Palm Sunday
Today marks the day that Our Lord and Savior made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem to do what must be done to accomplish the Paschal Mystery. It also marks the start of the most holy and solemn time of our Church calendar, for this is the start of Holy Week — otherwise known as Passion Week. The word “passion” comes from the Latin root of “passio,” which means “to suffer and endure.” What does the word “passion” bring to your mind when meditating on the dolorous Passion of Our Lord? And how can you unite your passion to our Lord’s Passion so it becomes, as the founder of The Society of Jesus, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, says: “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” or “for the greater glory of God?” Everything we do must be for the greater glory of God. There is no “halfway” in life or in the Faith. Our Lord says in the Book of Revelation, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth.”
The words of Saint Ignatius of Loyola provide an explanation of how we are to live in his First Principle and Foundation:
“The human person is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by doing so to save his or her soul; and it is for the human person that the other things on the face of the earth are created, as helps to the pursuit of this end. It follows from this that the person has to use these things insofar as they help towards this end, and to be free of them insofar as they stand in the way of it. To attain this, we need to make ourselves indifferent towards all created things, provided the matter is subject to our free choice and there is no prohibition. Thus, for our part, we should not prefer health nor sickness, wealth nor poverty, fame nor infamy, a long life nor a short life, so with everything else, desiring and choosing only what conduces more to the end for which we are created.”
These words help orient us in life and face the perils of this world with the strength that comes from our relationship with the Lord. If we do not have a relationship with Him, we cannot be effective examples for others of what it means to follow and to suffer with Him.
We read in the Gospel that the animal Jesus rides on into Jerusalem is not a horse but a simple donkey. Here, we see that He comes as the Christ to win a spiritual conquest rather than the military and political victory that the Jews had anticipated. We see the people take off their cloaks and lay palms in the path of Our Lord, acclaiming Him with joy and honor — but these are the very people who will soon demand the blood of Our Lord and to “crucify Him!” These people praised Our Lord at first, but then denied Him and wanted Him dead. We can reflect on our own nature of how often we follow Our Lord until times get tough — and we often drop Him to make life easier. The Christian way of embracing suffering is not an easy one, but with faith and perseverance, we can follow and accompany Our Lord on His way of the Passion.
As Saint Ignatius of Loyola says, let us “go set the world on fire.” I leave you with his prayer, the Suscipe:
“Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given all to me. To You, O Lord, I return it. All is yours, dispose of it wholly according to Your Will. Give me Your love and Your grace, for this is sufficient for me. Amen.”
+AMDG+
— Phillip Lopez, 2024-25 Missionary Staff