FIFTEENTH LESSON
Readings for Palm Sunday
and Holy Week.
"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."—ST. John 13:13.
My dear children, some time before his Passion, our Lord, on His road to Jerusalem, stopped at the little village of Bethania, not very far from the town. In that village lived our Saviour's friends Martha and Mary, with their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus Christ had raised from the dead a little time before. The tomb and sepulchre of Lazarus are still seen at Bethania, and are often visited by travellers, who go to the Holy Land as pious pilgrims.
Our Lord arrived at Bethania on the Sabbath eve, passed there the whole of the holy day, and on the next, he set out once more on his journey, followed by his disciples, and when they were already at the foot of the Mount Olivet Jesus said to two of His followers: "Go ye into the village that is over against you, and immediately you shall find an ass tied and a colt will her: loose them, and bring them to me: and if any man shall say anything to you, say ye, that the Lord hath need of them and forthwith he will let them go." The disciples followed their Master's orders; brought the ass, and our Lord rode on it.
It was thus, my dear children, that Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem. acting thereby very differently from the princes of the earth, who never go over their kingdom but in triumph or mounted on a splendid horse, whilst Jesus, the God of heaven and earth, preferred the lowly animal disdained by men. Many centuries before, Zacharias had prophesied that our Saviour would thus appear in all humility, and had used the following words: "Behold thy king comes lowly and riding on an ass." Notwithstanding this humble appearance, my children, our Lord was received by the inhabitants of Jerusalem with shouts of joy, that more than one sovereign might have envied. His disciples were numerous, those who had witnessed his miracles were still more numerous; his beneficence had won the hearts of all. A great crowd of people came to meet him; some took off their clothes to spread them under his feet, others cut branches of trees and strewed the road with them, all exclaimed with joy: "Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna"—which means hail and glory—"to the son of David!" The Gospel also tells us that the children, so much beloved by Jesus Christ, made themselves conspicuous by their eagerness and joy.
Incredible as it may appear to us, it is none the less a well-known fact, that a few days had scarcely elapsed before these same people, who then hailed our Lord with such loud protestations of joy, will clamor as loudly for his death; those who have strewed the ground before him with their garments will be the first to assist in stripping him of his clothes. These Jews who today honor Jesus Christ's royalty by such deep homage, will soon wrath-fully upbraid him, and adding mockery to insult, will thrust on the sacred head of our Saviour a crown of sharp-pointed thorns!
Oh! my Saviour, whose triumph we also adore today, grant that we may never imitate the inconstancy of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
In memory of Jesus Christ's solemn entry in the holy city, this feast is called Palm-Sunday.
The Priests follow the procession today with palms in their hands, and in the church small palms or branches of other plants are blessed and distributed to the faithful who come to attend divine service. It is a holy custom to bring home every year, one of these blessed palms, and hang it near one's crucifix. No doubt, my dear children, your mother placed, with her own hands, one of these blessed palms over your cradle, above that white-curtained pillow near which she has spent many a watchful hour, and who knows but what this pious mother put it there, in the fervent hope that perhaps it would thus protect your early years, and obtain for you from God the blessing of calm and tranquil sleep? You are now old enough, my children, to feel good and holy thoughts spring up in your hearts; may the sight of this blessed palm, when you awake in the morning, remind you of that part of our Saviour's life it intended to recall, and thereby make your prayers all the more fervent and sincere.
On Palm-Sunday begins the last week of Lent, called Holy Week, or the Great Week, on account of the holy mysteries and sacred remembrances it recalls to us. During this week, the sole occupation of the Church is to bring before us the history of our Lord's passion, of his death, and of his burial; the Priests are clothed in vestments that denote sorrow; on Good Friday, these vestments are black; flowers are no more to be seen on the altars; mournful chants only are sung. Truly fervent Christians live secluded, wrapt up in prayer, in exercises of penance. They come daily to adore Jesus Christ on the cross. Children who are as yet too young to assist at every service of the holy week, must at least spend it with great piety, and show them selves during this time more attentive and more zealous in the fulfilment of their duties.
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