``Where the
Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of
Antioch, 1st c. A.D
Palm Sunday
Today, this "Second Sunday of the Passion," is the memorial of Christ's
"triumphant," but misunderstood, entry into Jerusalem, the day that
begins Holy Week. This entry into Jerusalem -- through the Golden Gate
where His grandparents, St. Joachim
and St. Anne met up when Our Lady was conceived -- is seen
as the prophetic
fulfillment of Zacharias 9:9-10 :
Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem:
BEHOLD THY KING will come to thee, the just and saviour: he is poor,
and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will
destroy the chariot out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem, and
the bow for war shall be broken: and he shall speak peace to the
Gentiles, and his power shall be from sea to sea, and from the rivers
even to the end of the earth.
Before the Mass
is the Blessing of the Palms, which includes an Antiphon, Psalms, and
Gospel reading. Then comes the Procession with hymns, when we carry the
palms either around the church or outside, weather permitting, and then
the Mass, during which there is a very long reading sung in 3
parts by 3 deacons (or priest and deacons such as the case may be) -- a
long recitation of the Passion, including Matthew 26:36-75 and Matthew
27:1-60. Prepare for a very long Mass!
Carrying palms (or olive or willow branches, etc., if palms aren't
available) in procession goes way back
into the Old Testament, where it
was not only approved but commanded by God at the very foundation of
the Old Testament religion. In the fall of the year, after the harvest,
when the people gathered for the Feast of Tabernacles God said in
Leviticus 23:40:
And you shall
take to you on the first day the fruits of the fairest tree, and
branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the
brook: And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God.
Again we read of
palms in the II Machabees 10:6-8:
And they kept
eight days with joy, after the manner of the feast of the tabernacles,
remembering that not long before they had kept the feast of the
tabernacles when they were in the mountains, and in dens like wild
beasts. Therefore they now carried boughs and green branches and palms,
for him that had given them good success in cleansing his place. And
they ordained by a common statute, and decree, that all the nation of
the Jews should keep those days every year.
And in the 7th
chapter of the Apocalypse, we see that those who were "sealed" are seen
by John carrying palms:
Apocalypse
7:9-10:
After this, I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all
nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne
and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands. And they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God,
who sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb.
The palms are
blessed before the High Mass today. Vested in red cope and standing at
the Epistle side of the Altar, the priest recites a short prayer, and
then reads a lesson from the book of Exodus which tells of the children
of Israel coming to Elim on their way to the Promised Land, where they
found a fountain and seventy palm trees. It was at Elim that God sent
them manna.
After a few verses from the New Testament, the priest reads
the story
of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem the Sunday before His death,
and about how the people put palms in the Savior's path and sang
hosannas because, ironically, they expected a temporal victory by the
One they thought would be the great military leader who would conquer
the Romans.
Then we pray, begging God that we may in the end go meet Christ, that
we may enter with Him into the eternal Jerusalem. The following preface
and prayers ask God to bless the palms, that they may be sanctified and
may be a means of grace and divine protection to those who carry them
and treasure them with faith.
The palms are distributed to the people at the Communion rail. The
priest will press the palm against your lips so you can kiss it, and
then kiss his hand. Alternatively, the palms may be handed out by the
altar boys. In any case, Scripture and prayers follow, and then a
procession of clergy, servers, and people through the church or outside
around the church.
Customs
When Mass is
finished, we take the palms home and hang them over crucifixes or holy
pictures (I don't know how universal this is, but an Italian and French
custom is to break off a piece of the palm and, while praying to St. Barbara for relief, burn it in
times of great storms or natural disasters). Another custom is to shape
the palm into Crosses before hanging them (see below). The people of
Italy and Mexico shape palms into extremely elaborate and beautiful
figures. Also, men in some places will wear a piece of it in their hats
or pin it to their lapels, and a piece should also be placed with one's
sick call set.
Some of these same palm branches are saved and burned
the next year to make the ashes for the next Ash Wednesday -- the
palms, which symbolize triumph, and the ashes, which sympbolize death
and penitence, forming a great symbolic connection between suffering
and victory. The next year, when we get new palms, the old palms are
burned and their ashes buried.
In places where palm branches are unavailable, the branches of pussy
willows are used, and vases of them are used to decorate home. Some
will have had them in vases since Ash
Wednesday so they're ready to bloom by this day.
