Week 113

Positive post Sunday, April 14, 2019- Week 113. 

Today is not just another day during spring break where kids and young adults get time off from school and unwind in many celebratory ways.  Today marks one week until Michele and I can have ice cream again.  We both gave up ice cream up for Lent.  Those who know us well know that this has been quite a sacrifice!  Perhaps slightly less of a sacrifice for me than giving up cycling, but that wouldn’t be healthy😊

On a more serious note, today is a very important day for all Christians.  It’s Palm Sunday, the final Sunday of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week.  Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem, days before he was crucified.  Have you ever wondered what the palms signify?  Palm branches were considered symbols of victory and triumph at the time, and Jesus’ followers spread them at his feet as he was coming back to Jerusalem.  

The tradition of blessing and distributing palms on Palm Sunday has continued in many Christian churches throughout the world to this day.  Palms are blessed by a priest and handed out to all those attending Mass on Palm Sunday.  Some receiving palms shape them into crosses like the ones in the photos below, signifying and recognizing that Jesus would soon make the ultimate sacrifice of being crucified for us before rising on Easter Sunday.  Have you ever wondered what happens to all the unused palms?  Since they have all been blessed by the priest, they are holy.  With that status, it wouldn’t be appropriate to simply throw them away.  Therefore, some churches hold the palms until the next year, where they are burned to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent when we are reminded of the importance of turning away from sin and following the holy word of Jesus.

I wish all my fellow Christians a blessed and reflective Holy Week as we prepare for Easter, the joyous resurrection of Jesus.