Palm Sunday

For a Doctrinal Homily Outline for Palm Sunday, click here.

Here are some points in regard to the Gospel reading, which is Mark’s account of the Passion.

• The Gospel reading ends before the Redemption is complete, before Christ rises from the dead.
• Christ did all he did out of love for us.
• Christ first left behind for us the Sacrament of his Body and Blood.
• Then he underwent the full human drama Mark recounts which fulfilled the predictions of the Old Testament.
• Without being facetious, we can say it is no fun to be a prophet and even less to fulfill a prophecy. The self-emptying required is hard. Noting could be harder than redeeming the world, so only God-made-Man could do it.
• No one had any idea how that redemption would be accomplished. We do now. This is why we kneel at the point in the proclamation of the Gospel when Christ’s body hangs dead on the Cross. It is our confession, not just with our minds and hearts but also with our bodies, that Jesus Christ, seemingly defeated, is Lord.