Palm Sunday 2019: The Homage of Unconditional Obedience

PALM SUNDAY 2019

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

April 14, 2019

Jesus, I trust in you!

Our Lenten journey for this year began with the story of how the Spirit led Jesus to the desert to be tempted by the devil. There, the intention of the Incarnation was made clear: “That the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil.” He engaged in a spiritual battle with Satan who sought to destroy man by seducing him to sin. Sin, which entered into the world through the disobedience of one man, must be destroyed through the obedience of the Son of God. Christ humbled himself by coming in human likeness and by his obedience until death, death on a Cross.

In the desert, the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth which he would easily give Jesus if only he knelt to worship him. The Lord could have easily received power and glory from the devil but he refused to receive it from him. instead, in the garden, even though he was in so much agony that his sweat became like drops of blood, the Lord knelt and prayed to his Father: “Not my will but yours be done.” In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve refused God the homage of their unconditional obedience. They wanted to be like God by following their own will. They ate the forbidden fruit and through their disobedience, sin entered the world and together with sin entered death. Jesus offered to God what Adam and Eve refused to offer: the homage of unconditional obedience. He, who is God, emptied himself. He took upon himself the opposite direction which Adam and Eve aspired to take. Our parents aspired to be as great as God. Jesus went down to be a slave: “I am among you as one who serves.”

It is in the humiliation of the Cross that the Lord conquered the arrogance of Satan. By the depth of his suffering and humiliation, Jesus ended the reign of sin by invoking upon us the forgiveness of God: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” By enduring the agony of the Cross, Jesus satisfied the demands of justice He atoned for our sins. Thus, he is able to obtain the freedom of Barabbas. The Son of God liberated the criminal by dying in his stead. Rightfully did the thief say: “We have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Because Jesus is without sin, he is able to atone for us. By atoning for our sins, he is able to give the repentant thief the promise: ‘Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

As Jesus was told by Satan to jump from the parapet of the temple, so now, he was dared: “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” But as he refused to jump from the top of the temple, so now he refused to come down from the Cross. He stayed on the Cross until he commended to the Father his spirit. He stayed on the Cross until he breathed his last. And so he glorified God. In doing so, he destroyed the work of the devil. The people who saw the spectacle returned home beating their breasts. By their repentance, they obtained mercy and forgiveness. Jesus brought back to God his prodigal children.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

The Grain of Wheat Falls alone

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

“Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you,” said St. Peter and all the apostles spoke similarly. And yet, as early as the agony in the garden, the disciples already abandoned the Lord. In spite of the fact that Jesus said, “My soul is sorrowful even to death,” the disciples even found the occasion to sleep and to leave Christ alone in his anguish. When the Lord was arrested, “they all left him and fled” including that mysterious young man who ran off naked. It did not take long for Peter to take his words back…he denied the Lord before the cock crowed. From then on, Jesus was alone. He was left alone to be surrounded by his enemies, mocked even by those sentenced to die with him. In the end, Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” His anguished cry tells us that even the Father whom he loved abandoned him? It was a very lonely way to die. He was in the middle of people and yet he was alone.

And yet, the moment he died, the voice of the centurion was heard: “Truly this man was the Son of God.” And then came forward Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger, and also Salome. Then Joseph of Arimathea asked for the Body of Jesus. Also let us not forget Simon the Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who seemed to be known to the writer of the Gospel as believers. And the naked young man? Wait for him on Easter Sunday! When I look at all of these, I could not help but remember what the Lord Jesus said last Sunday: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain. But when it falls and dies, it bears much fruit.” Indeed, Jesus is that grain of wheat that falls alone and dies. He died alone, abandoned by his disciples, forsaken even by his Father. Alone he fell and died. And yet when he died, he bore abundant fruits. The centurion, the women, Joseph of Arimathea, Simon and his sons, the naked young man, the weeping Peter…these were his abundant fruits. 2 Sundays ago, the Lord Jesus said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself.” You and I are here in fulfillment of what the Lord said. You and I are here drawn towards him who was lifted upon the Cross. If it were not for his lifting up, if it were not for his suffering and death, none of us would be here.

And so, as we enter Holy Week, let us make firm our resolve to gather around Jesus. Let us accompany him in his abasement. Let us join him in his sorrow. Let us thank for his love and sacrifice. Let us thank him for calling us to himself. Let this week be unlike all other weeks. Let us keep this week not for ourselves but for him who died for us. Let us not be ashamed of him. Let us not deny him. Instead, let us proclaim to the glory of God the Father: “Jesus Christ is Lord.”   

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Christ's Glory is his Cross

PRAISED BE JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!

The Sanctuary at Passiontide

The sanctuary looks gloomier today on account of the veiling of the crucifixes and sacred images. Once more we are reminded of the proximity of Holy Week. In the old calendar, we used to say that we have entered Passiontide. This means that we begin commemorating the sufferings of our Savior. Therefore, we mourn over his suffering and death. We also mourn for our sins which brought him to suffering.

But for our Lord, the approach of the days of his suffering is not an occasion for sadness. He said: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” What to the world seem to be days of pain and sorrow, to the Lord, these are days of glory. Again, the Lord upsets the thinking of the world. “Glory” means honor, public praise, and fame. Thus, to the world, it would mean popularity and public adulation. But to the Lord, it would mean humiliation and suffering. In other words, the glory of Christ is the Cross.

The Cross is the glory of Christ. It is the way by which he glorifies the Father. it is the way by which he is glorified by the Father. “Son though he was, he learned obedience by what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” The Son of God glorified his Father by obediently accepting even death, death on the Cross. Every living being values its survival.  But when the Lord obeyed his Father unto death, he gave greater importance to his Father than to his own life. He surrendered his will to the will of his Father. He offered his life because he loves the Father. In this way, his death becomes lifegiving. Losing his life, Jesus gave life to the world. He is the grain of wheat that falls to the earth and dies in order to bear much fruit. And he challenges us to imitate him: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world preserves it for eternal life.” St. Teresa of Jesus takes the image of the worm which weaves a cocoon of silk around itself. In this cocoon, the worm dies in order to be transformed into a butterfly. So it is which anyone whose life is hidden in Christ. He dies to his own will and in doing so, he conforms himself to the will of God. He dies to his own self and in doing so, he is transformed into the likeness of Jesus. “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my Father be. The Fath

er will honor whoever serves me.”

The Father honored Jesus by declaring that he is well pleased with the Son whom he loves. Because Jesus humbled himself and obediently accepted death on the Cross, God highly exalted him and gave him a Name which is above all other names. He draws all people to his Son who was lifted up on the wood of the Cross.  If we are to follow Jesus, we are to follow him along the same way of the Cross. If we are to serve him, we will serve him by our self denial. “Therefore, take courage,” says St. Teresa, “Let us…weave this little cocoon by getting rid of our self-love and self-will, our attachment to any earthly thing, and by performing deeds of penance, prayer, mortification, obedience…Let it die; let this silkworm die…And you will see how we see God, as well as ourselves placed in his greatness, as is this little silkworm within its cocoon…When the soul is truly dead to the world, a little white butterfly comes forth.” Jesus was made perfect by what he suffered. In like manner shall we be transformed if we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him.

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Passion Sunday

Passion Sunday at the Holy Family Parish, Roxas District, Quezon City

Thanks to Joseph Onyl for the picture!