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Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Lk 22:14-23 -- 23: 56    

Constantine the Great was the first Christian Roman emperor. His father Constantius I who succeeded Diocletian as emperor in 305 A.D. was a pagan with a soft heart for Christians. When he ascended the throne, he discovered that many Christians held important jobs in the government and in the court.  So he issued an executive order to all those Christians: “Either give up Christ or give up your jobs.” The great majority of Christians gave up their jobs rather than disowning Christ. Only a few cowards gave up their religion rather than lose their jobs. The emperor was pleased with the majority who showed the courage of their convictions and gave their jobs back to them saying: "If you will not be true to your God you will not be true to me either.” Today we join the Palm Sunday crowd in spirit to declare our loyalty to Christ and fidelity to his teachings by actively participating in the Palm Sunday liturgy. As we carry the palm leaves to our homes, we are declaring our choice to accept Jesus as the King and ruler of our lives and our families. Let us express our gratitude to Jesus for redeeming us by his suffering and death, through our active participation in the Holy Week liturgy and our reconciliation with God and His Church, repenting of our sins and receiving God's pardon and forgiveness from Jesus through His Church.   

Introduction: The Church celebrates today as both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday.  It is on Palm Sunday that we enter Holy Week and welcome Jesus into our lives, asking him to allow us a share in his suffering, death and Resurrection. This is also the time we remember and relive the events which brought about our redemption and salvation.  That is why the Holy Week liturgy presents us with the actual events of the dying and rising of Jesus.  The liturgy also enables us to experience in our lives, here and now, what Jesus went through then.  In other words, we commemorate and relive during this week our own dying and rising in Jesus, which result in our healing, reconciliation, and redemption. No wonder Greek Orthodox Christians greet each other with the words, "Kali Anastasi" ("Good Resurrection"), not on Easter Sunday but on Good Friday. They anticipate the Resurrection.  Just as Jesus did, we, too, must lay down our lives freely by active participation in the Holy Week liturgies.  In so doing, we are allowing Jesus to forgive us our sins, to heal the wounds in us caused by our sins and the sins of others and to transform us more completely into the image and likeness of God.  Thus, we shall be able to live more fully the Divine life we received at Baptism.  Proper participation in the Holy Week liturgy will also deepen our relationship with God, increase our Faith and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus.  But let us remember that Holy Week can become "holy” for us only if we actively and consciously take part in the liturgies of this week. This is also the week when we should lighten the burden of Christ’s passion as daily experienced by the hungry, the poor, the sick, the homeless, the lonely and the outcast through our corporal and spiritual works of mercy.  The Passion Sunday liturgy combines contrasting moments, one of glory, the other of suffering: the welcome of Jesus into Jerusalem and the drama of his unjust trial and suffering, culminating in his crucifixion and death.

First reading: Isaiah 50: 4-7: In the middle section, chapters 40-55, of the book of the prophet Isaiah, there are four short passages which scholars have called the Songs of the Suffering Servant.  Today's first reading is taken from the third Servant Song. These four songs are about a mysterious figure whose suffering brings about a benefit for the people.  In the original author's mind, the servant was probably a figure for the people of Israel, or for a faithful remnant within the people. However, Jesus saw aspects of his own life and mission foreshadowed in the Servant Songs, and the Church refers to them in this time of solemn meditation on the climax of Jesus' life.  In today’s Psalm, the psalmist puts his trust in Yahweh for deliverance and salvation.  The context of this day's worship also conveys Jesus’ confidence in God’s protection in the midst of his trial and crucifixion.

Second Reading: Philippians 2: 6-11: This may be an ancient Christian hymn representing a very early Christian understanding of who Jesus is, and of how his mission saves us from sin and death.  It is a message that Paul received from those who had been converted to Christ. “Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found ibn human form, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the Name which is above every name (Phil 2:6-9; RSV, Catholic 2nd ed.).  Christians reading this passage today are joined with the first people who ever pondered the meaning of Jesus' life and mission.  We're singing their song, reciting their creed, during this special time of the year when we remember the most important things Our Lord did.