Now, this day has in the past sometimes been called "Fig Sunday"
because just after Christ's entry into Jerusalem, He cursed the fig
tree:
Mark 11:12-14
And the next day when they came out from Bethania, he was hungry. And
when he had seen afar off a fig tree having leaves, he came if perhaps
he might find any thing on it. And when he was come to it, he found
nothing but leaves. For it was not the time for figs. And answering he
said to it: May no man hereafter eat fruit of thee any more for ever.
(also Matthew 21:18-19)
This cursing is
a reference to what would happen to those of Israel who
rejected the Messias, as revealed in this parable:
Luke 13:6-9
He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his
vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. And he said
to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come
seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it done therefore:
why cumbereth it the ground? But he answering, said to him: Lord, let
it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it. And if
happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it
down.
Because of the
cursing of the fig tree, the eating of figs is customary, and here are
a few ways to do so:
Ways to eat
Figs
At this time of year, the figs you get will likely be dried. If they
are, first snip
off any stems, then plump them up by letting them boil in water for 5
minutes or so, and letting them stand in the water until cool. Now,
some options:
1) Slice deep crosses into the tops of 8 oz. of figs and spread open.
Blend together 12 oz. of cream cheese and 4 oz. of Gorgonzola or blue
cheese. Cut crosses into the figs and stuff with the cheese mixture.
Top with a pecan half, chill, and serve cold.
2) Quarter figs. Wrap
each quarter in a thin slice of prosciutto so the prosciutto resembles
a rose. Sprinkle with
fresh lime juice and freshly ground black pepper.
3) Coarsely chop 1/2 cup pecans and mix with 8 oz. cream cheese. Slice
figs in half lengthwise and spoon cheese mixture into each half.
4) Cut a slit into Calimyrna figs and stuff each with a pistachio.
Slice a piece of Canadian-style bacon in half lengthwise. Top the bacon
with a fresh leaf of basil, and wrap both around a fig. Place seam-side
down on a jellyroll pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake
in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until bacon is brown.
The Monday,
Tuesday, and Wednesday following Palm Sunday are another traditional
time of cleaning. Just as the house is cleaned during Advent in
preparation for Christmas, and just as Shrovetide is spent cleaning in
preparation for Lent, these days are spent in preparation of the
greatest Feast of the Church year: the Feast of Easter. By Wednesday
night, the house should be spotless so that the days of the Sacred
Triduum (Holy Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) can be devoted to
Christ's Passion.
Finally, before moving on to how to make palm Crosses, enjoy Bach's
Himmelskönig, sei willkommen (BWV 182), written for Palm Sunday:
How to make palm Crosses to tuck behind
picture frames and hang on your wall
Take a palm that
is about 2 feet long and 1/2" wide (if it tapers at the top, this is
good!). Hold the palm upright, so the tapered end points toward the
ceiling.
Then bend the
top end down and toward you so that the bend is about 5 or 6 inches
from the bottom of the palm.
About a third of
the way from the bend you just made, twist the section you've pulled
down to the right, forming a right angle.
About an inch
and a half away from the "stem" of the cross, bend this arm of the palm
back behind the palm so that it is now facing to your left. Make the
bend at a good length to form the right arm of the Cross.
Folding that
same section at a point that equals the length on the right side, bend
it on the left side and bring the end forward over what is now the
front of the cross.
From the very
center of the Cross, fold that arm up and to the upper right (in a
"northeast" direction) so that it can wrap around where the upright
post of the Cross and the right arm intersect.
Fold this down
and to the left behind the Cross...
...and then fold
it toward the right so that it is parallel and under the transverse
arms of the Cross.
Bring it up
behind the Cross again, this time folding it up toward the "northwest"
direction.
Tuck the tapered
end into the transverse section you made in step 7...
...and pull
through.
Turn the Cross
over; this side will be the front. Trim the tapered end if necessary,
remembering that the palm is a sacramental
and any part you trim away
should be kept and respected as a sacramental! Use that piece for
burning during storms.
Reading
from Dom
Gueranger's "The Liturgical Year"
Eearly in the
morning of this day, Jesus sets out for Jerusalem, leaving Mary His
Mother, and the two sisters Martha and Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus, at
Bethania. The Mother of sorrows trembles at seeing her Son thus expose
Himself to danger, for His enemies are bent upon His destruction; but
it is not death, it is triumph, that Jesus is to receive to-day in
Jerusalem. The Messias, before being nailed to the cross, is to be
proclaimed King by the people of the great city; the little children
are to make her streets echo with their Hosanna to the Son of David;
and this in presence of the soldiers of Rome's emperor, and of the high
priests and pharisees: the first standing under the banner of their
eagles; the second, dumb with rage.
