Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrated an April 2 Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, to mark Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion and the start of the holiest week in the Church year.
The liturgy began with a blessing of the palms on the steps outside the cathedral, during which the Gospel of Matthew, which describes Jesus's entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, was read.
Inside the cathedral, the Passion of Jesus was read by multiple lectors, along with Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, the cathedral’s rector. This included Judas Iscariot betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, the Last Supper, Jesus telling Peter he will deny Him, and Judas’s betraying kiss.
During his homily, Cardinal Gregory stressed how young children hold a significant role, not only in their families, but in the Bible as well.
“Jesus had previously identified himself as a person who genuinely cared for children, which was an attitude that well may have set Him apart and distinguished Him from many other important religious figures of his time,” Cardinal Gregory said.
He continued to describe the relationship between Jesus and children.
“Some of the more charming religious art images that have come to us down through the ages and that naturally capture the human heart are those of Jesus where children surround Him, often depicted as hugging and embracing them,” Cardinal Gregory said. “Kids need and want to be hugged, kissed, and embraced.”
The cardinal noted how children were present at Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
“Those youngsters in the Bible, then as well as now, with wide eyes and giggles, remind us all that they are so easily enthralled by such unusual spectacles,” Cardinal Gregory said.
He recalled the words that Jesus spoke to the women He encountered as He made His way to Calvary: “Pray for yourselves and for your children,” and noted our children “are so very precious to you and to our Church and, most importantly, to our Lord.”
Palm Sunday, he said “might well focus attention on the young ones in our midst with our charming tradition of distributing palm branches to remind us how Jesus was once joyfully greeted.”
He said that while “the heart of our Church is at the disposal of our children on this first day of Holy Week… this marvelous week is about an adult and a very mature expression of love and sacrifice.”
Washington Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito-Garcia, who is also Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, blesses palms outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on April 2 prior to celebrating a Spanish-language Mass marking Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord and the start of Holy Week. The Mass was offered following Cardinal Gregory’s Mass. (CS photo by Mihoko Owada)
“This week is not about child’s play or immature behavior, or make-believe. The focus of this week could not be more serious or more important. We celebrate the love that Christ has for all of us and the price that that love will extract from him,” Cardinal Gregory said.
He encouraged parents to question their children about the significance of Holy Week. He believes they will be "amused and amazed" by their children's responses.
“This week is about the perfect love of a Father for his Son, and the absolute obedience of a Son for his Father, as well as the unconditional love of his Son for his brothers and sisters, especially those who are least among us,” Cardinal Gregory said. This concept, he said, was so simple a child can understand it.
Many attendees of the Mass greeted the Cardinal upon exiting with blessed palms in hand.