The first part of today’s Gospel describes the royal reception which Jesus received from his admirers, who paraded with him from the Mount of Olives to the city of Jerusalem, a distance of two miles.  Two-and-a-half million people were normally present to celebrate the Jewish feast of the Passover.  Jesus permitted such a royal procession for two reasons: 1) to reveal to the general public that he was the promised Messiah, and 2) to fulfill the prophecies of Zechariah (9:9): “Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion…. see now your king comes to you; he is victorious, triumphant, humble and riding on a donkey…” and Zephaniah (3: 16-19): “On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty Savior. He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in His love, He will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals. I will remove disaster form among you, so that none may recount your disgrace. Yes, at that time I will deal with all who oppress you: I will save the lame, and assemble the outcasts; I will given them praise and renown in all the earth, when I bring about their restoration.” (The traditional “Palm Sunday Procession” in Jerusalem began in the fourth century AD, when the bishop of Jerusalem led the procession from the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Ascension).  In the second part of today’s Gospel, we may take part in the reading of the Passion of Christ according to Luke.  We are challenged to examine our own lives in the light of some of the characters in the story like Peter who denied Jesus, Judas who betrayed Jesus, Pilate who acted against his conscience in condemning Jesus, Herod who ridiculed Jesus, and the leaders of the people who preserved their position by getting rid of Jesus. 

Exegesis: Notes on Palm Sunday events: 1) Jesus rides on a lowly donkey:  Doesn't it seem odd that Jesus would walk 90 miles from the Galilee to Bethany and then secure a donkey for the final two miles into Jerusalem? In those days, kings used to travel in such processions on horseback during wartime, but preferred to ride a donkey in times of peace.  I Kings 1: 38-41 describes how Prince Solomon used his father David’s royal donkey for the ceremonial procession on the day of his coronation.  Jesus entered the Holy City as a King of peace, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.  The Gospel specifically mentions that the colt Jesus selected for the procession was one that   had not been ridden before, reminding us of a stipulation given in I Samuel 6:7 concerning the animal that was to carry the Ark of the Covenant.  

2) The mode of reception given: Jesus was given the royal reception usually reserved for a King or military commander.  I Maccabees 13: 51ff describes such a reception, given to the Jewish military leader Simon Maccabaeus in 171 BC.  II Maccabees 10:6-8 refers to a similar reception given to another military general, Judas Maccabaeus, who led the struggle against the Greek Seleucid Emperor, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and liberated the Temple from pagan control in 163 BC.

3) The slogans used: The participants sang the “Hallel” psalm (Psalm 118), and shouted the words of Psalms 25 and 26.  The Greek word “hosiana” originally meant "save us now" (II Samuel 14:4).  The people sang the entire Psalm 118 on the Feast of the Tabernacles when they marched seven times around the Altar of the Burnt Offering.  On Palm Sunday, however, the people used the prayer “Hosanna” as a slogan of greeting.  It meant “God save the king of Israel.”

4) The symbolic meaning of the Palm Sunday procession: Nearly 25,000 lambs were sacrificed during the feast of the "Pass Over," but the lamb which was sacrificed by the High Priest was taken to the Temple in procession four days before the main feast day.  On Palm Sunday, Jesus, the true Paschal Lamb, was also taken to the Temple in a large procession.

5) Reaction of Jesus:  Before the beginning of the procession, Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Lk.19:41-42), and when the procession was over, he cleansed the Temple (Lk. 19:45-46).  On the following day he cursed a barren fig tree. Jesus cursed a fig tree for lying with its leaves. It looked good from the outside, but there was no fruit there. Surely he must have intended a reference to the Temple. The religious folk of his day were impotent and infertile. They had taken a good thing, religion, and made it into a sham.

Life messages: 1- Does Jesus weep over us?  There is a Jewish saying, “Heaven rejoices over a repentant sinner and sheds tears over a non-repentant, hardhearted one."   Let us get ready to imitate the prodigal son, return to God, our loving Father through the Sacrament of Reconciliation during this last week of Lent, and participate fully in the joy of Christ’s Resurrection.

2) Are we barren fig trees?  The new Israel must always be ready to bear fruit out of season. That is its vocation! The Church is supposed to be the Church for all seasons. God expects us to produce fruits of holiness, purity, justice, humility, obedience, charity, and forgiveness.  Let us discover whether we are fruit-bearing fig trees, barren trees or useless trees producing bitter fruits of impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, jealousy and selfishness.

3) Do we need to have Jesus cleanse our hearts with his whip?  Jesus cannot tolerate the desecration of the temple of his Holy Spirit in us by our addiction to uncharitable, unjust and impure thoughts words and deeds; neither does he approve of our calculation of loss and gain in our relationship with God. 

