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| Fr. John Cusick, Director Young Adult Ministry Office |
One of our Catholic traditions is to bring home a palm branch after Mass on Palm Sunday. The question that follows is: what am I supposed to do with the palm when I bring it home?
Many people tuck it behind a crucifix that hangs in their home. I have done that for most of my life. Behind the image of the cross of Christ, I stick my blessed palm. It is a great contrast, when you think about it. At the beginning of Holy Week, Palm Sunday, we remember that Jesus entered Jerusalem to the roar of the crowd. He was seated on a donkey. There is interesting meaning to that. A horse was symbolic of war and violence; a donkey was symbolic of peace. The crowds, who lined his path, placed palm branches before him, like a carpet of green, and waved them as they cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
The irony is that Jesus left Jerusalem while carrying His cross to be executed outside the city gate. No cheering crowds. On Good Friday, the people jeered Him. How quickly life changes!
So your palm branch behind your cross of Christ is the symbol of that joy and sorrow, those cheers and jeers, the celebration and the suffering, being a part of a crowd and dying alone.
Keep that palm behind your crucifix. And then replace it next Palm Sunday.
Consider praying this prayer as you tuck your palm branch behind your crucifix.
A Prayer for Palms
Lord Jesus, as you entered Jerusalem the people waved palm branches. As you passed by, they placed them on the ground like a carpet of greenery. May this palm remind us of the great celebration and joy your presence has brought to all human life.
These same palms of joy and celebration are destined to become the ashes to be placed on our foreheads in the shape of a cross next Ash Wednesday. So, they symbolize the harshness of life, the pain we will all endure, and the need for penance and discipline in our lives.
May these palms remind us of the ups and downs of life, the good news and the bad, the sin and the grace we will all experience in the year to come. Amen.
If, by chance, you do not have a crucifix in your living space, this is a perfect weekend to go out and buy one. It can even be a little one, if you share your space with others. I keep mine in my bedroom. Below is a short prayer that you can use as you hang your cross of Christ. If you have a crucifix already in your living space, you might wish to use this prayer on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.
The Cross of Christ
May this cross hang proudly in this home. It is a sign of the Faith in Jesus Christ that dwells here.
Lord Jesus, we tend to see a passive, dying Jesus as we look at the cross that hangs in this house. But You were not passive, waiting to die. From the cross You did what You always did, reconciled people to their God, forgave them and invited them into communion with You and the source of Life, whom You called Abba, Your Father. From Your cross you looked at the crowd and said, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.”
Hanging with You was a common criminal who said to You: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." You replied, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
As this cross hangs in this house, may it be a reminder of Your presence here. May it be a reminder of the great love You had for us all “as You breathed Your Last.” May it be a reminder of Your desire for all people to be in communion with Abba, our Father, and with one another.
As we/I look upon this cross, may we/I be reminded of what You told your apostles at that Last Supper: “As I have done, now you must do the same.”
Cross of Christ, bless this home. Amen.
Have a very special Palm Sunday and Holy Week.
May the Lord bless you.
Fr. John Cusick
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