WHEN THE CHEERING STOPPED
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...). Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table.
We are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Put a green branch in a suitable place (any branch will do; it does not need to be a palm branch). Through this green branch, we can remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us, and stay connected as we enter into the holiest week of the Christian calendar.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: Today is Palm Sunday, when we recall Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when people acclaimed him as God’s messenger. A few days later, the same people shouted: “Crucify him!”
We understand this better when we reflect on our lives. We have days of happiness, of success, of joy; we also have sad days of contradiction and failure. We have days of health and of sickness. Does our cry to the Lord change? Let us unite ourselves with the Church around the world and pray that we may always be able to shout “hosanna”!
Penitential Rite
L: For the times our cries to the Lord have changed depending on our situation, we ask the Lord for his forgiveness.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you come to visit your people in peace:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, by the cross you brought pardon and hope:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you have come to create a new world:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Opening Prayer
L: Almighty and ever-loving God,
in your great mercy
you sent your Son to become like us,
taking on human form and living among us,
submitting to the Cross.
Grant that we may heed his lesson of patient suffering
and so merit a share in his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
Response My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Reading 2 Philippians 2:6-11
Acclamation
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.
Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.
Gospel Matthew 26:14 – 27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Silence
Spend time in silence. Allow your thoughts and feelings to surface. Allow God to speak to you through his Word and through your thoughts and feelings.
Lectio Divina
Put yourself in the stead of one of the characters of the passion narrative or journey with Jesus through his journey from the upper room to Gethsemane to Caiaphas and Pilate to Golgotha. Reflect on your thoughts and feelings. What does the Lord tell you?
Sunday Snippets
Gene Smith’s book When the Cheering Stopped tells the tale of US President Woodrow Wilson. After World War I, Wilson was a global hero; on his first visit to Europe after the War, cheering crowds greeted him everywhere.
After a year, Wilson ran into opposition: his League of Nations was not ratified; at home, his party was defeated in the elections; in Europe, leaders were more concerned with their own agenda. As long as he “spoke” peace, Wilson was heralded as the new messiah. When he called for change that would lead to peace, the cheering stopped. Wilson became a broken man and a failure.
It’s a sad but not unfamiliar story. Jesus faced something similar during his journey to Jerusalem!
As long as Jesus fed the hungry and healed the sick, he was popular. As long as the people saw him as a political messiah, they gave him a royal welcome.
When Jesus emphasised that he was a king of love-peace and not a military hero, when he showed that he would rule through humble obedience, when he broke social and religious barriers, when he became a threat to the religious authority and political standing of some people, when he loved all people unconditionally, when he called people to change… the cheering stopped. It turned to jeering. On the cross, Jesus became (literally) a broken man and a human failure.
One who makes people feel good is popular. When one tries to translate ideals into reality, when one wants to change “feel good” to “do good”, when one challenges people to amend attitudes and action… the cheering stops.
Will I be the popular guy who makes people feel good or am I ready to be the unpopular guy who challenges people to be good? What will I do if/when the cheering stops?
I need to remember: The Jesus “story” does not end on the cross; there is the empty tomb. It does not end on Friday; it begins a new chapter on Sunday.
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: What words of hope, promise, or challenge has God given me to speak to others? When I do good but face opposition, am I able to affirm “the Lord God is my help”?
Reading 2: Though Jesus was in the form of God, he emptied himself, took the form of a slave, became human, humbled himself, and became obedient to the point of death. What impact does this experience and realisation have on me?
Gospel: Jesus endured the sense of abandonment by the one he loved most, his Abba. He chose to experience all of humanity’s worst suffering. What does this tell us?
Even though he couldn’t access their love, do you think the Father and the Spirit were there with Jesus on the cross?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: As we remember the hardships that Jesus endured for us, we are filled with hope because God is with us always, even in difficult moments of life. Let us therefore call upon him who hears all of our needs and pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that God may sustain us and help us to give faithful witness to the Gospel, we pray to the Lord…
R: For leaders of nations: that they may learn to be servant leaders and never forget the needs of the most vulnerable, we pray to the Lord…
R: For all who are ill: that God’s healing love may relieve their pain, restore their health, and deepen their appreciation of life, we pray to the Lord…
R: For those who have experienced abandonment, betrayal, or rejection: that God’s Spirit may comfort them and help them to hold fast to the truth, we pray to the Lord…
R: For greater respect for human life: that all people may honour the mystery of human life at all stages along life's journey, we pray to the Lord…
R: For ourselves: that God’s love may sustain us in times of suffering and rejection, and help us to trust in his providence each day, we pray to the Lord…
L: God of compassion, in the death and resurrection of Jesus, you show your love for us. Sustain us in our passion and suffering. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
Lord,
a very large crowd before and behind you
cried out: “Hosanna to the Son of David”
as they spread their cloaks and strewed palm leaves,
preparing the way for the king to enter Jerusalem.
And yet, a few days later,
their shouts changed to: “Crucify him!”
Lord,
you so loved the world
that you set your face like flint toward us,
and gave your back to those who beat you,
and your cheek to the ones who plucked your beard!
you humbled yourself and emptied yourself out of love.
Let us be amazed by your love,
and share in it.
Let us say with the pagan centurion:
“Truly this man was the Son of God!”
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Loving Father,
your Son gave himself totally on the cross.
May we learn from him
to keep our hope in you alive
even when we do not know the future
or when we must bear heavy crosses.
We know that we will rise above our miseries
to a life of joy without end.
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
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