4) Do we welcome Jesus into our hearts?  Are we ready to surrender our lives to Jesus during this Holy Week and, singing our “hosanna,” welcome him, into all areas of our lives as our Lord and Savior? Today, we receive palm branches at the Divine Liturgy.  Let us take them to our homes and put them in some place where we can always see them. The palms are meant to remind us that Christ is the King of our families, that Christ is the King of our hearts and that Christ is the only true answer to our quest for happiness and meaning in our lives.  And if we do proclaim Christ as our King, let us try to make time for Him in our daily life; let us be reminded that He is the one with whom we will be spending eternity.  Let us be reminded further that our careers, our education, our finances, our homes, all of the basic material needs in our lives only pertain to our life in time and will vanish, for us, with our death. Let us prioritize and place Christ the King as the primary concern in our lives.  It is only when we have done so that we will find true peace and happiness in our confused and complex world.

5) Are we ready to become like the humble donkey that carried Jesus?   As we "carry Jesus" to the world, we can expect to receive the same welcome that Jesus received on Palm Sunday, but we must also expect to meet the same opposition, crosses and trials later.  Like the donkey, we are called upon to carry Christ to a world that does not know Him.  Let us always remember that a Christian without Christ is a contradiction in terms.  Such a one betrays the Christian message.  Hence, let us become transparent Christians during this Holy Week, enabling others to see in us Jesus’ universal love, unconditional forgiveness and sacrificial service.

"Francis, I have some bad news to give you, Ishan is suffering from cancer -leukemia." The voice at the other end of the phone broke down and I felt a stab of pain in my heart. Four-year old Ishan is the only son of my closest friend in Delhi. I write these reflections after sitting with little Ishan in hospital, crucified to his cot with injections, saline drips and blood transfusions. Suffering even more are Lester and Ishita with whom I sit silently, only being able to whisper, "Everyone is praying for you; Jesus is with you in your pain." Jesus, I believe, is unfailingly with us in our sufferings, and so, it would be fitting on Passion Sunday to be with Him in His. - Passion Sunday brings us face to face with a compassionate Christ. Jesus' passion is, therefore, not some isolated event in his life but the inevitable outcome of a life lived in solidarity, in suffering with the last, the lost and the least in society. (Fr. Francis Gonsalves SJ in 'Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds')

(Source: Homilies of Fr. Anthony Kadavil) 

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Vatican City, Mar 16, 2016 / 06:19 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis renewed his appeal on behalf of the tens of thousands struggling to enter other countries as they flee war and violence, asking global leaders to “open their hearts” and doors to migrants and refugees.

“How many of our brothers are currently living a real and dramatic situation of exile, far away from their homeland, with their eyes still full of the rubble of their homes, and in their heart the fear, and often, unfortunately, the pain of having lost loved ones,” the Pope said March 16.

Such cases can often lead one to ask questions such as “where is God? How is it possible that so much suffering befalls innocent men, women and children?” he said.

Francis lamented that migrants and refugees fleeing violence in their homeland frequently find “closed doors” when attempting to enter another country.

These people suffer due to a loss of land, a lack of food, and they “don’t feel welcome,” he said, adding that “I like it a lot when I see nations, governments, who open their hearts and open their doors” to the migrants and refugees seeking to enter.

Pope Francis spoke to the nearly 40,000 pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square for his his March 16 general audience.

He continued his catechesis on mercy as understood through scripture, focusing his speech on Chapters 30-31 of the Book of Jeremiah, which also referred to as the “book of consolation” due to the hope the prophet announces.

Francis noted how in the passage read at the audience, the prophet Jeremiah goes to the Israelites, who were in exile, and announces the return to their homeland.

The re-entrance of the Israelites into their land is a sign “of the infinite love of God the Father who does not abandon his children, but cares for them and saves them,” he said.

The period of exile was “devastating” for Israel, he said, noting that after suffering so much due to the destruction of their country and the loss of their temple, it was hard for them to continue believing in the Lord’s goodness.

Pope Francis explained that we also experience a sort of exile today when experiences of suffering and death make us think that God has abandoned us.

However, despite the feelings of forgotten-ness and abandonment in such situations, the prophet Jeremiah gives us another response: “the exiled people can return to see their land and experience the mercy of the Lord.”

“God is not absent,” he said, explaining that this also goes for the “dramatic situations” of war and violence today.

He said that “we must not give in to despair,” but continue “to be confident that good overcomes evil and that the Lord dries every tear and frees us from every fear.”

