Mass of Passion (Palm) Sunday
20 March 2016, 10.30am
St. Macartans Cathedral, Monaghan
Homily
My dear friends,
Today, with the Liturgy of Passion Sunday, we begin our celebrations of Holy Week. It is the most solemn week of worship in the Church’s year. During the ceremonies of this week, we will be challenged once again by the core truths of what we believe and how we live them in our daily lives. So, as we commemorate the life of Jesus Christ, we do so to bring healing and health to our own life.
In re-enacting the warm welcome which Jesus received initially in his entrance to Jerusalem, we are reminded of our birthdays, our christenings, our weddings and our anniversaries. Later in the week, we are offered the food of eternal life to nourish ourselves and our families in the way Jesus taught us. Over the entire week there hangs, as with many of our lives, a cloud of suffering and pain. These bring us contrasting experiences of good and bad which merge into the mystery of death. So the ceremonies of this week encompass all of the great mystery of life and death. Our celebration of the ceremonies of Holy Week will be a barometer to each one of us telling us where we are placed on the dial. It is not a week to be endured; it is an opportunity not to be missed both for ourselves and for our families. May God walk with us, giving us happiness and health.
+Liam S. MacDaid
Bishop of Clogher
