“Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear.”
Isaiah 50:4


After all the weeks of Lent and preparation, we come to the heart of who we are and what it means to be a Christian. This is Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.

Today’s events, and the events of Holy Week soon to follow, are as meaningful now as they were 2,000 years ago. We recognize that God is inviting us to be transformed: to pass from death to new life. This is the week we say “Yes, Lord. I am ready.”

I know that for some of us the traditional liturgies and celebrations of Holy Week will be compromised. Whether we express our faith privately at home or in safe groups, Holy Week represents the core of our faith. What we remember is Christ giving himself up totally for us—and calling us to give ourselves up for one another.

Today we receive the palm, which the crowds waved as they welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. Later this week we will celebrate the Last Supper and the gift of the Eucharist, the lasting presence of God among us. Then on Good Friday we will recite the Stations of the Cross, remembering the suffering and death of Our Lord. As we experience the promise of Holy Week, now is a good time to focus on forgiveness—for ourselves and one another—and on acts of charity that heal. We do both by responding to God’s call to love and serve one another freely and without measure. As missioners, there is no holding back.

Friend, when we turn to God for help, it will be as Isaiah says: The Lord will open our ears, we will be called, and we will hear. May you have a blessed Holy Week in preparation for the greatest feast day of all, Easter Sunday.