Hosanna

Palm Sunday of Our Lord's Passion, Saint Louis IX Church, Gallipolis.

(I'm photo shy during liturgies, but I will bite the bullet for some of the liturgies this week. Andrew has a team of professional photographers, being the urbanite that he is, but alas, it is only me in Ohio with my fuss-free camera.)

There should be a processional cross on that metal stand, but alas, I had not replaced it yet.

Try to ignore the banner of imperialism. It won't disappear till Thursday. sigh.

The Epistle from today's liturgy:

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this,
God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:6-11)

One of the lines of this canticle sums up my experience this Lent: and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Often, the focus of this passage is the death of Jesus. This Lent, I have meditated on the obedience of Jesus. Imagine the cost of obedience being death! I cannot. But this is what we are called to do. Christ's obedience meant death for him; our obedience means life for us.

As we enter this Holy Week, now, more than ever this Lent, we really live the mysteries of our redemption. The saints have bowed low and hidden their eyes, and we wander, blindly, the way of the Cross with nothing tactile to guide us. So we rely on the words of the liturgy, vividly painting for us pieces of the mystery, till at last on Saturday all of the pieces come together.

This week I will be focusing on the words of the liturgy, with the obligatory photos, of course. But I invite you to join me in the words of the rites this week, as we journey with Jesus through his Passion, listening.

Pax et bonum.