Blessing of palm leaves usher in Holy Week
Palm crosses and leaves are displayed in front of the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City in preparation for Palm Sunday today. (CDN PHOTO/BRIAN J. OCHOA)
Catholics all over the world today mark the start of the Holy Week with the blessing of palm leaves.
Palm or Passion Sunday commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry to Jerusalem, where people laid down their cloaks and small tree branches in front of him, chanting, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Palm Sunday ushers in the Holy Week, considered the most solemn and holy period in the church’s liturgical calendar, when Christians relive the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago.
In his message, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma urged the faithful to meditate on Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice as an expression of His great love for mankind. Palma said people should imitate Jesus by serving one another.
Kyle Remiticado of Carcar City (above) deftly weaves a palm frond into a work of art which he would later sell to Catholic devotees for Palm Sunday which mark’s Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. The palm branch is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace and eternal life.
World Youth Day
“Our culture now is sad. People only think of themselves, even to the detriment of other people. People think about how much they can grab rather than what they can give,” he said.
“Sometimes, what we’re asked to give is just a little of our time, talent and resources for the good of others. It’s a question of what do we give than what do we grab,” he added.
Palma will lead a dawn Mass today at the Blessed John XXIII seminary in Mabolo for the culmination of the Local World Youth Day which gathered hundreds of youngsters from parishes in Cebu, Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental and Tagbilaran City in Bohol.
Today, St. Matthew’s version of the passion and death of Jesus will read in all churches.
All Masses will be preceded with the blessing of the palms.
The palms blessed today will be burned into ashes to be used in next year’s Ash Wednesday.
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