'Elegant catholic' is NOT 'holy catholic'!
PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD
[ Matthew 21: 1-11 ]
Holy week begins with Palm Sunday.
This is the holiest week in the liturgical year of the Church. The biblical account of Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection comes to life again as the mystery of our salvation unfolds before our very eyes. With Palm Sunday, Holy Week begins. Or rather, we should say: with Jesus entering Jerusalem, Holy Week begins. Without Jesus – the Lamb for the Sacrifice [Gn 22: 7], the Lamb of God [Jn 1: 29] – there can be no salvation for all of us.
‘The walk of glory’ and ‘the walk of shame’.
On Palm Sunday, it is a liturgical tradition for us Catholics to congregate outside the Church as the Gospel reading on ‘Christ’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem’ is proclaimed. With palms in our hands, the Priest (representing Christ) leads us in a triumphal procession – it is a ‘walk of glory’ – into the Church as we sing and shout, “Hosanna! Hosanna!”.
But upon entering the Church, the mood and mode of the liturgical celebration immediately take an about-turn – the whole atmosphere turns serious, sombre and somewhat melancholy – another Gospel reading on the Passion of Christ is proclaimed: the Gospel reading recalls Jesus’ ‘walk of shame’ to Calvary to die for you and for me. Glory has turned to shame; cheers have turned to jeers; the shouts of ‘Hosanna! Hosanna!’ are now replaced by the shouts of “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”; and the glorious sea of palms is now darkened by the shadow of the cross.
Why do I follow Jesus?
As we celebrate Palm Sunday, perhaps it is a good time to reflect on ‘Why do I follow Jesus?’ Perhaps it is an opportune moment to re-examine our true intention and motivation of following Jesus.
(1) Do I follow Jesus because of herd mentality? Or do I choose to follow Jesus because I personally believe He is truly my Lord and my God? Will I continue to remain faithful at the foot of the Cross of Christ even if no one follows me?
(2) Do I follow Jesus for the sake of fame and fortune, power and pleasure, gold and glory? Do I follow Jesus just because I want to sit at His right hand or His left [Mk 10: 37]? Will I join the angry crowd in shouting ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’ when Jesus does not meet my expectations or satisfy my whims and fancies?
Following Jesus in His glory and His shame.
At every Wedding Mass, the couple exchanges their vows: “I take you to be my wife/ husband, I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and honour you all the days of my life.”
Our covenantal relationship with Jesus is similar to that of a marriage covenant. Through our Baptism, we are, in a way, 'married' to Christ. We have pledged ourselves to God and His Holy Church. We must therefore strive to be faithful followers of Jesus all the days of our life – in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, in richness and in poverty, in shame and in glory, in suffering and in comfort… regardless how others feel about Christ and His Holy Church.
Have I allowed (or NOT allowed) myself be transformed by Jesus?
If we are true disciples of Jesus, we would let Jesus enter our hearts and our lives. If we have allowed Jesus to enter our hearts and our lives, we will be transformed.
Pope Francis, during his Wednesday Audience dated 29 Mar 2023, warns that without Jesus entering our hearts and our lives, we will not be transformed, and we can only be Christian from the outside!
“If Jesus did not enter your life, it did not change. You can be Christian only from the outside. No, Jesus must enter and this changes you, and this happened to (St) Paul. It is finding Jesus, and this is why Paul said that Christ’s love drives us…”
“ If one of us says, ‘Ah, thank you Lord, because I am a good person, I do good things, I do not commit major sins …’ this is not a good path, this is the path of self-sufficiency, it is a path that does not justify you, it makes you turn up your nose… [This is the path of] an elegant Catholic, but an elegant Catholic is not a holy Catholic, he is elegant.”
Pope Francis is warning us against being an ‘elegant Catholic’ (exterior) instead of a ‘holy Catholic’ (interior). It is not enough to be an ‘elegant Catholic’ because an ‘elegant Catholic’ who only looks ‘good’ from the outside is NOT a ‘holy Catholic’! Just like St Paul, a true Catholic, a true Christian is one who receives Jesus within, which changes the heart!
Let the King of glory enter!
The Psalmist exclaims [Ps 24: 7],
“Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.”
As Jesus enters the Holy City of Jerusalem, the heart of Israel’s worship, let us also welcome Jesus into our heart (the centre of our being) and into our lives. As we sing “Hosanna! Hosanna!”, may we always acclaim Jesus as our Saviour and our King from the bottom of our hearts, and allow Him to transform us from within. And heeding the warning of our Holy Father, may we stop being ‘elegant Catholics’ but start living as ‘holy Catholics’.
Let our fervent prayer be:
“We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.”
Let us also pray that God’s justice, peace, truth and love may prevail in Ukraine, Sri Lanka and Nicaragua.
[Note: This Gospel reflection was adapted from the previous reflection dated 10 Apr 2022.]
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