I am excited! I am pumped! Holy Week is just a few days away and this is my favorite time of the year. Unlike Christmas, which as many of you know, I thoroughly enjoy, Holy Week provides a prayerful atmosphere different from any other time of the Church Year. How can I say it differently or be more emphatic, "Get into it"!

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. What a neat day. Truly a day of contrasts. Beginning with the blessing of Palm we are reminded of Christ the King, Christ in anticipation of his glory. The Palm Blessing and Procession. It is very festive. Red vestments and freshly cut palm branches (or other branches) wave in the air. The procession is more than a mere memory, we actually accompany Jesus. We do so in following the symbol of the Cross which is at the head of the procession; we are led by the priest, a representative of Christ, through the laying on of hands; and we gather as community which embodies the very presence of Jesus. "Where two or three gather in my name, there I am in their very midst".
I used to get bent out of shape if the procession didn't move in an orderly and quiet way. But I have become comfortable with reverent disorganization. After all, they didn't walk in "two's" on the first Palm Sunday. So, sing, wave your palms, greet you fellow parishioner and be filled with the Hosanna atmosphere.

Arriving in the Church and at the altar, we experience a shift - from celebration to sobering sorrow. The Gospel of the Passion is proclaimed in three parts and reminding us of the redemptive suffering of Jesus Christ.

Take your palm home and remember that it is not a superstitious lucky charm. It is a visible sign of the powerful prayer of God's Church which asks for God's blessing upon all the places where you put it. We have faith in the Church and in her prayers.

Our customs have instructed us to place the palm behind a crucifix, a holy image or the like. Palm is a symbol of victory. When you look at the palm throughout the year you should be
reminded of the victory in which you share.

Think about that victory today and in these days before Palm Sunday and Holy Week. May your heart be lifted up.

Hosanna to the son of David!