HOLY WEEK REFLECTION: Priest, sacrifice and temple (Palm Sunday)

Palm Sunday – Second Sunday in Passiontide

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the Cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility: mercifully grant that we may follow the example of his patience, and so be made partakers of his Resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Priest and sacrifice and temple

We have followed once again the events surrounding the Passion and Death of our Saviour Jesus Christ. But we do not do so just to remind ourselves of the story. We do so recognising that there is a deeper level to all of this. A deeper level than the politics of religion and state for example.

I want to encourage to you to deepen your understanding of the Passion – the Passion which won for us our redemption. I encourage you by pointing out 3 things about our Saviour and how at a deeper level His awful death won for us the possibility of salvation.

To help you deepen your understanding I want you to know that Jesus Christ is (1) priest, (2) sacrifice and (3) temple.

Jesus Christ alone showed forth what was necessary to achieve our redemption by being the perfect priest and the perfect sacrifice; by being in Himself God and temple.

He is the priest through whom we are reconciled. He is the sacrifice by which we are reconciled. He is the temple in which we are reconciled. And He is God to whom we are reconciled.

For it to be possible for us to have salvation we needed redemption. For redemption we need reconciliation with God through a priest who can reconcile us, with a sacrifice capable of reconciling us, in the very place where this must occur. Only in Jesus Christ Himself, true God and true Man, can priest, sacrifice and temple come together and be united with God.

The Holy Catholic Church continues to offer this very sacrifice by the priest who is in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) with the bread and wine offered that becomes Christ Body and Precious blood, in the temple, which is the Body of Christ, the Church.

The astounding and amazing truth that we celebrate in faith and charity is that the redemption He won then is brought to us today in the Sacrament of the Altar.

Psalm 22

Deus, Deus meus

MY GOD, my God, look upon me; why hast thou forsaken me : and art so far from my health, and from the words of my complaint?

2. O my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou hearest not : and in the night-season also I take no rest.

3. And thou continuest holy : O thou worship of Israel.

4. Our fathers hoped in thee : they trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver them.

5. They called upon thee, and were holpen : they put their trust in thee, and were not confounded.

6. But as for me, I am a worm, and no man : a very scorn of men, and the outcast of the people.

7. All they that see me laugh me to scorn : they shoot our their lips, and shake their heads, saying,

8. He trusted in God, that he would deliver him : let him deliver him, if he will have him.

9. But thou art he that took me out of my mother's womb : thou wast my hope, when I hanged yet upon my mother's breasts.

10. I have been left unto thee ever since I was born : thou art my God, even from my mother's womb.

11. O go not from me, for trouble is hard at hand : and there is none to help me.

12. Many oxen are come about me : fat bulls of Basan close me in on every side.

13. They gape upon me with their mouths : as it were a ramping and a roaring lion.

14. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint : my heart also in the midst of my body is even like melting wax.

15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my gums : and thou shalt bring me into the dust of death.

16. For many dogs are come about me : and the council of the wicked layeth siege against me.

17. They pierced my hands and my feet; I may tell all my bones : they stand staring and looking upon me.

18. They part my garments among them : and casts lots upon my vesture.

19. But be not thou far from me, O Lord : thou art my succour, haste thee to help me.

20. Deliver my soul from the sword : my darling from the power of the dog.

21. Save me from the lion's mouth : thou hast heard me also from among the horns of the unicorns.

22. I will declare thy Name unto my brethren : in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

23. O praise the Lord, ye that fear him : magnify him, all ye of the seed of Jacob, and fear him, all ye seed of Israel.

24. For he hath not despised, nor abhorred, the low estate of the poor : he hath not hid his face from him, but when he called unto him he heard him.

25. My praise is of thee in the great congregation : my vows will I perform in the sight of them that fear him.

26. The poor shall eat and be satisfied : they that seek after the Lord shall praise him; your heart shall live for ever.

27. All the ends of the world shall remember themselves, and be turned unto the Lord : and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him.

28. For the kingdom is the Lord's : and he is the Governor among the people.

29. All such as be fat upon earth : have eaten and worshipped.

30. All they that go down into the dust shall kneel before him : and no man hath quickened his own soul.

31. My seed shall serve him : they shall be counted unto the Lord for a generation.

32. They shall come, and the heavens shall declare his righteousness : unto a people that shall be born, whom the Lord hath made.

All glory, laud and honour to thee redeemer King...

This morning we begin a symbolic journey. Our journey is symbolising our Lord’s own journey. His journey was aiming at the Temple - the ultimate place of worship for God’s people then. It was the place of sacrifice – and Christ, at the end of His journey would make it the place to bring all sacrifices there to a close. He would make the ultimate sacrifice of Himself. He became the Lamb – the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

So we journey this morning to our local version of the sanctuary of the temple – but the sanctuary of the new temple, which is Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ Himself is the ultimate worship by mankind. Our sanctuary therefore reminds us of Jesus Christ crucified, but also of His presence with us now: the tabernacle of His presence. The tabernacle is a sign to us all that God has not forgotten us now. Yes we are sinners. Yes we have failed many times as His disciples. We on our own are weak. But He is with us, and He calls us again to come back to Him and to receive from Him His inestimable gift – His very own life poured out for us - the grace of the Eucharist.

