Hosanna - Save us Lord
Hosanna – Save us Lord Fr. Benny Mekkatt, CFIC
The Church celebrates today as both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. In simple words, it is ‘Palm Sunday’ because we get our blessed palms from the church, commemorating the glorious entry of Jesus in to Jerusalem. It is ‘Passion Sunday’, because we read the passion narrative from the gospels as part of entering into the Holy Week. Today we enter in to the most sacred week of our liturgical year and welcome Jesus into our lives, asking him to allow us a share in his passion, death and resurrection. Holy Week liturgy enables us to experience in our lives, here and now, what Jesus went through then, two thousand plus years ago. In other words, we commemorate and relive during this week our own dying and rising in Jesus, which result in our healing, reconciliation, renewal and redemption. 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. 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.
These are a few questions we need to ask to ourselves during this time. Do I welcome Jesus into my heart on a daily basis? Am I ready to surrender my life to Jesus during this Holy Week and welcome him, into all areas of my life as my Lord and Savior singing “hosanna,”? Today, we receive palm branches at the Divine Liturgy. Let us take them into our homes and put them in a place where we can always see them. Because 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 prioritize and place Christ the king as the primary concern in our lives. It is only when we have done so, we will find true peace and happiness in our confused and complex world.
It has been a little more than a year; we have been fighting with the pandemic Covid-19. Many of you were able to stay home and safe and attending Mass virtually. I know that it must have been hard for you not being able to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist for such a long time. Though you do the spiritual communion, you must be really hungry and even starving for this food given for our spiritual nourishment. We couldn’t do much last year during the holy week due to the lock down restrictions. I am so grateful that we are in a better position and much more relaxed this year and are allowed to go to the church and celebrate the Hoy Week. As you might have listened to the news that the governor and Minnesota department of health have eased many of the restrictions for public gathering and public worship. So let us make use of this opportunity to celebrate the liturgies of the Holy Week. At the same time, here at our parish, we still follow most of the precautions, including keeping six feet distance, use of the mask all the time, use of hand sanitizer etc. in order to reduce the risks of spreading the virus. We try to do our best to make it a safer place for you to come and worship the Lord. So, I strongly recommend and encourage you to pray about returning to the church during this Holy Week. It will be a great time to return to your community of worship after a long time. All are encouraged to actively participate in the sacred liturgies of the Holy Week. This is the most important week of the liturgical year. The main liturgical celebrations are the Holy Triduum and the Easter Sunday. Let it be really a moment of deepening our faith experience. Let us accompany Jesus on his way to Calvary and die with him dying to ourselves and rise with Him as a new creation to continue our pilgrimage here on earth with much more enthusiasm and commitment in our faith life. Have a blessed Holy Week to All!