Your Palm Sunday Sermon Notes (some photos)

I suppose that in some places it might not have been possible to preach for any length because of the extent of the rites. However, I also suppose that in some places Father (or His Excellency, His Grace, His Lordship, His Eminence) did, in fact, discourse.

Was there a good point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of Sunday obligation? Let us know.  [GOOD!  This isn’t open for griping.]

For my part, I reminded people that we are our rites. Participating in these sacred mysteries makes them present to us, us to them. We must also remember that, while Holy Week has elements which surely make us sad, because they remind us that our sins crucified Our Lord, any every moment of agony was a victory. Every blow received, every thorn, harsh word or nail was and, liturgically, is a triumph.

Here are a few shots from our Palm Sunday:

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About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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32 Comments

  1. John Grammaticus says:

    good sermon at the SSPX chapel I currently attend; Fr. Made focused on the gifts of the Blessed Sacrament for our salvation, and how we are saved by our crosses .

  2. SundaySilence says:

    I was totally amazed that at our NO Mass, the priest stressed the sacredness of the Triduum, reminding people to maintain decorum proper to these three days, to get all their shopping and Easter preparations completed by Wednesday, and that there will be plenty of time Sunday and beyond for partying and social gatherings.

    It’s a shame that this may be the first time some people may have heard this, but I am so proud of our priest for his instruction.

  3. iPadre says:

    I gave the same OF and EF Masses.

    I based my homily on three verses from the Passion. “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken.” and “Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.”

    We are living in a dark night in the world and the life of the Church. Scandals, confusion, Religious and Priests who have abandoned their vocations, thousands who have abandoned the Church.

    If we want to survive, our Lord gives us the answer. Our Sunday/ Holy Day obligation is not enough to sustain and protect us.

    “Could you not keep one hour with me?” I recommended a weekly Holy Hour before the Most Blessed Sacrament.

  4. Discerning Altar Boy says:

    Father offered a brief explanation of the various Masses and services of the Sacred Triduum. He urged us to come experience them and participate in them as a means to better prepare ourselves for the joy of next week’s Solemnity.

  5. With three Masses this morning, my homily on Palm Sunday was brief. (This also helps make time for the Roman Canon.) My homily described the many processions of Holy Week, and explained that they serve to invite us to walk with Jesus on the journey to Calvary, the grave and resurrection. I intended this to also invite people to make the most of Holy Week.

  6. acardnal says:

    I enjoyed the recitation of “unicórnium ” in the Gradual reading. Always a pointed remark.

  7. frsbr says:

    “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” The Paschal Mystery transforms these words into a prophecy and a prayer. It is the Blood of Christ that purifies and redeems, as witnessed by the elect whose celestial robes have been made white through It’s power. Indeed, may His blood be upon us, our children and our world.

  8. Bthompson says:

    I preached very short: Christ’s death is on us; it is our fault and we cannot and should not sugar-coat it, look past the Passion and Death to the Resurrection, or otherwise minimize the horror of what we have done by our sins. Second, Christ freely and out of love chose to undergo his passion; we are worth this cost to him (even though he knows our ungratefulness and that we caused the problem that necessitated his suffering). Therefore, our reaction to the Passion should be profound and humble gratitude and devoted love, not servile shame or self-flaggelation (as if we are in dispair over what we have done). There is a place for sorrow, repentance, hatred of our sins, but it is tributary to that profound gratitude.

  9. jameeka says:

    Father C made two points (in a short sermon as the 8 AM mass had to skedaddle to make room for the 9 AM one…)

    1. When the Crowd said “His blood be upon us and upon our children” this was prophetic, and the irony is that Jesus’ Blood becomes the means of our redemption and salvation.
    2. Someone asked Fr C this past week if, when Jesus says “Father, Father why have You abandoned me?” does He really think He has been abandoned by the Father? Fr C said he didn’t really know, but it could have been he was praying Psalm 22 (also the Responsorial Psalm for today. However, the words of this psalm are triumphant at the end.

