Today begins the most solemn week in all of Christendom: Holy Week. This year’s Holy Week will likely be one of the most memorable of all the Holy Week celebrations in my twenty-six years as a priest. We have journeyed for forty days through this season of Lent, and as we have moved through it, we have intensified our prayer, fasting, and acts of charity.

This year, there has been an unremarkable surge in faith; churches across the country have seen an unprecedented number of OCIA and OCIC candidates and elects. St. Rose is no different from this surge, having the largest number of OCIA and OCIC this year.

I guess this is the fruit of the Eucharistic Revival that started three years ago; people are more intense in their desire to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. People who have been away from the church for many years are going to confession. Those searching for their spiritual home have access to social media platforms featuring great Catholic speakers; religious and lay people have become a wellspring of living water for many.

Today, in the eyes of many, Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph. But the setting Jesus chose told a different story — He entered Jerusalem humbly, riding on a donkey. The people hailed Him as King, crying out “Son of David” and waving palm branches in celebration of His coming, perhaps expecting Him to take possession of Jerusalem as His Kingdom. Their actions sent layered signals: the cry of Hosanna expressed adoration, praise, and joy, but it also literally means “save us.” Did it mean they truly acknowledged Him as the Messiah?

Yet the very same people who shouted praises of Hosanna would, just a few days later, be shouting for the blood of Jesus: “Crucify him, crucify him.” How fickle the human heart can be!

At the end of the Passion Narrative, we behold our Lord Jesus betrayed by Judas and neglected by the Apostles. He is judged swiftly, crucified, and gives His life - all in a single day. As we contemplate these sacred events, may our hearts be moved in humble prayer and reflection. Let us ask: How did such sorrow unfold? Did those near to Him also wrestle with doubt about the identity of the promised Messiah?

To better understand this, let us consider the yearnings of God's people through the centuries. The Jews, longing for deliverance, awaited the Messiah, hoping for a king on earth like David, or a mighty leader. Under Roman rule, their hope swelled. But Christ's gentle arrival on a donkey quietly revealed His true, divine purpose. As we reflect on their hopes and Christ’s humility, may we prayerfully hold in our hearts His call to follow in faith with humble trust.

Building on this understanding, we turn to Philippians 2:6-8, which tells us: Though He was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

With this understanding of Jesus’s humility, let us enter Holy Week with hearts open in faith and devotion. Honoring Him means following His way of the cross to Calvary, as Mama Mary did. She walked with her son to Mount Calvary, where she remained at the foot of the cross. If we stay close to her, she will strengthen our courage and resolve to stand with Jesus, offering all fears, pains, and sufferings to the crucified Lord who first suffered and died for us.

As we take this journey together, let us pray for the grace of intense faith, hope, and charity - the grace of a new heart promised by Jesus through His death on the cross. Lord, as we begin this Holy Week, instill in our hearts a deeper awareness of Your great love for us, the love revealed in the laying down of Your life for Your friends.

BACK TO LIST