Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, March 29, 2026

Today begins our celebration of Holy Week.  The week culminates in the Easter Vigil Mass which anticipates the great feast of Easter.  However, before we get to Easter, we must pass through some seriously dark and disturbing moments in the life of Jesus and His disciples.  These last five days of His earthly life are filled with moments of both great joy and moments of unimaginable pain and sorrow.

Our first Gospel reading, which is read just before mass begins, tells of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.  His entry is that of a humble servant, yet the adoring crowd is shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David.”  Even though He prefers not to be praised or acclaimed, the crowd repeatedly shouts: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  If these words sound familiar, it is because we proclaim them at each mass in the “Sanctus” immediately before the Eucharistic Prayer.  This phrase is taken directly from Psalm 118. That Psalm praises a king who is triumphantly entering a city after a victory.  We remember this moment in every mass because the triumph of Jesus is an hour which does not pass away.  As one of my Theology professors wrote, “we are standing within that same hour, and we are standing in that hour because he is coming to us now.  Blessed is he who comes!”

Unfortunately, within a few short days, the adoring crowd will shift from shouting out “Blessed is He!” to “Crucify Him!”  How could they reject Him so quickly after praising Him?  We might ask ourselves a similar question.  How can we leave mass and then criticize the music or the man in the third pew?  How can we say, “Amen!” when receiving the Body of Christ and then intentionally sin later that day?  How do we participate in bible study and then gossip about the woman who was seated at our table?  Each day, our thoughts of “Blessed is He” turn quickly to “Why do I continue to crucify Him with my thoughts, words, and actions?”  As a child, I was told that my sins were like the nails that held Jesus to the cross.  During this very sacred week, let’s all firmly resolve to move from crucifying to blessing Our Lord.

Fr. Mike