Archbishop, L.a.-area congregants celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, along with Christians around world
From staff and wire reports
Archbishop José H. Gómez and Los Angeles-area Catholics celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in English at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Sunday, commemorating the story of Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem shortly before his crucifixion — and marking the start of Holy Week. They join Christians around Southern California and around the world who marked the launch of Holy Week.
“This is a moment for us to really reflect on the mystery of our redemption — the mystery of God’s love for us,” Gómez said.
On a cool, windy morning, the Mass began outdoors at the Cathedral Plaza in downtown Los Angeles, where the traditional blessing of palm branches was conducted.
The branches represent the story of the crowd that brought palms with them when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. On Sunday, the participants carried palm branches as they returned into the cathedral, a Christian tradition since the fourth century.
“Jesus carried his cross for us and he died for us,” Gómez said. “To set us free to live a new life — to live for God and for the love of our neighbors and families.”
Gomez celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in English at 10 a.m. The Rev. Brian Nunes celebrated the Mass in Spanish at 12:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, thousands of Christian faithful attended Palm Sunday celebrations at Jerusalem’s sacred Mount of Olives as a bloody conflict surges across the region.
Pilgrims waved branches and fronds in the air, items that were placed before Jesus’ feet as he was greeted by cheering crowds during his entrance into Jerusalem, according to the Bible. Earlier Sunday, Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre — revered as the site of Jesus’s crucifixion — also held a service.
The annual celebration came as the Israel-hamas war rages on in Gaza. However, the conflict appeared to have had little effect on the procession, which swelled to a similar size as last year.
“Although there is war, in my impression I don’t feel any kind of tension,” said David Manini, a pilgrim from Italy.
Palm Sunday commemorates the Christian belief in the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, when he was greeted by cheering crowds waving palm branches that they set out on the ground along his path, according to the Bible.
Also known as Passion Sunday, it marks the start of Holy Week. The most sacred week of the Christian year includes the Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus’ crucifixion story and death, and their belief in his resurrection on Easter.
“I’m here because I love Jesus Christ,” said Jennifer Weedon, who traveled form the United States for the occasion.
Since the war erupted, Israel has seen a huge downturn in tourism. The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants from Gaza invaded southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Israel has responded with an air and ground war that has left more than 32,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Meanwhile, at the Vatican, Pope Francis decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, avoiding a strenuous speech at the start of a busy Holy Week that will test his increasingly frail health.
Hobbled by bad knees and persistent respiratory problems, Francis also didn’t participate in the procession of cardinals around the obelisk in the piazza at the start of the Mass. Instead, the 87-yearold pontiff blessed the palm fronds and olive branches carried by the faithful from the altar.
Francis had been expected to deliver a homily halfway through the service and a prepared text had been distributed to journalists. But when an aide presented Francis with his glasses to begin reading, the pope made clear he wouldn’t deliver the remarks, leaving the crowd waiting in silence.
Vatican officials didn’t immediately explain why. The Vatican press office later said the homily was replaced by “a moment of silence and prayer.”
In the biblical Palm Sunday story, a cheering crowd greeted Jesus along the road. Some spread their garments on the ground; others threw down leafy branches they had cut from the fields. In the Gospel of John, they are branches from palms, a tree that symbolized victory and triumph.
In the Gospel of Matthew, people began to shout: “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” The word “Hosanna” was a plea for salvation and an exclamation of adoration.
After the procession, the Bible says Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.
The liturgy typically starts with a blessing of the palms by clergy, followed by a reading of the Passion of Christ, meaning an account of the final events of Jesus’ life.
Some ceremonies in German-speaking countries used to include a figure of Jesus riding a donkey, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The figure is called a “almesel,” or German for “palm donkey,” according to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which on its site recounts how worshippers would lay palms on the ground before the Palmesel during lively processions.
Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land mark Palm Sunday by holding Masses and processions retracing Jesus’ triumphal entry. Worshippers carry palm fronds and olive branches and march from the top of the neighboring Mount of Olives to Jerusalem’s historic Old City, home to holy sites of the three Abrahamic, monotheistic faiths.
In churches around the world, the palms are often taken home by congregants, and some will become ashes for the next Lenten season’s Ash Wednesday, the solemn day of fasting and reflection that signals the start of Christianity’s most penitent season. Ashes can be purchased, but some churches make their own by burning the palms from prior years.