WELCOME, WALK, WATCH

“Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!” With this shout the crowds welcome Jesus as he enters Jerusalem. They recognize him as the Promised One, the Messiah, their King. We too are called to welcome Jesus and to recognize him as our King, our Saviour and our Hope. We are called to recognize his presence among us today, to recognize him in our fellow human beings wherever they come from, to whatever religion they may belong, welcoming them as our brothers and sisters, appreciating their needs, respecting their dignity.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem some walked in front of him, others followed behind. The crowd did not know then that Jesus was going forward to his Passion and Death, a death to be followed by Resurrection. We are called to walk with Jesus. We sing: “I want to follow, to follow Jesus…no turning back, no turning back”. Following Jesus means to go through suffering with him, to face up to death with him, but always with the hope of New Life. This is what it means to walk with Jesus during this Holy Week. But we are called also to walk with Jesus in our brothers and sisters, to accompany them in their difficulties, to help them whenever possible.

The journey of Jesus took him to the Cross. Our walk with Jesus leads to the foot of the Cross. There we are called to stand and watch with Mary, his mother, and with the other women and John, the beloved disciple. We can only watch and hope. We hear the desperate cry of Jesus: “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” (Psalm 21:1). We know that he is conscious of the end of the psalm where it says: “My soul will live for the Lord”. He breathes his last and we declare with the centurion: “In truth this man was a son of God”. As we go through the difficulties of our lives, as we accompany others in their difficult situations, we watch, seemingly helpless, yet with hope that all will be well. We pray that we may persevere to the end, watching faithfully, hoping against hope. We ask Mary, the Faithful Virgin, our Mother, to help us.