Manila Archbishop Jose F. Cardinal Advincula presided over the Palm Sunday Mass at the Manila Cathedral on April 2, 2023, to mark the beginning of the Holy Week.
“We enter the Holy Week through this Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. We gather for Eucharist to commemorate the Lord’s royal entry into Jerusalem, and to remember his passion and death,” said Cardinal Advincula.
In his homily, he emphasized the importance of humility and simplicity of Christ when he triumphantly entered Jerusalem.
“Jesus is our Messiah and king, not riding a warrior’s horse, but atop the humble ass, not seated on a high throne, but lifted hanging on a cross, not crowned with gold and laurels, but his head pierced with thorns, not displaying arrogance and dominion, but embracing passion and showing compassion,” he said.
The Palm Sunday mass also featured the blessing of the palms and reading of the Passion of Christ, which recounted the events leading up to his crucifixion and death. The Cardinal then told the faithful to learn from Jesus who experienced passion and pain.
“Let us learn from our Lord Jesus, who is our exemplar for experiencing and sanctifying our passion and pain. Let us learn from him three lessons: feeling our pain, sharing our pain, and offering our pain,” he said.
He also encouraged the faithful to reflect on the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus and to strive to imitate his example of selfless love.
“Jesus sanctified his pain by offering it to God, and offering it for others. Hindi lamang siya nagpakasakit, kundi nagmalasakit. Kung ang pag-inda ng sakit ay hindi tumungo sa malasakit, nawawalang-saysay at kahulugan ang sakripisyo,” he said.
Palm Sunday is the sixth and last Sunday of Lent and marks the beginning of Holy Week, the Catholic Church’s commemoration of the Paschal Mystery which is the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of the Lord. On Palm Sunday, Christ’s triumphant entry to Jerusalem is celebrated.
Palm Sunday also coincides with the “Alay Kapwa Sunday” celebration when special collections are done for the Church’s charitable program for the poor.
The Cardinal will also preside over the following activities during Holy Week at the Manila Cathedral:
Holy Thursday
Chrism Mass, 7 am
Evening of the Lord’s Supper, 5 pm
Good Friday
Celebration of the Passion of the Lord, 3 pm
Holy Saturday
Easter Vigil, 8 pm
The Holy Week activities at the Manila Cathedral will be streamed live via their Facebook page and on the Facebook pages of RCAM SOCOM platforms namely TV Maria, Radio Veritas and Archdiocesan Office of Communications – AOC. (Jheng Prado | Photo by Maricar Santos/RCAM-AOC | Photogallery)
