From The Gospel of John (2003) directed by Philip Saville
[John 12:12-16 runs from 0:00 to 0:56]
The Commemoration of the Lord’s Entrance into
Jerusalem
Mark 11:1-10 or John 12:12-16 (New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, Canada)
John 12:12-16.
The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna! Blessed
is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the
King of Israel!”
Jesus found a young
donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
“Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look,
your king is coming, sitting
on a donkey’s colt!”
His disciples did not
understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they
remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
At the Mass
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional],
Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)
Gospel Mark 14:1 – 15:47 or 15:1-39 (New Revised Standard Version, Catholic
Edition, Canada)
Hungarian National Museum, Budapest [Web Gallery of Art]
Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:23-24).
Christ on the Mount of Olives, Goya, 1819
Escuelas Pías de San Antón, Madrid [Web Gallery of Art]
“Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want” (Mark 14:36).
As we enter Holy Week we can be overwhelmed by the sheer richness of the liturgy. I have always found it difficult to say anything about or during these days. American writer Flannery O'Connor in the quotation below touches on the inner suffering of some as they struggle to believe in Jesus, something she knew from personal experience. She also embraced the Cross in coming to terms with lupus, which had caused her father's early death. His death was for her when she was 15, an experience of embracing the Cross.
As we enter Holy Week we can be overwhelmed by the sheer richness of the liturgy. I have always found it difficult to say anything about or during these days. American writer Flannery O'Connor in the quotation below touches on the inner suffering of some as they struggle to believe in Jesus, something she knew from personal experience. She also embraced the Cross in coming to terms with lupus, which had caused her father's early death. His death was for her when she was 15, an experience of embracing the Cross.
(25 March 1925 - 3 August 1964 [Wikipedia]
Flannery O'Connor grew up as a devout Catholic in Georgia, in the 'Bible Belt' of the USA. In 1951 she was diagnosed with lupus, from which her father had died when she was 15. She said of her writings, The stories are hard but they are hard because there is nothing harder or less sentimental than Christian realism. She also wrote, Grace changes us and change is painful. The following quotation reflects this [emphasis added]:
I think there is
no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want
to believe. I know what torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself
anyway, as the process by which faith is deepened. A faith that just accepts is
a child’s faith and all right for children, but eventually you have to grow
religiously as every other way, though some never do. What people don’t realize is how
much religion costs. They think
faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much
harder to believe than not to believe. If you feel you can’t believe, you must
at least do this: keep an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting
it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God.
Source: The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O’Connor [Thanks to Plough]
May Holy Week be a time when each of us can embrace whatever share in the Cross God has in mind for us and may it prepare us to celebrate the Joy and Hope of Easter once again.
World Youth Day 2015
In years when World Youth Day is not a major international gathering it is observed in Rome on Palm Sunday. The Message of Pope Francis for this year's WYD has as its theme Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Mt 5: 8). One quotation from it echoes the words of Flannery O'Connor above:
The Lord’s invitation to encounter him is made to each of you, in whatever place or situation you find yourself. It suffices to have the desire for “a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter you; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day” (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 3). We are all sinners, needing to be purified by the Lord. But it is enough to take a small step towards Jesus to realize that he awaits us always with open arms, particularly in the sacrament of Reconciliation, a privileged opportunity to encounter that divine mercy which purifies us and renews our hearts.
When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.
With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
On all four-footed things.
The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.
Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.
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