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Palm
Sunday My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Very recently, I spoke to a Vietnamese couple whom I have known for a long time. Our conversation turned to the time they escaped from Vietnam more than twenty years ago. Even though I had heard their story before, this recent conversation reminded me of the great risks and sufferings people made to attain freedom. It reminded me of their bravery and their faith. This re-telling of their story was most important and helpful to them and to me. In a similar fashion, the Church today reminds you and me of the most important moment in human history. The proclamation of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus is not just a recollection of the past. It is a reminder and a call to live our Catholic faith more fully today. We who have been gifted by God with faith in Jesus must never let our faith become only a remembrance or only a recollection of our childhood practices. Rather, we must acknowledge the reality of the present moment so that, in fact, we become witnesses of God’s goodness and love. We live our faith properly only when we are in a true and meaningful relationship with God. This means that the Good News of Jesus is received by us and our daily lives are conformed to the Will and the plan of Almighty God. God’s plan for all of us is that we might have eternal life with Him in heaven. It is for this very reason that Almighty God, our loving Father, sent His Son Jesus to save us. By His life, death and resurrection, Jesus has redeemed us. He Who is the eternal God truly sacrificed Himself for us. Now, we are no longer doomed because of sin. But because of the redemption which Jesus has accomplished, we can overcome sin. We are able to live a life of truth, of justice, of mercy and of love. By reading the Passion according to Saint Mark in today’s Mass, the Church reminds us of the suffering and death of Jesus for our sake. It reminds us that God loves us to much that he sent His Son Jesus to save us. It reminds us that we are called by God to resist temptation, to repent of our sins, to change our way of life. Basically, the Church is challenging us to live the fullness of our Catholic faith. To do this, our daily decisions and actions must be governed by our beliefs. As parents, as children, as citizens and as visitors, we live according to the teachings of Jesus. Obedience to the teachings of Jesus, as presented in the Bible through the holy Catholic Church, is the surest and most effective way for us to attain eternal salvation with God. The sacramental life which Jesus instituted and entrusted to His Church gives us guidance and direction. Through the sacraments we share in the grace and love of God. Through the sacraments, God is truly with us. We call today Passion Sunday because it focuses our attention on the passion and death of Jesus. We also call it Palm Sunday because we commemorate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem prior to His passion, death and resurrection. For us gathered here in faith at Our Lady’s Cathedral today, the blessed palm branches and the proclamation of the Passion is a reminder that God loves us totally and completely. It is an invitation to each of us to renounce sin which caused the Passion of Christ. It is a challenge to us to live our Catholic faith fully. It is an opportunity that enables us to prepare for the eternal life Jesus has made possible for us. Look at the blessed palm branch you have received. And look at the Cross on which Jesus died for us. And be assured of God’s love and love Him in return now and always! Most Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran |