Exiit qui seminar -Holy Week
It's hard to believe that Lent is coming to a close and that we, as a faith, are about to enter into the holiest time of the whole entire Church year. It was at this time, last year, that our whole world came to a screeching halt and through the shutdown, the realization of an uncertain future. But in the midst of it all, good times and bad, difficulties and successes, Christ was, is and will be in our midst, loving us and accompanying us on our journey of faith. This reality is made no more so present than as we begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday, or as it also known as, Passion Sunday. The word passion comes from the Latin root "pati" which means "to suffer" or "to endure". At the heart of this feast, we see the two seemingly contradictory reactions to our Lord and Savior. In the beginning of the liturgy, Jesus is welcomed in the city of Jerusalem as a king with the people crying out, " “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!” Then in Mark's Gospel, we hear the crowds that welcomed him as king cry out "Crucify him" louder and louder. But we know that what Christ does for us is the ultimate act of love, that He is willing to offer up His life for our sake and to conquer sin and death forever. We are reminded that our Lord truly has compassion for us, that He is literally willing to suffer with us and endure even torture and death because of Jesus' great love for His creation - His people. We are consoled in the fact that the Paschal Mystery (Jesus' passion, death, resurrection and ascension) is not just a remembrance of a set of historical events from the past, but the celebration of that God's love is present with us always in good times and bad, through difficulties and successes. Holy Week is our clarion call that not only is the Lord's love for us tangible and real, but also active and alive. It helped carry us through the trials and tribulations of 2020 and will carry us through all things to come. So as we begin our Holy Week let us give thanks for everything that the Lord has done for us and recall that His presence is with us always! May His Kingdom Come!
Sincerely Yours in Christ
Fr. Rob Sinatra
