Cool Stuff For Passion Sunday

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Wow! Not having grown up Catholic, I never learned how to braid palms at all, much less so elaborately. How long do you s'pose His Holiness had to work at that? The text for his homily isn't up yet at the Vatican site, or I'd have it for you. Check back at this link all week for all the Holy Week transcripts.



Cool Palm Sunday fact (courtesy of the Jeff Cavins Bible Study I'm taking): After the Exodus from Egypt, the children of Israel were told to commemorate the Passover each year on the 14th day of the first month (of the Jewish year). The sacrifice required an unblemished male lamb, and families were to select the lamb on the 10th day of the month, basically so they had a few days to be sure it was perfect, and then if the lamb passed muster with the priests, it could be offered in sacrifice. Palm Sunday, when the people selected Christ as their king, was the tenth day of the month. And on the fourteenth day, Pilate proclaimed to the people after interrogating Christ, "I find no fault in him." Hence: an unblemished Paschal Lamb for the ultimate Passover.


  • Over at Pontifications, there'll be readings from the Fathers all week. Go here for Palm Sunday.



I must say, we had a particularly fine liturgy for this morning's mass. Gorgeous weather, so we got to do a full 'round-the-block procession. The past few years it's rained and we have cheated and simply walked from the school parking lot across the street into the Church. And the Hosannah was a simple chorus, so the whole congregation sang it without accidentally de-synchronizing itself and falling into a disonant round. The Psalm 22 response was one written by a parishioner who's building up to an entire Mass setting (he sang a few bars of his "Gloria" for us after Mass). And he sang it himself in his beautiful baritone. Then: our pastor is a good ol' meat and potatoes priest with a deep Eucharistic piety. Goodness just radiates from him when he preaches, even when he's not eloquent. But today he was also eloquent.
It was one of those days when everything about the Mass just "works" to facilitate prayer. Could be the fact the toddler was absent, I suppose. Or maybe things were really better today than they usually are. Or maybe it's that I was better today than I often am. The kids & I went to Confession yesterday. As I explained to them, it's important to get your soul squeaky clean for Holy Week so all the graces can soak directly in. Hmmm. I think sometimes we moms say things by way of description that turn out to be more true than we know.