Today – Palm Sunday – marks the official start of Holy Week, a significant period for Christians all over the world. Historically, the observance commemorates Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
Celebrants usually wave palm branches before and during masses, re-enacting the way in which the crowds greeted Christ when he rode into the Holy City.
For RC priest Fr Leslie Tang Kai, Palm Sunday lays the foundation for the events leading up to Christ’s resurrection on Glorious Saturday night. Tang Kai, parish priest of St Joseph RC Church, Scarborough, Tobago, believes Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, persecution, death, and resurrection offer a telling lesson for mankind.
He said although the sequence of events may appear “off balance” to some, it is the fulfillment of the Christian reality.
“In life, one minute you are glorified and hailed and the next, you are crucified,” he told Sunday Newsday. “I often like to tell people that even within the church, in the midst of victory, there are trials. So without the trials, there can be no victory.”
Singling out Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus as an example, Tang Kai asked, “Why should we think that within the church, all is hunky-dory and good?” “In the midst of it all, there are challenges. And that’s life. No life is free from challenges. The Messiah bled for us, led the example. He embraced the triumph, to the crucifixion, to the resurrection. He did it all for us.”
But Tang Kai said this has not stopped people from having unrealistic expectations of the church. In fact, he observed, some religious leaders, including RC priests, sometimes preach what he called the “prosperity gospel,” fueling such expectations.
“So they make you feel that way by how they preach and when you really get into it and you experience the challenges, you ask, ‘Why am I here?’ and they become bitter, hurt, frustrated, and disappointed with the church.”
Saying that style of ministry exists in every religious sect, Tang Kai said Christ paid the ultimate price through his death and resurrection. “But he also said, ‘If you want to be a follower of mine, pick up your cross and follow me.’ He never said it would be a bed of roses.”
The Easter liturgy, known as the Triduum, comprises Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Glorious Saturday. At St Joseph RC, the Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper on March 28 begins at 7 pm while the Good Friday service starts at 3 pm. On Glorious Saturday, the vigil starts at 6 pm and goes straight into the liturgy.
But even before the start of the Triduum, the Monday of Holy Week, chrism masses are held in which priests renew their vows. Sacramental oils for baptisms and for the sick are also blessed during masses.
Tang Kai said in some countries the chrism masses are usually held on Holy Thursday. “So in Rome, the Holy Father, cardinals, and priests will celebrate the chrism mass on Holy Thursday morning where they renew their priestly vows.
In the evening, we celebrate the mass of the Last Supper, the institution of the Eucharist, the