Francis closed his address by pointing to the Jeremiah’s announcement that “I will turn their mourning into gladness, I will give them comfort and joy.”

Jesus has brought this message to fulfillment, he said, explaining that the “the true and radical return from exile and the comforting light after the darkness of the crisis of faith,” takes place at Easter.

In the resurrection of Jesus on Easter, we see “the full and definitive experience of the love of God, a merciful love which gives peace, joy and eternal life.”

After his speech Pope Francis offered special greetings to groups of pilgrims present from different countries around the world. In his greeting to Arab-speaking pilgrims, the Pope offered his solidarity to those in the Middle East who are currently suffering due to war and violence.

He lamented that there are many people who experience exile, desperation, grief and persecution, which can push one to doubt God’s love and goodness.

This doubt, he said, “dissipates in front of the truth that God is faithful, close, and keeps his promise to those who do not doubt Him, and for those who hope against hope.”

Francis noted that the Lord’s consolation is near to those “who pass through the agonizing night of doubt, clinging and hoping for the dawn of the Mercy of God, which the totality of the darkness and injustice will never be able to defeat.”

He closed his remarks by praying that the Lord would bless all who are living in such dramatic situations, and protect them from evil.

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IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Like the people of Israel in exile, migrants forced from their homeland due to war and persecution are often left to suffer because of closed hearts and doors, Pope Francis said.

"In these cases one may ask, 'Where is God? How is it that so much suffering can come upon men, women and innocent children?'" he said at his general audience March 16.

Continuing a series of talks dedicated to the Year of Mercy, the pope focused on two chapters from the Book of Jeremiah (30 and 31), in which the prophet heralds the return of the exiled people of Israel to their homeland. The experience of exile left their faith "shaken" and seeing their country in ruins made it difficult "to believe in the Lord's goodness," the pope said.

"We, too, can live at times a sort of exile, when loneliness, suffering and death can make us think we have been abandoned by God," the pope said. "How many of our brothers and sisters are living in this time a real and dramatic situation of exile far from their homeland, with the rubble of their homes still in their eyes, with fear in their hearts and often, unfortunately, pain for the loss of loved ones."

Newspapers and TV programs in Europe have been saturated with images of countless refugees stranded after several countries closed off the so-called Balkan route that allows migration from Turkey through Greece to Northern Europe.

"Today's migrants who suffer out in the open, without food and cannot enter -- they do not feel welcomed," the pope said. "I really like to see countries and governments who open their hearts and open their doors."

In the face of suffering, Pope Francis said, Jeremiah's prophecy of the Israelite's return to their homeland is an affirmation that "God is not absent" and a reminder that good ultimately triumphs over evil.

"The Lord is faithful; he does not abandon us in desolation. God loves us with a never-ending love that even sin cannot stop. And thanks to him, the hearts of men and women are filled with joy and consolation," he said.

The joy experienced by the people of Israel upon their return home, he added, is the same joy God wants to give Christians through his forgiveness and is a sign of the consolation given to those who truly convert.

Pope Francis noted that Jeremiah's prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus and the church will commemorate this in the coming celebration of his resurrection.

"The true and radical return from exile and the comforting light after the darkness of the crisis of faith is fulfilled in Easter, in the full and definitive experience of the love of God, a merciful love that gives joy, peace and eternal life," he said.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano

By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Firming up his presence on social media, Pope Francis will make his debut on the photo-sharing app Instagram, a Vatican official announced.

Msgr. Dario Vigano, prefect of the Secretariat for Communications, said the pope's new account "Franciscus," will go online March 19 and offer another side of his pontificate through photos.

During a news conference presenting a new book on the pope, Msgr. Vigano dubbed him "the Apple pope" because "there is very complex system behind a simple interface."

That simplicity translated well for the pope's Twitter account, which has well over 25 million followers in nine languages.

Whether at general audiences or during foreign trips, thousands of people try to take a coveted "papal selfie" with the pope. While it is unlikely the pope will pose for his own selfies, the account will offer viewers a glimpse into the pope's life and messages.

The announcement came just over two weeks after Pope Francis met with Kevin Systrom, CEO and co-founder of Instagram.

"Today I had the honor of meeting Pope Francis," Systrom wrote to his followers on the photo-sharing app. "We spoke about the power of images to unite people across different cultures and languages. It was by far one of the most memorable experiences of my life!"

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Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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