For Palm Sunday – April 2, 2023 – Message from Father Edward Jennings

Brothers & Sisters,

Today, Palm Sunday, we begin our Holy Week journey.  This journey involves events which have significant meaning for us as Christians.  The significance of these events is borne out by the reality that they define our salvation.  I want to suggest that the reality that our salvation is the result of more than one event, means that salvation in and of itself is not an event, but a journey.  We experience salvation not as an isolated event in our lives, but as we recognize God’s activity in our lives.  Salvation is what God offers for us, not a reward for our righteousness.  It is a gift from God to us, not an accomplishment on our part.

Salvation is actualized in our lives as we make ourselves available to God.  We receive salvation as we appropriate sacrificial death, and resurrection to our lives.  Holy Week   is not a time just to become sentimental, it is not just to re-enact religious drama.  Holy week challenges us to reflect on the business of our salvation.   It calls us to engage in a focused way,   what God in Christ has done for all humanity.  This week is not just a Christian observation, it is an expression of divine love and compassion.  It is an opportunity for us as the Church, to challenge the wider community to recognize what Christ has done and is doing for all people.

Holy week is not an event narrated in the scriptures, but an opportunity to speak to the contextual relevance of the Church.  It is my prayer that our holy week celebrations will be of meaning as we seek to make real God’s salvation activity in our lives.

A blessed and Holy Week

Fr. Eddie