  10. Henry Edwards says:

    Our young TLM priest, just back this year from Rome, chanted the Passion Gospel beautifully with three different tone/voices used for the three parts. And then mercifully proceeded directly to the Credo, having started a bit early with a brief homily before the beginning of Mass with the blessing of palms and procession, a practice—sermon before, so the liturgy itself is not interrupted—that he plans to repeat with each of our three (traditional Latin) Sacred Triduum services this week. I was reminded how rewarding it is to NOT have the sacrificial focus built by the early part of the Mass dissipated by interruption of the sacrifice for the digression of a sermon. And reflected briefly on how many sermons (not all that many) I’ve ever heard that actually contributed to—rather than detracted from–worship in the Holy Sacrifice itself.

  11. Kathleen10 says:

    It wasn’t anything that I heard, but we traveled a bit to a Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form, and sitting there, weaving palms, as I do every year, hearing the ancient prayers, was a sheer blessing. Half the time I did not know where Father was, what part he was praying. It didn’t matter. We prayed for our brothers and sisters, the Copts, and our hearts were with them today.

  12. justanothermom says:

    Father gave a great homily about Holy Week, going through the significance of each day in the Triduum (and Palm Sunday, of course). He offered good points for reflection while giving a lovely catechesis. I hope it might inspire more people to attend the non-obligatory liturgies.

  13. Spade says:

    With our new pastor, our statues were veiled for the first time in purple. Icons and paintings that could not be veiled were taken down. The crucifix leading the procession was also veiled.

    Also, my wife noticed that, as we have four priests, out “eucharistic ministers” have slowly vanished.

    Father quickly talked about the passion and suggested we focus on one thing, maybe even one word, that spoke to us and meditate on that.

    Later he pointed out that while there would be no Confessions on Saturday, they were available Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights but go early as the lines and penances were both getting longer. People laughed, but he’s not kidding. One of the priests hands out a Rosary on Good Friday regardless of what you bring to the box.

  14. tradition4all says:

    Father Zuhlsdorf, I noticed that your vestments throughout all of the ceremonies, including the Blessing of Palms, was violet, not red.

  15. NancyP says:

    Our priest gave a shorter than usual homily, but he outdid himself today and I am grateful. He reminded us that Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross was the ultimate expression of God’s love for us, and that we should carry that thought with us into Holy Week. Father invited us all to sincerely participate in the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday, laying our sins and crosses at Jesus’ feet and thanking Him for His sacrifices, death and resurrection as we do so.

    Since I always think of Holy Week as a walk with Our Lord during the days of his Passion and Resurrection, Father’s imagery really resonated with me.

  16. Amante de los Manuales says:

    The Good Point: A rough standard for how much time we’ll be in Purgatory is the amount of self-love we still had in us when we died.

  17. zag4christ says:

    Our priest spoke to the point in reaffirming that as we enter Holy Week, we must always remember that God triumphs in the end. It was short, probably due to the procession and the readings. For the first time that I can recall, confessions were being heard before, during and after all Masses at the Cathedral today. The Cathedral and her holy priests continue to see more and more people, souls really, coming home.
    Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless Glory!
    Peace and God bless.

  18. Buffy says:

    Father talked about Jesus’ words “Not my will, but yours” in the garden and how we should apply them also. Good sermon.

  19. mibethda says:

    A handsome set of vestments – look to be Nerian style. It looks as though you chose violet vestments for the blessing of the palms and procession (pre ’56 rubrics? – but would not folded chasubles have then been proper for the deacon and subdeacon rather than a dalmatic and tunic?)

  20. Grumpy Beggar says:

    Father began by saying that God’s greatest gift to each and all us, is our life. To demonstrate it, he used some simple examples of having a home, a family, a good career . . . and then made the point that if we take the life God gave us out of the equation, “the rest becomes nothing.”
    He proceeded to explain that Jesus, in the readings, is about to give His life for us so that we may have life – as He said, “To the full.”

    He spoke of a couple he knew in his homeland (Benin) : The man had 2 bad kidneys and was approaching death. His wife was a compatible kidney donor , but would also risk death were she to donate one of her kidneys to her husband. She decided to do it. She had made the resolution that she was ready to die so that her husband might live. As it turned out, all surgeries went well and they both lived. He used this to try and give us an idea of Christ’s humility and of the intimacy of love He desired to have with us . . . a type of – “I am willing to give my life for you – that we may both have life together.”

    Father said that the second greatest gift God gives us is our faith ; that it is these two gifts God gives us in their fullness (which we commemorate) this Holy Week – our life, and our faith; “. . . now let us offer this Mass to God, full of thanksgiving for the gift of our life, and for the faith He has given us.”

