We begin this Holy Week with Palm Sunday.  Gathered in the vestibule, we sing our Hosannas to the Son of David and, waving our palms, process into chapel.  In awe we listen to the reading from Philippians 2:6-11, a canticle, a song we sing every Saturday evening.   Yet this time, it takes on a deeper meaning: Though in the form of God,…Jesus emptied himself, …Flesh and blood, he humbled himself, obeying to the death, death on a cross.  

     We contemplate how Jesus, the God-Man, stretched out his arms on the cross to embrace ALL people.  What a powerful sign of love.   Our Foundress, Blessed Maria Celeste, in her mystical writings tells us Jesus’ words: Oh, with what love I embraced the cross, loved it, desired it and took pleasure in it -- all for your love… You are My friend and My delight.   I embrace you from the Kingdom of the Cross and of glory, in the Kingdom of My Peace. Unite your sufferings and afflictions to Me and you will live just the way I lived as God-Man on this earth.

     Our personal crosses are usually small. Many have crosses that are truly hard to bear. We accept them because we do not carry them alone.  Jesus’ love carries them with us.  We can lean heavily on him is our times of sin, sufferings and afflictions.  Christ raises us up. He raised them up on the cross 2000 years ago and has done so before time began.   Jesus’ death on a cross displays God’s pure gift of love.   So immense, so extravagant IS God’s love and mercy for us.  Jesus died, not because we were so terrible, but even if we were,  Jesus died because He LOVES us and showed that love by obedience to God’s plan of love for our salvation.    

The Philippians' canticle does not end in sadness, though.  It ends triumphantly because of Christ's pure gift.  It proclaims a message fir for Easter:  At the name of Jesus every knee will bend, in heaven, on earth and in the world below, and every tongue exclaim to the glory of God, JESUS CHRIST IS LORD! 

                                                JOYOUS EASTER