So let us walk with Him, not just symbolically as we do now, but also in our lives – let us turn to Him afresh and renew ourselves as His disciples, and let us carry our cross through the journey of this life that we might share in His resurrection.

Fr Ian

Liturgy of the Palms and the Passion of our Lord

Palm Sunday at St Mary's Abbey was beautiful and sunny at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Lord's Entrance. The choir sang beautifully. After the blessing of palms and the procession, upon entering the Abbey church we sand "Ride on, ride on in majesty".

Father Abbot gave the homily. The weeks of Lent, he said, were a time where we are assessed as followers of Christ. Our following of Christ is a real following/journey towards our mother Jerusalem on high. There God lives amongst human beings and there is no more weeping or mourning. In the procession of palms we do not reconstruct historical events, but celebrate the mystery of salvation. For we journey towards the Altar which is at once both place of sacrifice and throne; of joy and mourning mingled together. Our Christian faith faces the reality of the human condition: where people cry "Hosanna to the King of David" one day, and in the same week cry "Crucify Him!" How fickle our feelings especially in a crowd! Where the inner vision is blurred human feelings and desires can lead to inhumanity. The Saviour's way leads through suffering by sacrificial love nailed on the cross. His way does not stop us weeping nor takes away our pain, but it alters our inner vision and thus gives meaning to our pain and our weeping, and allows Christ's power to work in us - then we followers are adopted sons and daughters.

Thanks to Father Abbot Holy Week, or Hebdomada Sancta (hebdomada being the Latin word I learnt today!), began with inspiration for the whole of Christian discipleship caught up in the triumphant entry of Our Lord into His own city, that would crucify Him, but would be the place where His final victory is won and where He would rise from the tomb.

Following the Mass my family had a picnic in the grounds of the Abbey. What do young boys do on Palm Sunday at an Abbey after lunch? They disappear into the undergrowth of course!

The Abbey grounds were looking beautiful and some of the spring flowers were still out.

Sitting in the sun with a juicy lolly - some of the best joys of life are very simple!

Every blessing to you this Hebdomada Sancta!

Fr Ian Hellyer

Sunday of the Palms: joy, the cross and youth

Buckfast Ordinariate Mission joined the regulars at the Abbey Mass at 10.30am today. The weather was not good as everyone began assembling at the North gate of the Abbey precincts. The steward asked the men to remove their hats and I think many of the ladies thought, 'Thank goodness I am not a man!'. There was both a chilly wind and a drizzle as the Altar party emerged from the West Door of the Abbey to the sound of psalms being sung by the choir. Holy Week began with Abbot David blessing our palms and branches. Now we began the solemn walking with our Lord on his way to the Cross, and the way to our redemption by His passion and death. Today we walked with the Lord into His city with cries of "Hosanna to the Son of David!"

Very great crowds turned up at St Peter's Square today for Pope Francis' celebration of Palm Sunday. The weather in Rome looked considerably better than Buckfast! The Pope spoke of three things in his homily: joy, the cross, and youth.

Ours is not a joy that comes with having many possessions but from having encountered a Person: Jesus! ... Don't let your hope be taken away from you.

He then went on to his second point about the cross:

I think of what Pope Benedict XVI told the cardinals: You are princes, but princes of a crucified King. This is the gift Jesus gives to us all, on the throne of the cross. The cross of Christ embraces love. It never carries sadness, but rather joy. The same joy as salvation and of doing even just a small portion of what he did of His crucifixion.

Lastly, because in Rome Palm Sunday is Youth Sunday, the Pope officially announced that he would be following Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI and meet young people in Rio di Janeiro in July. He said

Prepare well! Above all prepare spiritually in your communities, so that our gathering in Rio may be a sign of faith for the whole world.

He said that the young should tell the world it is good and joyful to walk with Christ and believe in His message; that it is good to go beyond one's limits and existence to teach others about Jesus.

May this Holy Week be a time of renewal for us all as we walk with Christ to the cross, source of joy and salvation.

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Yesterday there was a very touching and also historic meeting between Popes. Pope Francis greeted Pope Emeritus Benedict with the words, "We are brothers." It was a very beautiful moment, but the frailty of Benedict came over too - here was a man who having given the weight of office to another, was now simply a man of his age.
A very interesting detail was the gift of Pope Francis to the Pope Emeritus, an Ikon of Our Lady. Pope Francis told Benedict it was Russian, and said,

They told me it’s the Madonna of Humility. Let me say one thing: When they told me that, I immediately thought of you, at the many marvellous examples of humility and gentleness that you gave us during your pontificate.

Pope Francis giving Benedict the Ikon of Our Lady of humility

According to Dr Moynahan this was a gift from the Russian Patriarch Kirill sent via Metropolitan Hilarion who in a private audience with Pope Francis gave it as a gift to him (20 March). It is reported that the Patriarch is very touched and very pleased by this passing on of gifts.

I cannot help but feel that this bodes very well for Catholic relations with our Orthodox brethren. Let us all hope and pray for reunion; that we all may be one.

Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us.
Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us.