The prophet Zachary had foretold this triumph which the Son of Man was
to receive a few days before His Passion, and which had been prepared
for Him from all eternity. ' Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion! Shout
for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee;
the Just and the Saviour. He is poor, and riding upon an ass, and upon
a colt, the foal of an ass.' Jesus, knowing that the hour has come for
the fulfilment of this prophecy, singles out two from the rest of His
disciples, and bids them lead to Him an ass and her colt, which they
would find not far off. He has reached Bethphage, on Mount Olivet. The
two disciples lose no time in executing the order given them by their
divine Master; and the ass and the colt are soon brought to the place
where He stands.
The holy fathers have explained to us the mystery of these two animals.
The ass represents the Jewish people, which had been long under the
yoke of the Law; the colt, upon which, as the evangelist says, no man
yet hath sat, is a figure of the Gentile world, which no one had ever
yet brought into subjection. The future of these two peoples is to be
decided a few days hence: the Jews will be rejected, for having refused
to acknowledge Jesus as the Messias; the Gentiles will take their
place, to be adopted as God's people, and become docile and faithful.
The disciples spread their garments upon the colt; and our Saviour,
that the prophetic figure might be fulfilled, sits upon him, and
advances towards Jerusalem. As soon as it is known that Jesus is near
the city, the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of those Jews, who have
come from all parts to celebrate the feast of the Passover. They go out
to meet our Lord, holding palm branches in their hands, and loudly
proclaiming Him to be King. They that have accompanied Jesus from
Bethania, join the enthusiastic crowd. Whilst some spread their
garments on the way, others cut down boughs from the palm-trees, and
strew them along the road. Hosanna is the triumphant cry, proclaiming
to the whole city that Jesus, the Son of David, has made His entrance
as her King.
Thus did God, in His power over men's hearts, procure a triumph for His
Son, and in the very city which, a few days later, was to clamour for
His Blood. This day was one of glory to our Jesus, and the holy Church
would have us renew, each year, the memory of this triumph of the
Man-God. Shortly after the birth of our Emmanuel, we saw the Magi
coming from the extreme east, and looking in Jerusalem for the King of
the Jews, to whom they intended offering their gifts and their
adorations: but it is Jerusalem herself that now goes forth to meet
this King. Each of these events is an acknowledgment of the kingship of
Jesus; the first, from the Gentiles; the second, from the Jews. Both
were to pay Him this regal homage, before He suffered His Passion. The
inscription to be put upon the cross, by Pilate's order, will express
the kingly character of the Crucified: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the
Jews. Pilate, the Roman governor, the pagan, the base coward, has been
unwittingly the fulfiller of a prophecy; and when the enemies of Jesus
insist on the inscription being altered, Pilate will not deign to give
them any answer but this: ' What I have written, I have written.'
To-day, it is the Jews themselves that proclaim Jesus to be their King:
they will soon be dispersed, in punishment for their revolt against the
Son of David; but Jesus is King, and will be so for ever. Thus were
literally verified the words spoken by the Archangel to Mary, when he
announced to her the glories of the Child that was to be born of her: '
The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David, His father; and
He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.' Jesus begins His reign
upon the earth this very day; and though the first Israel is soon to
disclaim His rule, a new Israel, formed from the faithful few of the
old, shall rise up in every nation of the earth, and become the kingdom
of Christ, a kingdom such as no mere earthly monarch ever coveted in
his wildest fancies of ambition.
This is the glorious mystery which ushers in the great week, the week
of dolours. Holy Church would have us give this momentary consolation
to our heart, and hail our Jesus as our King. She has so arranged the
service of to-day, that it should express both joy and sorrow; joy, by
uniting herself with the loyal hosannas of the city of David; and
sorrow, by compassionating the Passion of her divine Spouse. The whole
function is divided into three parts, which we will now proceed to
explain.
The first is the blessing of the palms; and we may have an idea of its
importance from the solemnity used by the Church in this sacred rite.
