Today we begin the most awesome week of the year – Holy Week. We used to call this Sunday “Palm Sunday” because of our Lord’s glorious and triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Now it is called “Passion Sunday” because of the greater emphasis on our Lord’s passion, crucifixion, and death.
In shifting the emphasis to our Lord’s passion (suffering & death), we are reminded of his intense love for us. We are also reminded that our love for Jesus and the Trinity should be passionate as well, and not lukewarm. In the last book of the bible, Revelation, we are told what God thinks of lukewarm Christians. “… and because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spew (vomit) you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:16) That is a very passionate response.
Let us show our passion for God by attending the Holy Week services, especially Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil or Easter Sunday. By the way, we are celebrating the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday at the traditional time when Jesus died at 3:00 p.m., and not in the evening as we have done in the past. Passionate Catholics will find a way to get there even if they have to take some time off from work.
I look forward to seeing you all there.
- Fr. Carl
“The Passion of our Lord is like
a great river that flows down from
a mountain and is never exhausted.”
- The Cure D’Ars
