Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, Melozzo da Forli, 1477-82
Basilica della Santa Casa, Loreto, Italy [Web Gallery of Art]
Readings (Jerusalem
Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand,
Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)
After Jesus had said this, he went on
ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached
Bethphage and Bethany at the
hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent
two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to
the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there,
which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why
are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had
told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why
are you untying the colt?”
They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and
put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the
road.
When he came near the place where the road goes down the
Mount of Olives, the
whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all
the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed
is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in
the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in
the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell
you,” he
replied, “if they keep quiet, the
stones will cry out.”
From The Gospel According to St Matthew, [21:1-16] Pasolini, 1964
The music to the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is the Gloria from the Congolese Missa Luba.
Antiphon for The Procession Matthew 21:9
Hosanna
to the son of David;
blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. Hosanna in the highest.
Setting by Thomas Weelkes (1576 - 1623)
University of the Philippines Manila Chorale
Text used in the video:
Hosanna to the Son
of David;
Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna, thou that sittest in the highest heavens!
Hosanna in excelsis Deo!
Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna, thou that sittest in the highest heavens!
Hosanna in excelsis Deo!
Pope Francis celebrated Mass on 14 March 2013 with the
cardinals who had just elected him. The concluding part of his homily gives us
food for reflection and prayer as we enter Holy Week. I have highlighted some of the text.
This
Gospel [Matthew 16:13-19] continues with a situation of a particular kind. The
same Peter who professed Jesus Christ, now says to him: You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross.
That has nothing to do with it. I will follow you on other terms, but without
the Cross. When we journey without the Cross, when we build without the
Cross, when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the
Lord, we are worldly: we may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not
disciples of the Lord.
My
wish is that all of us, after these days of grace, will have the courage, yes,
the courage, to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Lord’s Cross; to
build the Church on the Lord’s blood which was poured out on the Cross; and to
profess the one glory: Christ crucified. And in this way, the Church will go
forward.
My
prayer for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, will grant us this grace: to walk, to build, to
profess Jesus Christ
crucified.
Amen.
While
Pope Francis was speaking at the Mass to the cardinal electors he is speaking
to all of us. There seems to be a certain expectation among many that he will
be some kind of Messiah, that he will get rid of all the Church's problems.
There is only one Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Yes,
there are situations that only a courageous Pope can deal with. But the renewal
of the Church, the conversion of the Church, involves each of us and all of us.
Pope Francis in Palo, Leyte, Philippines
In
his Message for Lent to the people of Buenos Aires in 2013 the then Cardinal Bergoglio wrote: Lent comes to us as a cry of
truth and sure hope, which answers yes, that it is possible not to
put on makeup and draw plastic smiles as if nothing is happening. Yes,
it is possible that everything be made new and different because God continues
to be 'rich in kindness and mercy, always willing to forgive,' and He
encourages us to begin again and again. Today we are again invited to
undertake a paschal journey to Truth, a journey that includes the cross and
renunciation, which will be uncomfortable but not sterile. We are
invited to admit that something is not right in ourselves, in society and in
the Church, to change, to turn around, to be converted.
Further
on Cardinal Bergoglio writes: This Year of Faith we are living is
also an opportunity that God gives us to grow and mature in our encounter with
the Lord who makes Himself visible in the suffering face of so many youth
without a future, in the trembling hands of the forgotten elderly and in the
vacillating knees of so many families that continue to face life without
finding anyone to support them.
As
Archbishop of Buenos Aires he was clearly calling each of his flock to be fully
involved in the life of the Church, not to leave it to the Pope and bishops to
do everything.
And
he concluded his message as he began his new life as Bishop of Rome with a plea: Please,
I ask you to pray for me. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin
look after you.
THE DONKEY
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)
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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