Palm Sunday
Once again we stand at the threshold of Holy Week, the most sacred time of the Liturgical Year. How many times have we heard the story? We know how it begins; a donkey ride and palms and joyous shouts of "Hosanna!" We know the middle; gut wrenching, heart breaking, fear, denial, and death. And even though we know the glorious and triumphant end there is something that brings us to our knees every year as we contemplate the sacrificial love of Jesus. Whether it's Holy Thursday with the washing of the feet or Good Friday when we move as a whole community to touch the cross, we are transported in time and BECOME part of the story. As we enter Holy Week let's travel through it prayerfully. Father Mike Schmitz has some interesting insight on how we can pray our way through Holy Week:
During Wednesday Morning Scripture Study we were discussing the readings for Mass this weekend, and Norb shared that he wondered who he would be in the Passion story. He wondered if he would be a member of the crowd cheering for Jesus one day and then shouting for his crucifixion a few short days later. Would he be a true believer or just a member of the crowd? And that brings up another way to pray through Holy Week. What if we each placed ourselves in the stories of this week by being one of the characters present and we used our imaginations to see, hear, and feel the scenes and the emotions? It might make this old story seem brand new, and we might gain new insight and greater faith by praying this way. This is actually a form of prayer called, Ignatian Meditation. Josefina sent this link to a Father James Martin video that describes Ignatian Meditation in more detail: