Dominica II Passionis seu In Palmis

LESSON: Sharing the triumph means sharing the Cross

Today begins the Holiest week in the Church’s calendar, and as always we begin it with a liturgy that seems to contradict itself. We hear the Gospel of Our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and we follow it with the uniquely Roman liturgical tradition of reading the Passion of Our Lord.

We might also ask why it is that Our Lord chose to make such a triumphal entry, after all, is he not the perfect exemplar of humility? Of course, when we look through the eyes of faith, there is no contradiction. Our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which seems so out of character for Him, is done not for His sake, it’s not to build Himself up, but is a sign to us that His ultimate triumph is about to take place, and as we read the account of His Passion, we see that triumph lived out. Our Lord’s triumph is the Cross!

The Cross is Our Lord’s throne, from which he triumphs over sin and death forever, and if we want to be sharers in that triumph, then we need to be sharers in the Cross as well. In this Our Lord provides us with the perfect example of how we are to bear our crosses.

When he was arrested in the garden, he did not run as the Apostles did, he accepted His fate willingly. When he was falsely accused and slandered He did not refute the claims. When handed the Cross, He willingly bore its weight, until He was utterly exhausted. When He was mocked by the soldiers, and by those who passed by the Cross, He did not return insult for insult. When He was beaten and spat upon He willingly accepted it.

Our Lord, who deserved none of this endured all of it for our sake, to free us from sin, and to give us an example to follow. So as we meditate on Our Lord’s suffering today and throughout this week, we need to ask ourselves how well we embrace the crosses that are placed on our shoulders.

ILLUSTRATION: The Holy Franciscan’s struggle

The lives of saints and other holy men and women provide us with plentiful examples of those, who just like us, were burdened with crosses, and by the grace of God, chose to embrace them rather than shirk them.

It’s recorded in the chronicles of St. Francis that there was once a gentleman who held a high position in the world. He was immensely rich, but all of the world’s treasures did not make him happy, because he feared losing his soul.

He finally made the decision to bid farewell to his friends, leave all his property to his heirs, and join the Order of St. Francis. At first, everything went well enough; he felt great fervour and devotion in practicing the Holy Rule, and in the penances imposed upon him. However, as time went on his fervour began to cool, and he no longer found the same sweetness in saying his prayers or in the penances and other pious works.

This went on for some time without any change, until finally, he could not bear it any longer. The Devil began to tempt him with the thought of leaving the monastery altogether and returning to the world. One day the temptation was so strong that he made up his mind to go back, but as he was leaving the monastery he had to pass by a crucifix, which was near the gate. When he saw it he knelt down to say a prayer, almost out of habit, and when he had finished he saw out of the corner of his eye, Our Lord and the Blessed Mother standing next to him.

Our Lord said to him, “My son, why are you going away, and why are you so soon to give up the good work you have so well begun?” He answered, “O my God, forgive me! I had been accustomed, when I was in the world, to live so comfortably that I am not able to bear up with the hard privations which my rule requires of me.”

Our Lord then showed him the wound in His Sacred Side and comforted him saying, “My son, bring hither your hand as Thomas did, and put it into this wound, and you will draw from it so much strength and courage that from this time forward, you will find no difficulty in fulfilling your holy rule.”

He obeyed and the vision disappeared. He remained in the monastery for the rest of his life, and whenever any temptation came, or whenever he felt any difficulty in performing any duty, he had recourse to prayer, and the difficulty at once disappeared.

Do we bear our crosses willingly or reluctantly? Do we ask God for the help of his grace to bear our crosses? Do we truly desire to share in the triumph of Christ, and are we willing to do what it takes?

APPLICATION: Looking at the crucifix

Today, Our Lord enters triumphant into Jerusalem to go to His Glory on the throne of the Cross. The crowds cheer him, they throw palm branches to make a carpet for His entry, they wave olive branches to salute his arrival. How are we welcoming Him?

If we wish to welcome Him triumphantly into our hearts then we need to share in His Cross. We need to throw our anger, our selfishness, our fear, all of our self-centeredness at His feet so that they can be trodden down into the dust. We need to wave the olive branches of interior peace, especially in the midst of sufferings.

This week, as we remember Our Lord’s Passion and Death, it is an excellent time to focus our prayerful attention on the Cross. Hopefully, we all have a crucifix at home, if not, or if you’d like something a little less sanitized than our crucifixes usually are, then I’ve placed a link in the description to a more severe, and perhaps more realistic, image of the Crucified Christ.

Looking at the Crucifix, let us ask Our Lord for the grace to embrace our crosses, so that we can share in His triumph by sharing in His Passion.