Palm Sunday: Meditation on the Antiphons for the Procession with the Palms

“Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. Hosanna in the highest.”

“Six days before the Passover, when the Lord came into the city of Jerusalem, the children ran to meet him; in their hands they carried palm branches, and with a loud voice cried out: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are you, who have come in your abundant mercy!”

“O gates, lift high your heads; grow higher, ancient doors. Let him enter, the king of glory! Who is this king of glory? He, the Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are you, who have come in your abundant mercy!”

- Entrance Antiphons for Palm Sunday

Today begins the most sacred week of the year; it is a week mixed with both profound joy and sorrow. This “Holy Week” is a perfect symbol of our life upon this earth, for the lives of Christians are mixed with joy and sorrow. Before the Week is out, we will have celebrated the institution of the Sacraments of the Priesthood and the Most Holy Eucharist, the bishop shall have blessed the oils and consecrated the Sacred Chrism for use throughout the year, the Elect shall have been initiated into the Church, and we shall have renewed our Baptismal Promises!

Nevertheless, within this week, we shall also see the conspiracy of the Jewish leaders against the Divine Lord Whom they had prayed for and expected for millennia. We shall see the betrayal and denial. With Mary, our hearts will be pierced with the most profound sorrow at the Agony, Scourging, Passion, and Death of Jesus. We may even go so far as to say that this sorrow will overshadow the joys of the week, for it is quite true that the Church cannot give way to rejoicing, so rapt up will She be in sorrowful expectation of the Death and Burial of Christ, until finally on Easter Sunday this joy will break forth.

As we may note from the Antiphons above, however, this day, Palm Sunday, begins with apparent great joy. Let us not be deceived though, for this joy comes through sorrows, and this is what we shall focus upon today. Before embarking upon this meditation, let us consider some features of the Procession with the Palms, along with the rite of blessing them. This procession is the first of the many we shall experience throughout the week, and each of them is marked by unique features and feelings.

Today's procession is one of exultation in Christ's Kingship and focuses especially on His fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning Him. The cross used for the Procession, although veiled, is decorated with palm branches, as is the Sanctuary of the church itself. The palm is the symbol of the triumphant martyr, and Jesus Christ as the seed of the martyrs, is most worthy to have it as one of His symbols, especially attached to the cross. These two signs, the cross and the palm may be seen as the primary symbols of this week, for the cross is the central focus of our meditations, but the palm symbolizes the victory and glory of the cruel Passion. To combine the two then, shows us the triumphant victory of the Cross!

It is appropriate to mix these two feelings together on this day for two reasons. The first reason is to prepare us for the great sorrows of this week. On the Second Sunday of Lent, we saw our Lord manifesting His glory in the Transfiguration in order to prepare them for the horrors of the Passion. It is like this with us, before walking the Passion with our Lord, the Church would have us call to mind His glory, so that we would not forget it in the sorrows of this week.

The second reason is that today is Sunday, and Sundays are always given to the commemoration of the Resurrection. Thus, although the Mass of Palm Sunday contains many penitential and sorrowful elements, the joy of the Resurrection cannot be overlooked. As a sign of triumphant joy, the Faithful are to hold their palm branches during the reading of the Passion, as a reminder that through His Death, Jesus Christ conquered sin and death for us, a feature that will be lacking when the Passion account is read on Good Friday. 

With all of these intentions in mind, let us begin our considerations of this beginning of Holy Week, meditating upon the antiphons, and the rites that accompany them. Within these processions, we shall be walking with our Lord, therefore, we must have an understanding of all the actions and ceremonies we shall participate in. At the principal Mass of the day, it is suitable that there be a Procession into the church in which the Mass will be celebrated. Therefore, the blessing of the palm branches and the reading of the Gospel of the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem should take place in a chapel or other location separate from the church, but within walking distance. 

By going out to this location to begin the Mass of today, we are fulfilling our role within the Passion of Christ, we are a part of the crowd who will crucify Him, for He was crucified because of our sins. Nevertheless, we are also part of the ranks of Christians. Therefore, we may acclaim Him as our king now, in a way impossible for the Jews, and we may make reparation for our sins. 

We, like the crowds, expect our Jesus to come to us and so we go out to meet Him and give Him a triumphant entrance into the Temple. However, how different are the two of us! The crowds go out to proclaim an earthly king, king of a single nation; we go out to proclaim the King of Heaven and Earth, God Himself. The Jewish multitude will guide Jesus into their earthly temple, but we shall walk with our Lord into, "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22)." When the Priest and Deacon and the sacred ministers approach the area where the Liturgy is to begin, let us truly cry "Hosanna to the Son of David!" 

Though the words we use are the same as the Israelites, how different are the meanings! When they call Jesus, "Son of David," and, "King of Israel," they are proclaiming Him as the descendant of David and thus the rightful ruler of the people of Israel. While this is true, they see Him as an earthly ruler. We know, however, know that an earthly ruler cannot reign forever, as was promised by the Lord to David (2 Samuel 7:11-14). However, a ruler from Heaven may possess an eternal kingdom! 

