Today is one of the most well-attended Mass days of the year. Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday. Outside of Christmas and Easter, more people come to Palm Sunday Mass than any other. Why? Because the Church is giving something away! Free palms for all! I hope that if we see people at Mass today that we don’t recognize, we will warmly welcome them and make them feel at home. You never know how a kind word and a smile might evangelize someone!
There are some who don’t really care for today’s Mass. Too long, they say. Ugh…we have to stand for the entire reading of the Passion. My feet hurt. The readers are boring. Can’t they hurry; don’t they know there’s a game on TV?! Life is filled with little inconveniences, isn’t it? I wonder how inconvenient it may have seemed to Jesus when he was getting whipped and beaten to a bloody pulp. Or if he thought about how much his feet hurt while he was walking the Via Dolorosa. Or if he bothered to check his sundial every two minutes while he was hanging on the cross. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?
This is a day for us to recall all that He suffered for us. Perhaps if we think of that glorious ride into Jerusalem and the rapidity with which the people turned against him, we can put aside our petty inconveniences for just a moment. Maybe the fact that we will spend an extra 12 minutes at Mass might begin to pale in comparison to the sacrifice He bore for us. When your belly begins to grumble because your coffee and donut fix is a few minutes late, offer it up!
Father, we thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus for us. Help us to remember that all of our sacrifices are small in comparison. Give us the grace to unite all of our sacrifices with His. Amen.
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