Hosanna!

Happy Palm Sunday! Easter is fast approaching, but before we enter the Triduum, we hear the full passion readings today. When I was younger, I was so excited as the crowds finally acknowledged Jesus for who He is, and I got a toy with the palm branches. As I have grown up, I silently keep the hope that comes with shouting “Hosanna,” which translates to “Save Us,” as I wave my palm. 

The beauty of the Catholic faith is that we are indeed being saved! We are saved by the self-emptying and self-giving love of Jesus. The psalm mentions the utter anguish, feeling abandoned by God that the sacrifice entailed, and the Gospel includes the betrayal, arrest, trial, denial, and ultimately, crucifixion and death. Each of these readings containing intimate details that can draw us closer to Jesus as King, as the Psalm shares that it’s this exact obedience, of death on a cross, that God used to exalt Jesus Christ as Lord.  This same man hides His entire Presence, Soul, and Divinity in the Body and Blood of ordinary bread and wine. The Church teaches that Mass is not a “re-sacrifice” of the Passion but a making present of the one, eternal sacrifice. Christ’s sacrifice, which we read about today and on Good Friday, was offered once for all and remains eternally present before God. This is the same, present and real sacrifice offered through the priest at masses for each of us to become consumed by. We could dive so deeply into this, but for now, let it sink in. Jesus, present and real, silent, and entirely vulnerable in each tabernacle of the world, waiting for us, willing to save us. Just for today, can we become so consumed, and absorbed by the sheer glory of it all? 

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Alexis Abello lives in a small town, where she reflects on her love of the elderly in her work or the beautiful mysteries of Jesus around her. She kindly asks for prayers as she discerns where she is headed in this big, beautiful life.