Let’s sing Hosanna on Palm Sunday

2026-03-28 - 02:04

Tomorrow, Palm Sunday, is the sixth and final Sunday of Lent; the day when Christians enter into Holy Week; the day when we commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This event is mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels—Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; and John 12:12-19. The Gospel readings on Palm Sunday also focus on the events of Jesus’ Passion—the last three days of his life—the Paschal Triduum: the institution of the Eucharist, the passion and death of Our Lord, and the prediction of His Resurrection. Pope Benedict XVI reminded us: “Palm Sunday tells us that it is the Cross that is the true tree of life.” Carrying the cross, said Pope Francis, means more than bearing personal suffering—it means stepping into the pain of others and walking beside them, I remember how excited my siblings and I were as children on Palm Sunday as we received our palm fronds, which had been made into small crosses. As we processed around the church, we waved our palms, which had been blessed by the priest before Mass, and which are sacramentals. On our return home, my mother would collect our palms and place them in prominent places throughout the house. The palm has long been known to be a symbol of peace, victory and eternal life. Pa, my Hindu father, respected Ma’s Catholic religion, and we respected his. He was present at the baptism of us, their seven children. In those early years, I did not fully grasp the contrast of joy and sorrow that we commemorate each year on this day. Jesus had come down from the Mount of Olives and rode into Jerusalem on the back of a colt—the foal of a donkey—a symbol of humility. In our current era, when many leaders prefer pomp and circumstance, Jesus demonstrated true humility and fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy (Zechariah 9:9), which speaks of a King who comes “lowly, and riding on a donkey.” Jesus was a King who served; who was full of love and compassion; who became fully human; and who died to save humanity. “We have been saved by his cross, and no one can repress the joy of the Gospel” (Pope Francis). Remember the old hymn by Henry Hart Milman: Ride on! Ride on in Majesty! “Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die; O Christ, thy triumphs now begin O’er captive death and conquered sin.” One can just imagine the excitement as people cut branches from palm trees, laid them, as well as their garments, across Jesus’ path, waved them in the air, shouting “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” What a contrast a few days later when crowds cried out: “Crucify him! Crucify him!” The crowds shouted their “Hosannas” as Jesus entered Jerusalem, but the Pharisees were angry and told Jesus, “Quiet your people down.” Jesus replied: “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). I recall Pope Francis saying to young people years ago that people today will try to silence young people who continue to follow Jesus, because “a joyful young person is hard to manipulate. There are many ways to silence young people and make them invisible,” the pope said. There are “many ways to anesthetise them, to make them keep quiet, ask nothing, question nothing. There are many ways to sedate them, to keep them from getting involved, to make their dreams flat and dreary, petty and plaintive.” He asked young people “not to keep quiet. Even if others keep quiet, if we older people and leaders keep quiet, if the whole world keeps quiet and loses its joy, I ask you: Will you cry out?” Lent and Easter remind us that our baptism must mean something; it should transform our lives and lead us to cry out; to hunger and thirst for justice and peace; it should lead us to commit to live by every value for which Jesus stood. It fills my heart with joy when I see thousands of people around the world protesting against the many injustices in our world. As the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Let us commit on this Palm Sunday to overcome indifference, to cry out and act as God’s instruments to build a better world.