoring of the text in Zechariah 9,9, a ‘fanatical’ exegesis of the kingdom is excluded: Jesus is not building on violence; he is not instigating a military revolt against Rome. His power of him is of another type: it is in the poverty and peace of God, which identifies the only power that he can redeem”, the book details.
6. The Pilgrims Recognized Jesus as their Messianic King
Benedict XVI also points out that the fact that pilgrims place their cloaks on the ground so that Jesus walks on them also “belongs to the tradition of Israelite royalty (2 Kings 9,13)”.
“What the disciples do is a gesture of enthronement in the tradition of the Davidic monarchy (of King David) and points to the messianic hope that arose from it,” the text indicates.
The pilgrims, he continues, “take branches from the trees and shout verses from Psalm 118, words of blessing from the liturgy of pilgrims in Israel that on their lips become a messianic proclamation: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed be the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!’ (Mk 11,9-10, see Ps 118,26)”.
7. “Hosanna” is a Cry of Joy and a Prophetic Prayer
In the time of Jesus, this word had messianic overtones. The acclamation expresses the emotions of the pilgrims who accompanied Jesus and his disciples: the joyful praise of God at the moment of the processional entrance, and the hope that the hour of the Messiah had arrived.
At the same time, it was a prayer indicating that the Davidic kingship, and therefore God’s kingship over Israel, would be restored.
8. The Crowd that Applauded the Arrival of Jesus is not the Same one that Demanded his Crucifixion
In his book, Benedict XVI argues that, in the three Synoptic Gospels, as well as in Saint John, it is made clear that those who applauded Jesus as he entered Jerusalem were not its inhabitants, but the crowds that accompanied him and entered the church. Holy City with him.
This point becomes clearer in Matthew’s account, in the passage that follows the Hosanna addressed to Jesus: “When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up saying: Who is this? And the crowds said: This is the prophet Jesus of Nazareth of Galilee” (Mt 21,10-11).
People had heard of the prophet from Nazareth, but he did not seem to be of any importance to Jerusalem, and the people there did not know him.
9. The Narrative of the Passion Enjoys a Special Solemnity in the Liturgy
The Letter of Easter Holidays states in number 33: “It is advisable that the tradition be maintained in the way of singing or reading it, that is, that there be three people who act as Christ, the narrator and the people. The Passion must be proclaimed either by deacons or priests or, failing that, by readers, in which case, the part corresponding to Christ is reserved for the priest”.
In the proclamation of the Passion neither lights nor incense are taken, nor is the greeting to the people made at the beginning as usual for the Gospel, nor is the book signed. Only deacons ask the priest for a blessing.
For the spiritual good of the faithful, it is convenient that the Passion narrative be read in its entirety, and that the readings that precede it not be omitted.
(Catholicnews.in adapted this article which is originally published in National Catholic Register)