Holy Week in 2022 commenced with Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrating Palm Sunday Mass on April 10 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in downtown Washington. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem when the crowds greeted him with palm branches. Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, the cathedral’s rector, was a concelebrant at the Passion Sunday Mass. 

The Mass began with the cardinal processing from the sacristy down the aisle outside to the steps of the cathedral, while the choir sang the antiphon “Hosanna.” An antiphon is a short phrase or psalm that is sung. Outside on the steps of the cathedral, Cardinal Gregory blessed the palms.

During the Mass, the account of Christ’s Passion from Luke 22:14—23:56 was read.

In his homily, Cardinal Gregory told a parable about three children, Jacob, Miriam, and Joshua, whose mother became upset that they went off to see Jesus enter Jerusalem. In his parable, the mother was concerned about her kids going to see Jesus and yelling “hosanna” in the street “like mad people,” and she asked, “What does hosanna mean? Where did you kids get such strange words anyhow?” 

Cardinal Gregory said the children replied that they thought Hosanna meant “right on, awesome, groovy, boss, ‘you rock,’ you know mom, it’s just a kid’s word. It’s not a bad word.”

The mother then questioned what their rabbi would think if he heard about the children’s actions, to which the children responded that the rabbi knew about the event because he was there.

"I still don’t think that it’s right for our children to be using such words in public. People might think that you’re one of Jesus’s fans or something,” the mother said.

The children replied, “We like him Mom, he’s neat, he’s cool, he smiled at us.” The mother in the story then questioned the staying power of Jesus’s presence and referred to Jesus as a local eccentric. The mother concluded that both Jesus and “Hosanna” would both be “quickly forgotten.”

Later in the story, Cardinal Gregory said that one of the children explained to their mother that hosanna means “save us, we pray.”

Following Communion, Cardinal Gregory spoke to the people attending the Mass, saying how this year is a “special grace” as people are able to pray together again at Mass after more than two years of the pandemic. 

"May these days be a blessing for each and every one of you; may they bring peace to your homes and hearts and give you joy in all you do," Cardinal Gregory said.

To end the Mass, Cardinal Gregory gave his final blessing and dismissal to the assembly before leading the procession to the narthex.