UPDATED: On Palm Sunday, Bishop opens door to Holy Week with messages of sacrifice, hope
March 27, 2024 at 3:34 p.m.
“As we enter any house through its door, so Jesus enters the ‘house of Holy Week’ through ‘the door’ that is Jerusalem, through the door that is Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday,” said Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., as he celebrated Mass March 24 in St. Mary Parish, Colts Neck.
PHOTO GALLERY: Palm Sunday Mass with Bishop in Colts Neck parish
PHOTO GALLERY: Palm Sunday Mass in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Whiting
Joined at the altar by Father Jeffrey Lee, pastor, Bishop O’Connell said, “As his followers – a community of faith and belief in him -- we Christians enter ‘the door’ with him into the holiest of weeks.”
Commemorating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the Mass began in the narthex where palms were distributed to the parishioners and blessed by the Bishop.
Triumphant Entry
In his homily, Bishop O’Connell described the initial jubilant scene from more than 2,000 years ago during which the crowds were cheering Jesus the King, palm and olive branches thrown before his feet, sung hosannas to the Son of David. But after entering through the door and moving further into the house, “we watch the environment change. We get a different picture and impression.
“Jerusalem is the place where the Scriptures and ancient tradition tells us the great prophets go to die,” the Bishop said. “Soon, in the story of Holy Week, the crowd will turn ugly. The cheers will become jeers. The supporters abandon their palms and thin out. Even the apostles scatter as Jesus walks the path to Calvary. No more hosannas. Only shame, condemnation and spitting. Where did all the ‘glory, laud and honor’ go?”
Bishop O’Connell said that through the “door where we stand in the liturgy today and through which we pass into Holy Week, we see Jerusalem.
“We see the king enter. We witness his Passion. And we suddenly realize that the house looks a bit different than what we first saw and thought,” he said.
“In Jesus Christ, ours is a God who is willing to suffer not only for us but with us,” the Bishop said. “There is no place in our humanity where God is not present, no pit so deep, no moment so dark, no sin so vile, no loneliness so wrenching, no experience so painful that God has not been present there suffering and redeeming us.”
Teaching Moment
Before the Mass, families participated in a palm weave activity – in which they learned how to make palm crosses to help the students better understand Palm Sunday, according to Julia Cullen, parish catechetical leader.
In all about 200 people gathered for the palm weaving that included some 80 students in grades 1-6 who were joined by siblings, family members and volunteers. The weaving instructor was Ann Marie Dayton, a member of the parish since 1995.
Dayton shared that palm weaving was something she had learned from her grandmother and mother and is a childhood custom that she is happy to continue to share with others.
She felt that the students and their families were very receptive to the project, and the students were happy to take their palm crosses to Mass where they were blessed by the Bishop, she added.
Kathy Rumsby found the palm weaving to be a great teaching tool for the children including her 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth enjoyed it,” Rumsby said. “I think an activity like this helps the kids spiritually.
“It takes an abstract concept and makes it more real for them,” she said. “It’s also a social event where we get to be with other parishioners. That was very nice.”
Christine Royal and her daughters Madelyn, 13, and Reagan, 10, enjoyed the palm weaving project. The mother recounted that while making their way into a pew, crosses in hand, a couple sitting behind them admired their handiwork and admitted they had never been successful in their attempts. The two girls took the palms from their new friends and weaved them crosses on the spot.
Steve Rumsby was inspired by the Palm Sunday Mass with the Bishop and remarked, “Holy Week is about revisiting and being refreshed in our beliefs as Catholics.” The message was important in preparing for the rebirth that Easter brings, he said.
“Holy Week is the most important time of the year. We renew our faith and commitment to the Lord,” Royal said. “The Bishop said that Jesus ‘is there for our highest of highs and our lowest of lows.’ That really resonated with the girls, and we talked about it on the way home. You can tell he [Bishop O’Connell] was really speaking from the heart.”
Monitor correspondent Christina Leslie contributed to this story.
PHOTO GALLERY: Palm Sunday Mass with Bishop in Colts Neck parish
Just before the Mass that Bishop O'Connell celebrated on Palm Sunday in St. Mary Church, Colts Neck, families were invited to participate in an intergenerational palm weaving activity. John Batkowski photo
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“As we enter any house through its door, so Jesus enters the ‘house of Holy Week’ through ‘the door’ that is Jerusalem, through the door that is Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday,” said Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., as he celebrated Mass March 24 in St. Mary Parish, Colts Neck.
