Download Lent 2022 Booklet
Palm Sunday
April 10, 2022
Luke 19, 28-40
It is easy for me to identify with the story of Jesus because, for most of his life, common things happened to him. This Palm Sunday narrative is no exception. Jesus experienced a common situation for any human being: one day people followed him and the next day no longer. This is the way we human beings are—we go from joy to anger, from acceptance to rejection, from love to hate. Today, as then, it is not easy for us to recognize God in those who think, act or do things differently from us. So, even 2,000 years later, we continue to reject God.
Like the followers described in today’s Gospel, we also fall into the temptation of following Jesus only in his triumphs. When suffering comes, we seek God. But rather than trusting God to guide us through the situation, we ask for quick solutions to avoid pain and suffering. However, as Jesus demonstrated and Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau attested, “The cross is our only hope.”
Pope Francis reminds us that Jesus’ suffering is a priceless expression of love. “He did it to touch the most intimate part of our human reality, to experience all our existence, all our evil. To draw close to us and not leave us alone in our pain. To recover us, to save us. Jesus went up to the cross to descend into our suffering.”
Trusting in this infinite love, let us discover Jesus in those who are closest to us and in those who are rejected, alone and vulnerable. May we ask for the courage to accept them and serve them, as we would God.
Reflection questions
- How do you praise God?
- How do you recognize God on a daily basis?
—Sister Esperanza Jacobo Acevedo, CSC
