Palm Sunday
St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mt 26:14-27:66
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
20 Mar 2005
Holy Week has begun once again with the celebrations for Palm Sunday, the blessing of the palms, the small procession and the reading of the Passion account for the Gospel.
It appeared to be a happy occasion for Our Lord. Certainly the crowd was delighted to welcome him into Jerusalem. Jerusalem was not a big city by our standards and the crowd of welcomers would have been even smaller. Not a grand final crowd, not like the number who attend each day at the Easter Show, but closer to the small enthusiastic crowds which greeted Princess Mary of Denmark during her recent visit.
Jesus himself would have been preoccupied, because he knew that his opponents were gathering for the kill; he would have anticipated his likely fate. In a few days there would be the agony in the garden.
Some have claimed that this crowd of well wishers would have contained many of the people who came to mock him later on the way to Calvary. I prefer to think, and it seems much more likely, that they would have been basically two different groups of people, with a smaller number of hangers on, idle and curious who were present on both occasions. I can't believe that most of these enthusiasts were turn-coats who abused him some days later.
I suppose that Palm Sunday followed by Good Friday reminds us that we have no lasting city. No matter what our situation, good or bad, it is not likely to last forever. The Latin text runs "sic transit Gloria mundi" i.e. and so passes the glory of the world, which when translated into Australian runs as "rooster today, feather duster tomorrow". We have no lasting city.
You are invited to take your piece of palm home and place it on your crucifix. Every Catholic home should have a crucifix on the wall somewhere. Your house does not need to be like a Catholic school with a crucifix in every room, but if you have no sign of your Catholic faith anywhere in your home, then you are entitled to ask yourself why that is so. Our faith should not be entirely private, especially today where there are so many contrary forces.
We should not be too saddened by the hostile pressures which surround us. Christ's followers were a much smaller minority than we Catholics are today. We are saved by the cross as an essential prelude to the resurrection, rather than by this happy procession. It would be strange to claim that this happy little procession redeemed us; but it is even stranger to claim that this inglorious death is the centrepiece of our redemption.
A final word: this is the most important week in the Church's year, containing Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Whether we are busy, half-busy or following a more relaxed schedule, we should not let this week slip by like every other week.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