  21. JonPatrick says:

    A beautiful EF liturgy, including the blessing of the palms with holy water and lots of incense and procession around the church. In his homily Father talked about the humility of Jesus, coming into Jerusalem on a donkey not a war horse, no triumphal arch for him but instead a cross. He had a humble beginning and a humble end, wood of the manger to wood of the cross. He started out in Galilee, such a backwater that it was easy for Peter to be identified as a Galilean by his “hillbilly” accent. Jesus had been sold for 30 pierces of silver the price of a slave. Crucifixion was reserved for slaves and revolutionaries, Roman citizens had the quicker and more dignified death by beheading.

    Jesus freely laid down his life for us. Adam and Eve could have had it all but their pride caused the fall, they wanted it their way. This could only be countered by an act of humility, as the Cross was.

  22. Matthew the Wayfarer says:

    Where are you Father Zed?

    [I’m right here!]

  23. frjim4321 says:

    There was not enough time for a full homily, but it was on Passion Sunday as an invitation to join with the entire Church in the celebration of the Triduum.

    Themes of service, sacrifice, compassion, and saving love.

  24. SanSan says:

    An amazing and blessed Palm Sunday Service because of a young holy Priest, Fr. Joseph Previtali. He greeted us at the doors of the Church and explained “why” we were processing in, like Jesus did. He had altar boys with candles and insense. His homily was not rushed. He was intense with passion and love…..imploring us to understand that we were “enemies of God” prior to marching, singing and praising Jesus as King of David on Palm Sunday. He spoke about the humility of riding an ass through the mighty gates, into Jesus’ Passion, and to the Resurection and our Salvation.

    I can’t do the service justice……you had to be there. It wasn’t in the Extrodinary Form (which this Priest offers a number of times during the week), but it was as close as it gets. (we travel quite a ways to be around this Holy Priest)

  25. Saint110676 says:

    Thanks for the photos. Yesterday I assisted in coro, at an EF high Mass in Brooklyn.
    I thought that the EF called for red vestments for the blessing of palms and procession, and purple for the Mass. Of course, availability of the extra red cope and the time constraints may make the use of purple for the whole ceremony a pastoral necessity. Still, just wondering.

  26. PhilipNeri says:

    Short and to the point. . .

    https://hancaquam.blogspot.com/2017/04/knowing-he-will-die.html

    Also, I tried kneeling during the Gospel reading last night. Arthritis prevents me from genuflecting. BIG mistake. Leg cramped. Nearly fell over. So I had to bow profoundly instead. My point: I can’t even begin to imagine the pain our Lord suffered on the cross.

    Fr. Philip Neri, OP

  27. monnica says:

    Once again our pastor directed attention to one of the stained glass windows in our church: the Passion window. There is a small circular pane at the top that shows the Pelican tearing her own flesh and shedding her own blood to feed her young. Jesus underwent his sacrificial death so that we could live and in order to feed us with His own substance in the Eucharist.

  28. Mary Bruno says:

    I went to a neighboring parish for an evening Mass. There was moment of silence. The priest said there was an option of a short homily or moment of silence. The priest was.wearing red vestments and when I saw him I questioned whether I had ever seen a priest wear red?

  29. Liam says:

    Violet cope? Very nice enrichment of the 1962 Palm Sunday by the historic rites of Holy Week. Any chance for folded chasubles in the future? How about a black chasuble and broad stole for Good Friday?

    [Send a large donation! Gammarelli can match our vestments, which they made. Each one will cost the same as a chasuble, so, about E.700. So, send us E.1400 for the violet. Thanks in advance.]

  30. templariidvm says:

    Through Jesus hate, violence and death are defeated and this is a week of hope, for that reason.

  31. cheyan says:

    Our associate pastor had a very short homily; in fact, I think it was about 90 seconds long. He said (paraphrasing, since I didn’t take notes!): “The soldiers were casting lots for his garments. What does that mean? It means they were playing a game while the Passion was going on all around them. Today is Palm Sunday. Everyone has palms, everyone wants to weave them into beautiful crosses, and during the Gospel you are distracted, while the Passion is going on all around you.”

    And then he sat down; that was it.

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