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Palm Sunday of the Lord’s
Passion

The Entry into Jerusalem
<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032424.cfm">MK 11:1-10 or Jn 12:12-16</a> 
(The Gospel at the Procession with Palms) 
When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you, 'Why are you doing this?' reply, 'The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.'" So they went off and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street, and they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They answered them just as Jesus had told them to, and they permitted them to do it. So they brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks over it. And he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032424.cfm"> IS 50:4-7 PS 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24. </a><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032424.cfm">PHIL 2:6-11</a>


The Lord’s Passion
<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032424.cfm">MK 14:1-15:47 or 15:1-39</a>
[Short
form printed here]
 
As soon as morning came, 
the chief priests with the elders and the
scribes, 
that is, the whole Sanhedrin held a council. 
They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him
over to Pilate. 
Pilate questioned him, 
"Are you the king of the Jews?" 
He said to him in reply, "You say so." 
The chief priests accused him of many things. 
Again Pilate questioned him, 
"Have you no answer? 
See how many things they accuse you of." 
Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate
was amazed. 
 
Now on the occasion of the feast he used to
release to them 
one prisoner whom they requested. 
A man called Barabbas was then in prison 
along with the rebels who had committed murder
in a rebellion. 
The crowd came forward and began to ask him 
to do for them as he was accustomed. 
Pilate answered, 
"Do you want me to release to you the king
of the Jews?" 
For he knew that it was out of envy 
that the chief priests had handed him over. 
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd 
to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 
Pilate again said to them in reply, 
"Then what do you want me to do 
with the man you call the king of the
Jews?" 
They shouted again, "Crucify him." 
Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he
done?" 
They only shouted the louder, "Crucify
him." 
So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, 
released Barabbas to them and, after he had
Jesus scourged, 
handed him over to be crucified. 
 
The soldiers led him away inside the palace, 
that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole
cohort. 
They clothed him in purple and, 
weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. 
They began to salute him with, "Hail, King
of the Jews!" 
and kept striking his head with a reed and
spitting upon him. 
They knelt before him in homage. 
And when they had mocked him, 
they stripped him of the purple cloak, 
dressed him in his own clothes, 
and led him out to crucify him. 
 
They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, 
a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, 
the father of Alexander and Rufus, 
to carry his cross. 
 
They brought him to the place of Golgotha 
—which is translated Place of the Skull — 
They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, 
but he did not take it. 
Then they crucified him and divided his garments 
by casting lots for them to see what each should
take. 
It was nine o'clock in the morning when they
crucified him. 
The inscription of the charge against him read, 
"The King of the Jews." 
With him they crucified two revolutionaries, 
one on his right and one on his left. 
Those passing by reviled him, 
shaking their heads and saying, 
"Aha! You who would destroy the temple 
and rebuild it in three days, 
save yourself by coming down from the
cross." 
Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, 
mocked him among themselves and said, 
"He saved others; he cannot save himself. 
Let the Christ, the King of Israel, 
come down now from the cross 
that we may see and believe." 
Those who were crucified with him also kept
abusing him. 
 
At noon darkness came over the whole land 
until three in the afternoon. 
And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud
voice, 
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" 
which is translated, 
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?" 
Some of the bystanders who heard it said, 
"Look, he is calling Elijah." 
One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put
it on a reed 
and gave it to him to drink saying, 
"Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take
him down." 
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 
 
Here all kneel and pause for a short time. 
 
The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from
top to bottom. 
When the centurion who stood facing him 
saw how he breathed his last he said, 
"Truly this man was the Son of God!"

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MEET OUR EXTENDED FAMILY

Bl. Diego Luis de San Vitores and St. Pedro Calungsod (Feast Day April 2)

1627 – 1672, 1654 – 1672

Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores was a Jesuit missionary who was granted permission to serve in the Philippines. As he was making his way there, the ship carrying him stopped in Guam and Fr. Diego Luis vowed to return there. He arrived in Guam in 1668 along with Pedro Calungsod and a group of Jesuit missionaries and lay assistants from the Philippines. Fr. Diego Luis believed that young men, strong in their faith like Calungsod, would be helpful in influencing the youth. The Jesuit missionaries only chose those catechists and assistants who were outstanding models of Christian life to accompany them on their missions. Calungsod, a native of the Philippines, was in his late teens when he came to Guam. In 1669, Fr. Diego Luis established the first Catholic church in Guam.

After the death of a friendly local chief who had supported the missionaries, members of the Chamorro (an indigenous tribe) rose against the missionaries. Fr. Diego Luis and Pedro Calungsod were both martyred on April 2, 1672. After the murders, the Christian Faith spread quickly throughout Guam. Blessed Diego Luis was beatified in 1985 by Pope John Paul II, and St. Pedro Calungsod was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

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TAKE TIME TO CHAT

· What strikes you when you hear the story of the Lord’s Passion?

· The soldiers beat Jesus and made fun of him. How do you think that made Jesus feel?

· What would it have been like to be Simon of Cyrene?

· In what way do the saints who have died for their faith imitate Christ?

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FAMILY FUN

Visit a Cemetery

In the long-form of today’s Gospel, Jesus is laid in a tomb. Visit a local cemetery to pay respect for the faithfully departed. Visit someone you know personally or someone else for whom you can offer prayers. Clean up the gravesite and offer this prayer for them: Eternal rest grant to him/her, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him/her. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

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RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Stuffed Red Peppers

As you prepare this meal, reflect on how the veil of the sanctuary was torn from top to bottom.

4 large red peppers

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 lb. ground sirloin

1 chopped Vidalia onion

2 cups cooked rice

2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 8oz. can tomato paste

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley

1-2 cups shredded mozzarella

Heat oven to 350 F. Cut peppers in half from the top to the bottom, removing the stem and seeds. Rinse. Put them in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove and dry. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the onion and garlic in vegetable oil for 3 minutes. Then, add beef, parsley, garlic salt and pepper and brown. Drain any fat. Stir in the cooked rice, tomatoes and paste. Cook for 2 minutes. Lay the peppers down in a 9 x 13 baking pan. Stuff the mixture into each half. Put the remaining mixture around the peppers. Cover with foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Uncover. Cover the top with mozzarella and bake for 15 minutes without foil on. Enjoy!

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FAMILY PRAYER

Prayer before a Crucifix

Listen and reflect on the African Spiritual, Were You There. You should be able to find the song on YouTube or wherever you stream music. When you are done, pray this prayer in front of a crucifix in your home:

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus,

While before your face I humbly kneel

And with burning soul, pray and beseech you,

To fix deep in my heart,

Lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity,

True contrition for my sins

And a firm purpose of amendment.

While I contemplate with great love and tender pity,

Your five most precious wounds,

Pondering over them within me,

And calling to mind the words that David, your prophet, said of you, my Jesus,

"They have pierced My hands and feet, They have numbered all my bones."

Amen.

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LITURGY LINK

Red is the liturgical color for Palm Sunday. Where do you see red at Mass today?

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FAMILY CHALLENGE

Pray the Stations of the Cross as a family or attend the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion at your parish.

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FUN FACTS

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowd spreads cloaks on the road before him. To spread cloaks on the road was an ancient gesture of homage before a newly crowned king.

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EXPLORE THE SUNDAY GOSPEL

MEET OUR EXTENDED FAMILY

TAKE TIME TO CHAT

FAMILY FUN

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

FAMILY PRAYER

LITURGY LINK

FAMILY CHALLENGE

FUN FACTS

Share how you used 52Sundays #52Sundays