PHOTO GALLERY: Palm Sunday Mass with Bishop in Colts Neck parish
PHOTO GALLERY: Palm Sunday Mass in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Whiting
Joined at the altar by Father Jeffrey Lee, pastor, Bishop O’Connell said, “As his followers – a community of faith and belief in him -- we Christians enter ‘the door’ with him into the holiest of weeks.”
Commemorating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the Mass began in the narthex where palms were distributed to the parishioners and blessed by the Bishop.
Triumphant Entry
In his homily, Bishop O’Connell described the initial jubilant scene from more than 2,000 years ago during which the crowds were cheering Jesus the King, palm and olive branches thrown before his feet, sung hosannas to the Son of David. But after entering through the door and moving further into the house, “we watch the environment change. We get a different picture and impression.
“Jerusalem is the place where the Scriptures and ancient tradition tells us the great prophets go to die,” the Bishop said. “Soon, in the story of Holy Week, the crowd will turn ugly. The cheers will become jeers. The supporters abandon their palms and thin out. Even the apostles scatter as Jesus walks the path to Calvary. No more hosannas. Only shame, condemnation and spitting. Where did all the ‘glory, laud and honor’ go?”
Bishop O’Connell said that through the “door where we stand in the liturgy today and through which we pass into Holy Week, we see Jerusalem.
“We see the king enter. We witness his Passion. And we suddenly realize that the house looks a bit different than what we first saw and thought,” he said.
“In Jesus Christ, ours is a God who is willing to suffer not only for us but with us,” the Bishop said. “There is no place in our humanity where God is not present, no pit so deep, no moment so dark, no sin so vile, no loneliness so wrenching, no experience so painful that God has not been present there suffering and redeeming us.”
Teaching Moment
Before the Mass, families participated in a palm weave activity – in which they learned how to make palm crosses to help the students better understand Palm Sunday, according to Julia Cullen, parish catechetical leader.
In all about 200 people gathered for the palm weaving that included some 80 students in grades 1-6 who were joined by siblings, family members and volunteers. The weaving instructor was Ann Marie Dayton, a member of the parish since 1995.
Dayton shared that palm weaving was something she had learned from her grandmother and mother and is a childhood custom that she is happy to continue to share with others.
She felt that the students and their families were very receptive to the project, and the students were happy to take their palm crosses to Mass where they were blessed by the Bishop, she added.
Kathy Rumsby found the palm weaving to be a great teaching tool for the children including her 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth enjoyed it,” Rumsby said. “I think an activity like this helps the kids spiritually.
“It takes an abstract concept and makes it more real for them,” she said. “It’s also a social event where we get to be with other parishioners. That was very nice.”
Christine Royal and her daughters Madelyn, 13, and Reagan, 10, enjoyed the palm weaving project. The mother recounted that while making their way into a pew, crosses in hand, a couple sitting behind them admired their handiwork and admitted they had never been successful in their attempts. The two girls took the palms from their new friends and weaved them crosses on the spot.
Steve Rumsby was inspired by the Palm Sunday Mass with the Bishop and remarked, “Holy Week is about revisiting and being refreshed in our beliefs as Catholics.” The message was important in preparing for the rebirth that Easter brings, he said.
“Holy Week is the most important time of the year. We renew our faith and commitment to the Lord,” Royal said. “The Bishop said that Jesus ‘is there for our highest of highs and our lowest of lows.’ That really resonated with the girls, and we talked about it on the way home. You can tell he [Bishop O’Connell] was really speaking from the heart.”
Monitor correspondent Christina Leslie contributed to this story.
PHOTO GALLERY: Palm Sunday Mass with Bishop in Colts Neck parish
Just before the Mass that Bishop O'Connell celebrated on Palm Sunday in St. Mary Church, Colts Neck, families were invited to participate in an intergenerational palm weaving activity. John Batkowski photo
The Church needs quality Catholic journalism now more than ever. Please consider supporting this work by signing up for a SUBSCRIPTION (click HERE) or making a DONATION to The Monitor (click HERE). Thank you for your support.