“HOSANNA, FILIO DAVID!”

On Palm Sunday, the Priest, vested in a red cope, blesses the palms at the start of Mass. It is the red of royal triumph. Triumph, indeed! We claim triumph because Holy Week is not a week of mourning for the Cross of Calvary and the Resurrection are inseparable. We must not separate the Passion of Our Savior from His glorious Resurrection. By His Cross, Jesus has overcome death! In medieval times, this week was viewed in a strict sense of sorrow and tearful sympathy with the Suffering Jesus. Now, through the whole week, there runs a note of victory and joy, a realization that Our Lord’s sacred passion was a prerequisite to the glory of Easter.
The Palm Sunday liturgy begins with: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. O King of Israel: Hosanna in the highest!” After the Procession of the Palms, we pray in the Introit: “O Lord, keep not thy face far from me; look to my defense, deliver me from the lion’s mouth - - - O God, my God, look upon me - - - Far from my salvation are the words of my sins!”
It is a humble prayer for without the, “King of Israel,” we are helpless. The weight of our sins overwhelms us! Only in the triumph of Our Redeemer can we find victory. Like Daniel in the lion’s den, the lions of the pagan world seek to devour us in sin. Just as the One, True God delivered Daniel, so too will Our Divine Savior rescue us
The Key to the Palm Sunday liturgy is the reading from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is the Suffering Messiah. True to His mission, the Redemption, He was obedient to the Heavenly Father. He was obedient, “even unto death, death on the Cross.” Obedience! The “obedience of faith!” As the second Vatican Council teaches, it is the hallmark of the true follower of Jesus Christ!
Thus, in Christ’s Victory Procession, we too cry out: “HOSANNA, FILIO DAVID!”
Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.