One would suppose that the holy Sacrifice has begun, and is going to be
offered up in honour of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Introit, Collect,
Epistle, Gradual, Gospel, even a Preface, are said, as though we were,
as usual, preparing for the immolation of the spotless Lamb; but, after
the triple Sanctus! Sanctus! Sanctus! the Church suspends these
sacrificial formulas, and turns to the blessing of the palms. The
prayers she uses for this blessing are eloquent and full of
instruction; and, together with the sprinkling with holy water and the
incensation, impart a virtue to these branches, which elevates them to
the supernatural order, and makes them means for the sanctification of
our soul and the protection of our persons and dwellings. The faithful
should hold these palms in their hands during the procession, and
during the reading of the Passion at Mass, and keep them in their homes
as an outward expression of their faith, and as a pledge of God's
watchful love.
It is scarcely necessary to tell our reader that the palms or olive
branches, thus blessed, are carried in memory of those wherewith the
people of Jerusalem strewed the road, as our Saviour made His
triumphant Entry; but a word on the antiquity of our ceremony will not
be superfluous. It began very early in the east. It is probable that,
as far as Jerusalem itself is concerned, the custom was established
immediately after the ages of persecution. St. Cyril, who was bishop of
that city in the fourth century, tells us that the palm-tree, from
which the people cut the branches when they went out to meet our
Saviour, was still to be seen in the vale of Cedron. Such a
circumstance would naturally suggest an annual commemoration of the
great event. In the. following century, we find this ceremony
established, not only in the churches of the east, but also in the
monasteries of Egypt and Syria. At the beginning of Lent, many of the
holy monks obtained permission from their abbots to retire into the
desert, that they might spend the sacred season in strict seclusion;
but they were obliged to return to their monasteries for Palm Sunday,
as we learn from the life of Saint Euthymius, written by his disciple
Cyril. In the west, the introduction of this ceremony was more gradual;
the first trace we find of it is in the sacramentary of St. Gregory,
that is, at the end of the sixth, or the beginning of the seventh,
century. When the faith had penetrated into the north, it was not
possible to have palms or olive branches; they were supplied by
branches from other trees. The beautiful prayers used in the blessing,
and based on the mysteries expressed by the palm and olive trees, are
still employed in the blessing of our willow, box, or other branches;
and rightly, for these represent the symbolical ones which nature has
denied us.
The second of to-day's ceremonies is the procession, which comes
immediately after the blessing of the palms. It represents our
Saviour's journey to Jerusalem, and His entry into the city. To make it
the more expressive, the branches that have just been blessed are held
in the hand during it. With the Jews, to hold a branch in one's hand
was a sign of joy. The divine law had sanctioned this practice, as we
read in the following passage from Leviticus, where God commands His
people to keep the feast of tabernacles: And you shall take to you, on
the first day, the fruits of the fairest tree, and branches of
palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and
you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. It was, therefore, to
testify their delight at seeing Jesus enter within their walls, that
the inhabitants, even the little children, of Jerusalem, went forth to
meet Him with palms in their hands. Let us, also, go before our King,
singing our hosannas to Him as the conqueror of death, and the
liberator of His people.
During the middle ages, it was the custom, in many churches, to carry
the book of the holy Gospels in this procession. The Gospel contains
the words of Jesus Christ, and was considered to represent Him. The
procession halted at an appointed place, or station: the deacon then
opened the sacred volume, and sang from it the passage which describes
our Lord's entry into Jerusalem. This done, the cross which, up to this
moment, was veiled, was uncovered; each of the clergy advanced towards
it, venerated it, and placed at its foot a small portion of the palm he
held in his hand. The procession then returned, preceded by the cross,
which was left unveiled until all had re-entered the church. In England
and Normandy, as far back as the eleventh century, there was practised
a holy ceremony which represented, even more vividly than the one we
have just been describing, the scene that was witnessed on this day at
Jerusalem: the blessed Sacrament was carried in procession. The heresy
of Berengarius, against the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist,
had been broached about that time; and the tribute of triumphant joy
here shown to the sacred Host was a distant preparation for the feast
and procession which were to be instituted at a later period.
A touching ceremony was also practised in Jerusalem during to-day's
procession, and, like those just mentioned, was intended to commemorate
the event related by the Gospel. The whole community of the Franciscans
(to whose keeping the holy places are entrusted) went in the morning to
Bethphage. There, the father guardian of the holy Land, being vested in
pontifical robes, mounted upon an ass, on which garments were laid.
Accompanied by the friars and the Catholics of Jerusalem, all holding
palms in their hands, he entered the city, and alighted at the church
of the holy sepulchre where Mass was celebrated with all possible
solemnity.
