Palm Sunday

Dear Parishioners,

Holy Week has arrived! It is with great solemnity that the Church comes together to enter into the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (# 604) says, By giving up his own Son for our sins, God manifests that his plan for us is one of benevolent love, prior to any merit on our part: “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.” God “shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” The most significant week for Christians is Holy Week. This week of great reverence and reflection spans the final eight days of Jesus’ life—from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. It is astounding how much wisdom, insight and inspiration are available to us during this one week. Here is just a sample of what happens during Holy Week: Palm Sunday: Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem. Monday of Holy Week: Jesus clears out the temple with a whip. Tuesday of Holy Week: Jesus is anointed with oil at Bethany and preaches on the Mount of Olives. Spy Wednesday: Jesus is betrayed by Judas. Holy Thursday: Jesus celebrates the Last Supper, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, and is arrested. Good Friday: Jesus is sentenced to death, scourged, beaten, crucified, dies on the Cross, and is buried in the tomb. Holy Saturday: Jesus descends into hell. Easter Sunday: Jesus rises from the dead. The faithful are encouraged to attend Masses and special liturgies at their parishes during Holy Week, such as the Stations of the Cross. In addition, every-one can commemorate Holy Week at home. We can read the Scripture, particularly the passages that teach us about the events of Palm Sunday through Good Friday. We can also pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. It is also a good week to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet if we haven’t been during Lent, and on Good Friday to begin the Divine Mercy Novena which leads up to Divine Mercy Sunday. Our Lord asked St. Faustina for these devotions that the graces of the Redemption may be more abundantly poured out on souls. In October 1937, in Cracow (Poland), Lord Jesus instructed Sister Faustina to venerate the hour of His death and to connect with Him in prayer referring to the value and merits of His Passion. Jesus stated, “I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will under-stand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of a sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer: O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You” (Diary 187). “At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to enter into My mortal sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion…” (Diary, 1320). With this in mind, I highly encourage everyone to join in praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet throughout Holy Week and leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday on April 27th. May God Bless you all!

In Christ, Fr. Luke Fleck