Therefore, as we chant this first antiphon at the approach of the Sacred Ministers, let us see in their persons the Son of David, Jesus Christ. He is present in the person of His Priest, who makes present the saving Mystery whereby He conquers and proclaims His kingship. When we chant this antiphon, let us think not of an earthly kingdom, but let us proclaim Christ as Son of David, the favored one of God. Let us beg Him for salvation, but not the salvation from earthly oppressors as the Jews expected, but salvation from all the evil spirits which seek our eternal ruin! 

Jesus is blessed, because His Divinity conquers the devil, sin, and death through His humanity, and thus we may chant, "who comes in the name of the Lord," for as fully human He may be king, since He bears the blood of David, but as God, He always acts according to the Divine Will (in the name of the Lord). Yet, when we bless the King of Israel, we do not have in our minds the human kingdom of Israel of old, for that kingdom was destroyed. Instead, we are the new Israel; we are the children of God, chosen by Him. Thus, we proclaim Him king now of our souls and invisibly of the entire universe, for, "God has put all things in subjection under his feet (1 Corinthians 15:27)." But we know one day we shall proclaim Him as the visible King of the entire Universe, when all things are completed and He comes to reign at the end of time in glory! 

Let us then sing, "Hosanna in the highest," for all praise is worthy to be given to Christ. As the twenty-four elders in Heaven acclaim, "Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power (Revelation 4:11)." Let us worship Christ with all our souls today and throughout the rest of the week, for He has come to die for our salvation! 

While there is much more we could say, let us move on in our meditations. The other two Entrance Antiphons are to be used as the Priest incenses the altar after the Procession has finished. They speak of the Entrance into the city of Jerusalem. May we again consider the differences though between these two entrances, for the Jews walked with Jesus into the capitol of Judah, proclaiming His Davidic kingship; we have walked with Him into the Heavenly Jerusalem, symbolized by the church, proclaiming His eternal and Divine Kingship. 

These events, we are told, occurred six days before the Passover. The hour has been set since the creation of the world. He has come to the city of Jerusalem. It is only appropriate the Sacrifice for the Redemption of mankind be accomplished in this city, for as our Lord Himself attests, "salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22)." Here it is that the Temple is where sacrifice must be daily offered under the Mosaic Law, yet it will not be there that Jesus will offer His Sacrifice. His Sacrifice transcends the limits of the Law. He must go back to the beginning and repair the sickness that has infested mankind since Adam. Therefore, He shall offer the Sacrifice on Golgotha, the mount traditionally believed to be the burial place of Adam. He comes to Jerusalem, to fulfill all things. First, He must perfect the Mosaic Law, which can only be done in Jerusalem, the center of the Mosaic Law. Then, He shall be the first to go forth from Jerusalem to preach the salvation to all nations, and this shall be accomplished in His Crucifixion, for as He Himself said, "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself (John 12:32)." 

Anxious to join our Lord in these events, let us run spiritually to participate in this first Liturgy of the week. For the first time this week we shall hear the account of the Passion of the Lord. Today we hear it with the idea of Christ's triumph over sin and death; in a few days we shall hear it with the reminder that it was on account of our sins that He died. Today's reading awakens feelings of love and submission to our King; later this week we shall have feelings of love for our Redeemer and repentance for sin. Today we see victory; Friday we shall see humility. Let us then, today, do as St. Andrew of Crete says in the Office of Readings:

"Let us run to accompany him [Jesus] as he hastens toward Jerusalem, and imitate those who met him then, not by covering his path with garments, olive branches or palms, but by doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before him by being humble and by trying to live as he would wish.

"So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him. . . . Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches as we join today in the children's holy song: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel (Second Reading for the Office of Readings for Palm Sunday, emphasis in original)."

We have come this week to Jerusalem, both the earthly and the heavenly. Our final antiphon for the day calls for the gates to be lifted up for the king of glory! These are the heavenly gates, which at the end of the Paschal Mystery, Christ's Ascension, we shall see open to receive the Victor into their realm. Today though, we must open the gates of our hearts, the Jerusalem Jesus wishes to enter into this week. He wants to dwell in us, but He can only dwell within a humble heart, as the Psalm says, "A humble and contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn (Psalm 51:17)." Indeed, it is to the contrite and humble heart that God will show His abundant mercy! 

In his homily for this day, Pope Francis said, "This week, Holy Week, which leads us to Easter, we will take this path of Jesus’ own humiliation. Only in this way will this week be 'holy' for us too! (Emphasis in original)" As we proclaim and rejoice in the victories of Jesus Christ this week, let us remember that they were gained through His humble submission to the Father's will. Let us then, as well, enter into Jesus' humiliations this week. In this way, we shall grow in love for Him and open wide the doors of our hearts! Then He will enter our lives with His abundant mercy, just as He entered Jerusalem to bring mercy to all mankind, and we will be able to eternally sing, "Hosanna in the highest," to Him, the Victor over sin and death!