This beautiful ceremony, which dated from the period of the Latin
kingdom in Jerusalem, has been forbidden for now almost two hundred
years, by the Turkish authorities of the city.
We have mentioned these different usages, as we have doneothers on
similar occasions, in order to aid the faithful to the better
understanding of the several mysteries of the liturgy. In the present
instance, they will learn that, in to-day's procession, the Church
wishes us to honour Jesus Christ as though He were really among us, and
were receiving the humble tribute of our loyalty. Let us lovingly go
forth to meet this our King, our Saviour, who comes to visit the
daughter of Sion, as the prophet has just told us. He is in our midst;
it is to Him that we pay honour with our palms: let us give Him our
hearts too. He comes that He may be our King; let us welcome Him as
such, and fervently cry out to Him: 'Hosanna to the Son of David!'
At the close of the procession a ceremony takes place, which is full of
the sublimest symbolism. On returning to the church, the doors are
found to be shut. The triumphant procession is stopped; but the songs
of joy are continued. A hymn in honour of Christ our King is sung with
its joyous chorus ; and at length the subdeacon strikes the door with
the staff of the cross; the door opens, and the people, preceded by the
clergy, enter the church, proclaiming the praise of Him, who is our
resurrection and our life.
This ceremony is intended to represent the entry of Jesus into that
Jerusalem of which the earthly one was but the figure--the Jerusalem of
heaven, which has been opened for us by our Saviour. The sin of our
first parents had shut it against us; but Jesus, the King of glory,
opened its gates by His cross, to which every resistance yields. Let
us, then, continue to follow in the footsteps of the Son of David, for
He is also the Son of God, and He invites us to share His kingdom with
Him. Thus, by the procession, which is commemorative of what happened
on this day, the Church raises up our thoughts to the glorious mystery
of the Ascension, whereby heaven was made the close of Jesus' mission
on earth. Alas l the interval between these two triumphs of our
Redeemer are not all days of joy; and no sooner is our procession over,
than the Church, who had laid aside for a moment the weight of her
grief, falls back into sorrow and mourning.
The third part of to-day's service is the offering of the holy
Sacrifice. The portions that are sung by the choir are expressive of
the deepest desolation; and the history of our Lord's Passion, which is
now to be read by anticipation, gives to the rest of the day that
character of sacred gloom, which we all know so well. For the last five
or six centuries, the Church has adopted a special chant for this
narrative of the holy Gospel. The historian, or the evangelist, relates
the events in a tone that is at once grave and pathetic; the words of
our Saviour are sung to a solemn yet sweet melody, which strikingly
contrasts with the high dominant of the several other interlocutors and
the Jewish populace. During the singing of the Passion, the faithful
should hold their palms in their hands, and, by this emblem of triumph,
protest against the insults offered to Jesus by His enemies. As we
listen to each humiliation and suffering, all of which were endured out
of love for us, let us offer Him our palm as to our dearest Lord and
King. When should we be more adoring, than when He is most suffering?
These are the leading features of this great day. According to our
usual plan, we will add to the prayers and lessons any instructions
that seem to be needed.
This Sunday, besides its liturgical and popular appellation of Palm
Sunday, has had several other names. Thus it was called Hosanna Sunday,
in allusion to the acclamation wherewith the Jews greeted Jesus on His
entry into Jerusalem. Our forefathers used also to call it Pascha
Floridum, because the feast of the Pasch (or Easter), which is but
eight days off, is to-day in bud, so to speak, and the faithful could
begin from this Sunday to fulfil the precept of Easter Communion. It
was in allusion to this name, that the Spaniards, having on the Palm
Sunday of 1513, discovered the peninsula on the Gulf of Mexico, called
it Florida. We also find the name of Capitilavium given to this Sunday,
because, during those times when it was the custom to defer till Holy
Saturday the baptism of infants horn during the preceding months (where
such a delay entailed no danger), the parents used, on this day, to
wash the heads of these children, out of respect to the holy chrism
wherewith they were to be anointed. Later on, this Sunday was, at least
in some churches, called the Pasch of the competent,, that is, of the
catechumens, who were admitted to Baptism; they assembled to-day in the
church, and received a special instruction on the symbol, which had
been given to them in the previous scrutiny. In the Gothic Church of
Spain, the symbol was not given till to-day. The Greeks call this
Sunday Baïphoros, that is, Palm-bearing.