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These Holy Days
Palm Sunday will be one of the most heavily attended Mass days of the year. Will it be because of the beginning of Holy Week, the Great Week of the year, or because of the palm branches that will be distributed at the entrance of the church?
We strongly suggest that it is the latter. Blessed Palm is a sacramental recognized by the Church. A sacramental, distinguished from one of the sacraments, or actions of the Church, is a holy reminder of something more important. There are many sacramentals, things or actions, like ashes on Ash Wednesday, the blessing of throats on the feast of St. Blaise, St. Joseph’s bread, several of the traditional signs surrounding Christmas, holy cards, scapulars, Rosaries which we submit to be blessed with an official Church blessing.
But none quite equals palm, which recalls the branches laid out before Jesus as He entered Jerusalem for the last time before His Passion. We have to remember that the people honoring Jesus on Palm Sunday were probably among those who later in the week went about their business as He passed by their places of business carrying the cross on the way to Calvary. The road to the rocky mound of stones and bones that was the Mount of Calvary was then and is today a busy street commerce, which was not likely disturbed by the three men, thought to be criminals who were making their way to crucifixion on that Good Friday. Could these really have been the same people who cheered Jesus on Palm Sunday?
In any event, the churches again will be crowded this Palm Sunday and we will take the palm to our homes. Some use it as decoration for a cross. Some braid it. Some twist it into the shape of a cross. Still others bring it to gravesites to invoke a blessing upon loved ones who have gone before us in death.
The Palm Sunday crowds introduce us to our Holy Week experience as we perhaps visit the cemetery to remember our beloved deceased and then go about the chores in preparation for Easter. Let not the preparation for Easter be tainted by the secularity of it all. This week ahead is truly the great liturgical week of the year.
Holy Week should be a week of prayer and self-denial during which we break our usual routine and observe at least Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday as a triduum of prayer and reflection on the events that we are commemorating. Only then does the meaning of the celebration of Easter make sense because without the cross there would have been no Resurrection.
To assist you in choosing where and when to attend Holy Week services, we have compiled a Holy Week directory of liturgies and para-liturgical experiences in the parishes of Brooklyn and Queens on Pages 10 and 11. We urge you to share this listing with your neighbors. Better still, invite them to accompany you to church this Holy Week.
Lent and Easter are times of great opportunities for grace in our lives. They offer unique chances to advance in holiness which may never be repeated. It would be foolish to pass up these opportunities.
Remember the crowds that went to church on Ash Wednesday and watch the large numbers this weekend for Palm Sunday and next weekend on Easter. Let us resolve to continue to attend Mass each Sunday of the year so that we can truly be witnesses of Christ’s suffering and death to one another all year round.
For us as Catholics, Easter is the reason we can rejoice and proclaim that we have nothing to fear, not even death, while we follow in the footsteps of our Lord.
Blood Donations Save Lives
During this past winter, the blood supply for New York City hospitals reached critically low inventory. Several storms made the situation even more dangerous because regularly scheduled shipments of blood from other parts of the country remained on the ground because of grounded aircraft.
On the day after St. Valentine’s Day – remember the ice storm – less than 50% of the anticipated shipments had arrived in the City.
Nationwide, 60% of the population is eligible to donate blood so that others can safely have surgery. However, in New York City, less than 2% of the population actually takes the time to donate blood. That number lags behind the national average of 5%.
We urge all members of the Catholic community to consider donating. Each week, we carry announcements of the blood drives in your parishes and communities. Take the time to read them in our Around the Diocese column.
Four million Americans would die each year if it were not for the donations of blood. A simple, painless exercise, does save lives. In fact, one out of every three people in America will require a life-saving blood transfusion at some time in their lives.
To donate in New York, you must be at least 16 years old, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be in generally good health.
More information about blood donations can be obtained by calling 1-800-933-BLOOD or going to the website www.nybloodcenter.org.
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