St James Catholic Church

Each year the church celebrates this holiest of weeks with reverence and awe.  We greet the Lord with palm branches and hosannas, welcoming him to the holy city of Jerusalem.  His missionary journey and our Lenten journeys are nearing their completion.  Soon Jesus will celebrate the Passover with his closest disciples here in the center of the Jewish world.  Before the sun rises, he will be betrayed by one of his friends, arrested, and taken away.  He will be tortured, put on trial, and sentenced to death.  He will die on the cross, be taken down, and be buried.  From there he will be raised and will ascend to the holy city that is our eternal home.  Today, as we shout our hosannas and wave our palms to welcome our Lord into Jerusalem, we look forward to the day when we will all be welcomed into the heavenly Kingdom.

As Jesus was willing to carry his cross, shameful and horrible, and lethal as it was, he calls upon us to carry our own painful and difficult crosses.  Remember, the cross he carried was not for himself.  He carried his cross for everyone else, for Peter and Judas; for the woman at the well and the man born blind, for Pilate, Barabbas, and the revolutionaries crucified with him, for you and for me.  We are called to carry crosses for others as well, to ease the burdens on our neighbor.  As Jesus gave of himself for our benefit, we are called to give of ourselves for the benefit of those in need.  We are challenged to see Jesus in our neighbor in need, for that makes clear to us that we are returning in some small way the debt we owe to him who gave his life for us.  There can be no resurrection without a crucifixion.  May this Holy Week fill us with the same Spirit that lead Jesus to fulfill the plan of our heavenly Father. 

Love, Peace, Joy,

Fr. Bob