CHARLOTTE — Holy Week is a time for us to grow closer to Jesus Christ – following Him during His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through to His Passion and death on a cross, Bishop Peter Jugis preached as Holy Week began with Palm Sunday March 25.
The entire story of Jesus’ sacrifice is summarized and relived during the Palm Sunday liturgy, Bishop Jugis noted in his homily at St. Patrick Cathedral.
The start of the Palm Sunday liturgy, when people process into the church carrying palm fronds, re-enacts how people joyfully greeted Christ upon His entrance into Jerusalem.
“The people know who Jesus is and they are proclaiming Him the savior, they are proclaiming Him the Messiah,” Bishop Jugis said, but “Jesus knows what’s about to happen to Him.”
“Jesus knows what He has to do as the Messiah, as the savior,” because His sacrifice was prophesied in Scripture, the bishop explained. Jesus knew the ancient Biblical prophecies and He knew the psalms, because He is the Word of God made flesh.
The words of the psalmist chanted in the liturgy’s Responsorial Psalm (from Psalm 22) – “they have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.” – foretell Jesus’ Passion and death, Bishop Jugis noted. “What else would that refer to but a crucifixion?”
He continued, “The devil is always trying to disfigure the beautiful things that God does.”
“The hands of Jesus that healed the sick and blessed the crowds and multiplied the bread and fish for the people – those beautiful hands – the devil sees to it that those hands become disfigured by being pierced with nails,” he said. “Those feet of Jesus that walked all over Israel to bring the Good News of salvation and the kingdom of God to the whole countryside, the devil sees to it that those feet are pierced through.”
But what the prophet Isaiah writes in the liturgy’s first reading (from Isaiah 50:4-7), Jesus fulfills: “…I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.”
“‘He was pierced through for our offenses,’ … and He ‘was crushed for our sins; upon Him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by His stripes we were healed,’” Bishop Jugis then quoted from Isaiah 53, which will be read at the liturgy on Good Friday.
He prayed, “Let us use this Holy Week to develop a deep love for Jesus and grow in our friendship with Jesus. Yet, at the same time, let us have a deep hatred for sin because sins disfigure us, as they once disfigured Jesus in His Passion and crucifixion.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor
CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter Jugis blesses palms at the start of Palm Sunday Mass March 25 at St. Patrick Cathedral. (Patricia L. Guilfoyle, Catholic News Herald)
BOONVILLE — Parishioners at Divine Redeemer Church, led by Father Jose Enrique Gonzalez-Gaytan, pastor, take part in a Palm Sunday procession outside the church March 25. (Sergio Lopez, correspondent)
HUNTERSVILLE — Parishioners including Cassidy Bischoff at St. Mark Church usher in Holy Week with the vigil Mass for Palm Sunday March 24. (Photo provided by Amy Burger)
MARION — Father Carl Kaltreider, pastor, celebrates the vigil Mass for the solemnity of Palm Sunday at Our Lady of the Angels Church March 24. (Giuliana Polinari Riley, correspondent)
CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Latin Mass Community and St. Ann Parish hosted a Solemn High Mass offered by Father Matthew Kauth, St. Joseph College Seminary rector. Deacon was Father Jason Barone, CCHS chaplain. Seminarian Britt Taylor was subdeacon.
Immediately before the Mass at St. Ann Church, Father Kauth blessed the palms in the ancient ritual and then led a procession inside the church as the schola sang a hymn to Christ the King. (Photos provided by Markus Kuncoro)
CHARLOTTE — People pray at the start of the outdoor procession for Palm Sunday at St. Ann Church. (SueAnn Howell, Catholic News Herald)
ASHEBORO — Hundreds of Hispanics participate in the procession and celebration of Palm Sunday Mass at St. Joseph Church. The pastor, Father Philip Kollithanath, officiated the liturgy. (Cesar Hurtado, Catholic News Herald)
ASHEBORO — Hundreds of Hispanics participated in the procession and celebration of Palm Sunday Mass at St. Joseph Church. The pastor, Father Philip Kollithanath, officiated the service. (By Cesar Hurtado)
MORGANTON — Members of St. Charles Borromeo Church take part in a Palm Sunday procession March 25. (Photos by Lorenzo Pedro, correspondent)
MORGANTON — Members of St. Charles Borromeo Church take part in a Palm Sunday procession March 25. (Photos by Lorenzo Pedro, correspondent)
MORGANTON — Members of St. Charles Borromeo Church take part in a Palm Sunday procession March 25. (Photos by Lorenzo Pedro, correspondent)
MORGANTON — Members of St. Charles Borromeo Church take part in a Palm Sunday procession March 25. (Photos by Lorenzo Pedro, correspondent)
MORGANTON — Father Ken Whittington, pastor, blessed with holy water the palms and the people before the procession, then led them in prayer before Mass. (Photos by Lorenzo Pedro, correspondent)
FOREST CITY — A Palm Sunday procession was held before the Spanish Mass celebrated March 25 by Father Josè Juya at Immaculate Conception Church. (Photos by Giuliana Polinari Riley, correspondent)
FOREST CITY — A Palm Sunday procession was held before the Spanish Mass celebrated March 25 by Father Josè Juya at Immaculate Conception Church. (Photos by Giuliana Polinari Riley, correspondent)
CHARLOTTE — Holy Week is a time for us to grow closer to Jesus Christ – following Him during His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through to His Passion and death on a cross, Bishop Peter Jugis preached as Holy Week began with Palm Sunday March 25.
