Reflection on Palm Sunday

     Palm Sunday is one of those times in the church year that we so easily experience mixed emotions and during this time of shelter at home even more emotional.  We Hear the Gospel reading with Jesus riding on his way to Jerusalem.  As he approaches the village where he and his disciples will observe their last supper together, the people spread their cloaks on the ground, and all the disciples praise God with joy.  It is a happy occasion with celebration.  The second Gospel reading tells another story: The Passion and Death of Jesus.  With this reading we see what began so joyously is now filled with sadness, pain, and sorrow.  But stop right there for a moment.  Instead of see sadness, pain and sorrow, we also need to remember why Jesus went through all the pain and the terrible death.  Jesus died because He loves us.  That love for each and everyone of us should bring us a deep joy. 
     AND perhaps it should also bring us a powerful sense of awe during this time of retreat at home. 
     Jesus' triumphant ride and the joy of the disciples is quite a contrast to what Isaiah tells us: "I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard, my face I did not shield from buffets, and spitting" (Isa 50:6).  Jesus bravely faced everything with courage, knowing the Father was with him.  In the garden Jesus prayed to his father to save him from what he knew was his end, but he also said, "Still, not my will but yours be done."
     The passion is a concrete description of the immense love that is ours for the taking.  Luke's account of the passion is more personal than the accounts of the other evangelist.  Think of Simon of Cyrene and also the women who accompained Jesus as he carried the cross to his death.  Simon helped to carry the cross with Jesus.  Notice that it is simon and not Matthew or James or John the Beloved or Peter.  And the women cried out in pain for him. 
     For us Palm Sunday is a preparation for us for the rest of the most solemn days of this week.  Even though we can't make the Holy Week services, we can spend some time thinking of what we have heard today and of how we can be more forgiving and loving.  We can watch them on TV and Youtube.  But even more than that we can reflect on the great love that is ours.  I find great solace in the words being used as a motto for our State: "In This Together Ohio."  It is a popular phrase that goes back far in time.  Lincoln used similar words in his Second Inaugural Address when he wanted to "bind up the nation's wounds, to care for each other especially the widow and orphan and bring peace among ourselves and other nations."  It sounds biblical and a goal for all of us in Ohio and across the world.  May God bless you all and keep you safe.  Remember wash your hands. 
                                               Love and Peace Fr. Dwayne McNew






 

Please see to the right Father McNew's Building Campaign Letter

"Growing in the Spirit Building for the Future"

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Mass Schedule 
Beginning Sunday September 15, 2019

Tuesday Holy Hour 5:00 p.m.
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Parish School of Religion and Youth Ministry:

Classes for Grades 1-3 are on
    Sundays 10:15-11:15 AM, 
    beginningSeptember 15, 2019. 

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   Wednesdays 6:45-8 PM,
   beginning September 18, 2019. 

Confirmation Class for Grade 8 is on
   Sundays 7:15-8:15 PM 
   beginning September 15, 2019.

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