The Pastor's Desk
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From the Pastor’s Desk: PALM SUNDAY, 2025
Our Forty Days of Lent are near its end and we now enter the sacred Holy Week beginning today, Palm Sunday, the Passion of our Lord. The themes for the week are love, sacrifice, and redemption. Holy Week is the most solemn and sacred time of our Christian calendar. It is a journey – an intimate participation in the final days of Jesus’ earthly life, from His triumphant entry into Jerusalem to His suffering, death, and glorious resurrection. This week calls us not just to remember, but to walk with Christ in His Passion, allowing His sacrifice to transform our hearts.
Today, Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem during the time of the Jewish feast of Passover, crowds wave palm branches, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Yet, He rides on a humble donkey, not a warhorse. This reveals the nature of His kingship – not of earthly power, but of love and service. Do we welcome Jesus Christ as our King, or do we seek a Messiah of our own making – one who fulfills our desires rather than God’s will?
On Holy Thursday, the Lord’s Supper, Jesus gives us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, the ultimate gift of Love. Then, He kneels to wash His disciples’ feet, teaching that true greatness lies in serving others. Do we receive the Eucharist with gratitude? Are we willing to serve others, even in humbling ways?
On Good Friday we are at Calvary, Jesus embraces suffering out of love for us. His cry, “It is finished”, is not a cry of defeat but of victory – the completion of God’s plan for our salvation. Do we see our own crosses as burdens, or as opportunities to unite with Christ’s redemptive love?
On Holy Saturday we wait in hope. The tomb is silent, but God is at work. This day reminds us that even in darkness we must trust in God’s promise. In moments of despair, do we cling to hope, believing that God can bring life from death?
We’ve been renewed and hopefully transformed by these forty days of Lent. Now let us allow this Holy Week to enkindle in our hearts the profound love God has bestowed upon us, and let us live our lives as true witnesses of that love.
I want to express my gratitude to our St. Jude Council Knights of Columbus and our Ministries that provided our traditional Fish-Fry during these Fridays of Lent. It brought us together as a community in fellowship and faith. Thank you!
St. Jude, pray for us ~
Blessings & Joy,
Fr. Ryan
Archives
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