“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Luke 19)

The crowds that gathered to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem proclaimed him as “the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” He truly is a king, but not the kind of king that many have been expecting. He marches, not to war, but to the cross; he fights, not with swords and armies, but with the weapons of faith, hope, and love. In the Liturgy of Palm Sunday, we welcome him with palms, not swords, as a sign that we welcome him into our hearts and lives. To all those who welcome him, Jesus comes to reign in their hearts and offers salvation, forgiveness of sins, new life and a loving relationship with him and with his heavenly Father.

The Sacred Triduum
In this most holy of weeks, we celebrate with special solemnity those events through which Jesus became our king, our Lord and Savior. It is only once a year that we have the opportunity to celebrate in such a special manner these events that are the source of our salvation. The Sacred Triduum includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil. Each Liturgy is unique and only celebrated once a year. Each one focuses on a different aspect of the Pascal Mystery, but it is all one mystery of Faith: the Dying
and Rising of Jesus.

Please try to attend all or any of these that you can.
Also, wear the color that matches the theme of each liturgy: Holy Thursday is White; Good Friday is Red; Easter is White. In celebrating these liturgies in great detail, we are not living events that happened in the past, for they are in the past. Rather, these liturgies help us celebrate the mystery of those events. “They
celebrate not what once happened to Jesus, but what is now happening among us as a people called to conversion, gathered in faith, and gifted with the Spirit of holiness. They celebrate God’s taking possession of our hearts at their deepest core, recreating us as a new human community… (From “Three Days of Pascha,” Nathan Mitchell, in Assembly; Volume 18:1c. Notre Dame Center for Liturgy,
Notre Dame, IN; as reprinted in the Ordo for the Diocese of San Diego.) The Passion of the Lord dominates these solemn days. Thus as is customary, we have covered the crucifix in the sanctuary with a red or purple cloth, to help us focus on the whole passion event, not just the cross.